Ruins Of Empires To Safie Analysis

I have gained exponentially more knowledge from the De Lacey family than I have from my creator. I was left to assimilate myself into this strange and unforgiving world on my own, and it is because of that I am left without a proper moral compass. I have observed this family with great attention to detail, and have developed my own emotions as well as language from them. Each day I grow more aware of my isolation and lonely existence, yet I remain entirely alone. I cherish the sheer extent of knowledge this family has given me, but I find myself in the midst of an identity crisis because of it. Felix began reading Volney’s Ruins of Empires to Safie one day and thus began my internal struggle to find an acceptable role in society for myself.

Am I good or am I evil? I am considered a monster and yet I feel sympathy and have experienced self-reflection. Is it I who is evil or is it humankind that is the wicked one? Volney made me aware of the differences of people in society when he says, “a race, now regarded as the refuse of society, because their hair is woolly, and their skin is dark, explored among the phenomena of nature, those civil and religious systems which have since held mankind in awe” (Volney 29). I hear this passage, and it makes me aware of my differences and my grotesque, hideous appearance that has caused me to be seen as a “refuse of society” (29). Perhaps it was my appearance that drove Victor to abandon me when I was created. Ruins of Empires demonstrated to me the horrific extent of prejudice and discrimination in human society. The De Lacey family were also horrified by my appearance and it is my image that caused them to reject me the same way Victor did. The racial intolerance and discrimination by colonizers throughout history in Volney’s Ruins of Empires is mirrored by my own rejection from Victor and the De Lacey family. I used to see humankind as admirable and remarkable, but now I realize its true form and I am horrified. While learning about the history of humankind through Volney I became more benevolent, and this only served to further emphasize the peculiarity of my existence. Volney’s original man was also “deserted by the unknown power that had produced him” (37)