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Humanity In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

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We would essentially think humanity only consists humans in this story but ironically Frankenstein makes an effort to create life considering that it will experience responsibility and consequences of his actions. A key question in the story Frankenstein is whether Victor Frankenstein or the creation is more human ?

The creation is human because he shows responsibility and compassion considering that he was pretty much raised up on his own. “ So much has been done, exclaimed the soul of Frankenstein-more, far more, will I achieve; treading in the steps already marked, I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world deepest mysteries of creation”(Shelley). this quote is explaining how he gained knowledge of the …show more content…

I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart” (Shelley 5). This quote is explaining how the creation felt loneliness and rejection by humans which gave him lack of control over other people considering that he was born with a honorable heart however the creation was always against evil. Another reason why the creation is more human the Victor Frankenstein is because esteem for life and took full obligation for his actions which makes the creation more human than Victor Frankenstein. For example, “When I looked around I saw and heard of none like me. Was I , the, monster, a blot upon the earth from which all men fled and whom all men disowned”(Shelley 13). This quote is explaining that the creation felt alone in the world he was in questioning himself if he was the only one of his kind because the human mankind disowned him because he’s a monster. The creation is more human than Victor Frankenstein because the creation unveils human emotions such as love and companionship. For example, “ We are unfashioned creatures, but half made up, if one wiser, better, dearer than ourselves-- such a friend ought to be-- do not lend his aid to perfectionate our weak and faulty natures”(Shelley , letter 4). This quote is explaining how friends aren't going to be perfect and they will mess up from time to

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823 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout Frankenstein, Shelley uses Victor to warn the reader of the dangers of aspiring to godliness, and the consequences one faces in the aftermath doing so, even going as far as to compare Victor to Satan, tempting the crew of Walton’s ship, in the book’s final pages. The Victor Shelley creates is very similar to the Satan created by Milton in his book, Paradise Lost, which explores the biblical tale of Adam and Eve. In Frankenstein, Victor speaks of his desire to create the Creature, saying, “I deemed it criminal to throw away in useless grief those talents that might be useful to my fellow-creatures.” (152). Shelley’s diction choices, such as the word “useless” exemplify Victor’s excessive hubris, portraying him as a man who creates his Creature for, in his mind, the good of society.

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80 Words | 1 Pages

Mary Shelley’s book Frankenstein is a frame narrative of the life of Victor Frankenstein recorded by Robert Walton. It is circled around his creation of a monster that suffered a lonely life and wanted revenge for being created. In Frankenstein, Shelley portrays many big ideas but, one that continues to show importance is the idea of Human Needs and Desires. so, in the novel Mary Shelley presents the idea that all creatures have a basic need for friendship and love.

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672 Words | 3 Pages

He dedicates his life to learning and eventually obtains the knowledge

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542 Words | 3 Pages

Victor Frankenstein turns away from his responsibilities by ignoring the existence of his creation. Throughout the novel, Victor is constantly running away from the monster and not giving him attention, which resulted in the monsters change of personalities. For example, in page 71 the creation said, “All men hate the wretched; how must I be hated, who am miserable beyond all living things! Yet you, my creator, detest and spurn me, thy creature, to whom thou art bound by ties only dissoluble by the annihilation of one of us.” This quote suggests that because of the ignorance of Victor the monster began to become evil and have the urge to seek

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1359 Words | 6 Pages

In many novels symbolism functions as a way to reveal much of what is intended for the reader to understand about characters and the work as a whole. Symbols can be ideas, objects, or actions that constitute multiple interpretations or meanings. This is also true for many older novels including Frankenstein. Throughout the gothic fiction novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the use of symbolism and the role it partakes in the entirety of the story signifies its importance. There are many symbols throughout the novel some including light and fire, the creation story, and exploration.

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699 Words | 3 Pages

Is Victor the Ruling God? One does not simply “play God” in this world, that role is more than just a dress up and act thing. Many people say that Victor in the novel Frankenstein tries to “play God” which is absolutely true. As the novel progresses the characteristics of the creator “playing God” become more obvious to the eye of the reader. Victor “plays the Lord” when he creates the creature, when he decides what to do with the orders of the creature, and when the monster creates the connection when reading the book Paradise Lost.

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1278 Words | 6 Pages

The creature wishes to live in peace, but because he does not look like a normal human, he can not live in peace. Additionally, Frankenstein does not help the creature or nurture him with love, thus, he causes the creature to develop a deep resentment towards Frankenstein. The creature, whom is optimistic until now, says, “ Cursed, cursed creator! Why did I live?” (161).

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To answer that, we firstly need to define what makes someone human. According to http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ a human is someone that is “subject to or indicative of the weaknesses, imperfections, and fragility associated with humans”. Mary Shelley makes it very clear that the monster possess the same traits as a human. The monster feels, talks and acts as a human regardless of the fact that it does not obtain the looks of one. Since he is artificially created and does not look like a human, his creator Victor Frankenstein is repulsed by it and shuns him.

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Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein presents important social criticism. Shelly focuses, in particular, on importance of forgiveness, betrayal, acceptance in society. Learning to forgive yourself and others is an important thing to know how to do or you’ll be holding on to useless hatred and pain all of your life; the same way the monster, Frankenstein, was doing. “Forgive me. Everywhere I go, they hate me”.

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In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein brings his creation to life and has to endure the repercussions of his actions. While Victor is in fact human, the question of whether the creature or Victor is more human still stands. Humanity is demonstrated as compassionate in the book and monstrosity is the opposite. The creature is more human because of his developed personality and desire to be human. Victor, although born into a humane family, evolved into everything bad about humanity; he developed obsession, resentment, and manipulated life to conform to his idealities.

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825 Words | 4 Pages

A Creator's Responsibilities Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay To mould me Man, did I solicit thee From darkness to promote me? This fragment from John Milton's “Paradise Lost” makes you wonder about the creation of mankind. We never asked to be made, but here we are and we're supposed to make the best out of our lives. When Victor Frankenstein created his own human, he never thought about the consequences for his creation.

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1533 Words | 7 Pages

The novel “Frankenstein,” by Mary Shelley tells the story of a man named Victor Frankenstein, who decides to go against the laws of nature by bringing to life a being constructed with decaying body parts. Victor believes in natural philosophy and science, which leads him to the idea of creating this Creature. Although this novel can be interpreted in many ways, I believe that Mary Shelley is shining a light on the harmful and dangerous impacts that prejudice and assumptions can have on people who are considered different. Shelley may be suggesting that humanity is the true 'monster ' due to its socialized ideologies that make ambition, self-greed and rage fulfilling. Even to this day society is known to shun those who we do not see as equals.

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494 Words | 2 Pages

In the novel Frankenstein, the monster created by Frankenstein shows some human qualities. Some qualities that make people human are reason, pain, anger, sadness, growth, and ultimately being made by God; the monster expresses the human qualities of pain, anger, sadness, and reason, but he does not have the quality of being made by God, and growth. One of the first qualities that the monster exhibits is reason. When the monster is sharing his story with Frankenstein, he explains how he discovered the rules of fire by saying, “ I quickly collected some branches; but they were wet, and would not burn.

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929 Words | 4 Pages

The gothic fiction novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley centralizes on humanity and the qualifications that make someone human. The content of the novel Frankenstein depicts a monster displaying human traits that his creator Victor does not possess: empathy, a need for companionship, and a will to learn and fit in. Throughout the novel Shelley emphasizes empathy as a critical humanistic trait. The monster displays his ability to empathize with people even though they are strangers. On the other hand Victor, fails to show empathy throughout the novel even when it relates to his own family and friends.

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1420 Words | 6 Pages

ENG-3U0 November 20 2015 Frankenstein: The Pursuit of Knowledge Throughout the course of their individual journeys, Victor Frankenstein’s extreme passion for gaining knowledge about creating life, Robert Walton’s curiosity to discover land beyond the North Pole and the monster’s eagerness to obtain knowledge about humans was the principal cause of each of their suffering. As such, In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the pursuit of knowledge is a dangerous path which leads to suffering. Victor Frankenstein develops a keen interest in discovering knowledge about living beings which ultimately results in his personal suffering as well as others suffering. To begin with, Victor embarks on an assignment through combining body parts and following various

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