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Perception In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

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The theme of perception and acceptance based on appearance is highly emphasized on in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. We currently live in a world where factors like looks, physical characteristics, carriage, fashion taste, knowledge, intelligence, and color of skin, are used as yardsticks of acceptance into the society. In Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein unfortunately creates an ugly creature that has the appearance of a monster. The creature has to face the challenge of rejection by its creator and the society. For an outcome it has no control over, the monster is inhumanely judged by the society it is created into, thereby resulting in a problem of identity crisis. How far can unfair rejection and judgement on one’s appearance and intellect …show more content…

The story of the monster in Frankenstein is closely related with the social problem of racism that is prevalent in our society. People get constantly judged based on the color of their skin and racial orientation. After giving life to the creator, Victor instantly notices the error of the disfigured stature and yellow skin of the monster. "His [the creator's] yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles" (Shelley). Although the problem of racism today is not as intense as it was in the yesteryears, the discrimination between blacks and whites still exist and pose a threat to positive personal …show more content…

Every human being want to feel special and important. No one appreciates wrong judgement and rejection. The monster is furious about the way it is treated by its creator and the society. Thus, he develops into a monster and becomes homicidal in a bid to take revenge on its creator. Similar cases are prevalent in our society today. Children grow into criminals as a result of the rejection and hostile perception they receive from their environments. Homeless men and women develop negative personalities in order to survive in a world where they are judged wrongly and rejected. People of color become insecure and face inferiority complex issues because of the unequal treatments they receive daily in a society where skin color is used as basis for

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Geoffrey S. Fletcher, an American screenwriter and film director, has always been “...interested in how innocence fares when it collides with hard reality” (Geoffrey S. Fletcher Quotes). If Fletcher wishes to examine this change of unknowingness he is interested in, the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, perfectly depicts how the purity of a child changes when that child is forced to face reality. Lord of the Flies is a novel about how lack of control can turn the purest beings on earth, children, into ruthless savages. A plane strands a group of boys on a deserted island, and readers observe the characters losing their incorruptibility while trying to form a coherent civilization. Advancement in maturation is shown in the novel Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, through the loss of innocence in Jack, Piggy, and Ralph.

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Every day, millions of people judge others based on the stereotypes that apply to them, and some do not even know it. Most times these misjudgments are harmless, however, they can definitely be destructive. False judgments based on the stereotypes one follows can make a total stranger seem like a menace to society. This issue is so popular, that it used every day to falsely misjudge others in harmful ways. The most important lesson gained from reading Night, Of Mice and Men, and watching Angel of Bergen-Belsen is that one cannot use stereotypes to judge others because the person could be the total opposite of the judgments and misjudging they can inflict harm to that person if used in the wrong way.

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Joseph Aharoni Period 6, 10/2/14 Frankenstein: Misunderstood Monster Throughout the course of Frankenstein, Victor’s creation struggles to find a purpose and his own self definition. Tossed into the world with absolutely no guidance, hated by every living being he encounters, and remorseful of his own wicked deeds, the Creature shapes one of the most contradictory and enigmatic characters experienced in literature. The way that Victor and the Creature view each other, as well as themselves, shifts drastically throughout the course of the story, and ultimately the decision of whose beliefs are more correct is arbitrary to each reader. I find more truth in the Creature’s view of himself as opposed to Victor’s.

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Frankenstein’s Monster is not categorized as evil by his malicious behavior and is sympathized with due to his creator abandoning him and the role of nature versus nurture taken place II. Monster’s Nature and alienation A. Monster originally had an inquisitive nature yet gentle nature a. Information on the German family was “each interesting and wonderful to one so utterly inexperienced as [he] was” (105) B. With the rejection and alienation from society, the only interactions the monster experiences, he becomes full of hatred a. Rejected by De Lacey family by his looks and labeled a monster b. Tries to save a child but is shot by child’s father C. Reader may feel sympathy towards the Monster’s actions because the readers know that his true nature was not evil and he was misjudged III.

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Dangerous Minds- Rough Draft Knowledge has the capability to be used for both good and evil. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, there is a consistent message throughout the novel showing the dangerous and destructive power that knowledge can have. Two key characters, Victor Frankenstein and his monster, are shaped through their obsessions with knowledge and the power and responsibility that it brings. Ultimately, Victor’s downfall is a result of his uncontrollable thirst for knowledge, and is brought about through the monster which is the embodiment of his obsession. Victor is a brilliant scientist who figures out a way to create life from death using galvanism, or electricity.

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Society is well-known for pushing those who are outsiders or strange away from society. This is prevalent to the examples in Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein. The monster who was created by Victor Frankenstein who wanted to be the first to create life was appalled by the sights of the his creation. Frankenstein’s monster is judged based on his appearances and is often ostracized by society, just as anyone in modern day society can be shunned or pushed away due to their looks or how they think. The most outstanding example of ostracism that occurred throughout the novel is based on the monster’s physical features and structure.

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Over the past century, Frankenstein has been analyzed and interpreted in seemingly infinite different forms of literature, film, and television shows. Once solely recognized as the story about a brilliant scientist who creates a creature in whom he regrets making after the creature turns out ugly, Frankenstein now represents an internationally recognized and commercialized pop culture symbol for Halloween decorations and costumes. When analyzing and appreciating the true literary essence behind Mary Shelley’s original Frankenstein, one of the most important comparisons to consider remains the underlying influences behind the Creature’s immoral actions and whether or not the blame for these actions belong to Victor or the Creature. When exploring the dichotomy of the Creature versus Victor Frankenstein, one of the biggest and most widely debated questions remains whether Victor should be blamed for the Creature’s destructive actions or if the Creature should be considered guilty for his actions based off of his own free will. Many consider Victor Frankenstein the villain of the story due to his repetitive decisions to abandon and avoid his own “mistake,” the irresponsible choice of creating the monster in the first place, and his obvious negligence of the Creature’s feelings.

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An unsatisfied need for a sense of belonging transforms Frankenstein’s creature into the monster it ultimately becomes. Therefore, I argue that the predominant theme in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is the need for social belonging

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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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Beauty and ugliness is often used to justify the reaction of others in the novel, Frankenstein; in which the relation between external appearance and internal desires are shown to be related. The theme of how appearance affects judgement is often demonstrated through the characters response to the monster’s physical being. Shelley depicts this situation through Dr. Victor Frankenstein, the Delacey family, and through the monster himself. The use of appearance to determine judgement is shown to be a negative habit. By automatically associating ugliness with evil, and beauty with innocence, society unintentionally develops a negative being in those considered ugly, while at the same creating an illusion of innocence over beautiful individuals.

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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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Frankenstein seems to show a prejudice towards his own creation; though he purposefully made the monster large to make it easier to add smaller things—such as nails and eyelashes—he chooses to look at his newly-awakened creation with repugnance. “For this I had deprived myself of rest and health. 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 35) This disgust motivates him to run away, thus abandoning his monster.

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that the creature possesses which they can resonate with. It is enough that he is objectively different from the identifying criteria. To be fair, Malchow qualifies his argument by stating Shelley did not specifically create Frankenstein’s creature in the fashion of a “Negro monster [...], but rather [...] she dredged up a bogyman which had been constructed out of a cultural tradition of the threatening ‘Other’” (103). Shelley knows that groups do not need an explicit identity to discriminate against an individual; conjuring up an exotic canvas, in which they can impress their own biases and discrimination, serves Shelley’s narrative immensely. Thus, in a sense, Lew is right in identifying that the root of how Shelley incorporates the discrimination of others in her text is by using the imagination associated with oriental exoticism.

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Frankenstein’s Message for the Modern Age Frankenstein’s message for the modern age is to do experiments with caution, and to not mislead others about scientific matters. Discussing the issues that it raises for the society; scientists should try to minimize any effect their work can have on people, animals, and the environment. We will learn about the many lessons that can be taken and applied to the 21st -century world, which will help us as global citizens to know our responsibilities for others. The lessons we can take and apply to this 21st-century world are that knowledge comes with risks and we should understand and know the downfall that comes with science.

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The novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is a science fiction story about a creature created from non-living matter, by a young scientist, Victor Frankenstein. The conflict between society and Frankenstein’s creature is largely perpetuated by a split between those considered attractive, and those who are not. The conflict and language use in Frankenstein demonstrate that most of society judges others based on their physical appearance, which leads to excluding those who fall outside the accepted definition of beauty and sometimes life-threatening consequences for both groups. Frankenstein and his parents demonstrate that they also fall victim to the habit of judging others initially based off of their appearance. The Frankenstein parents first

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