Social Norms In Frankenstein

Adam Roth

Ms. Grossman

ENG II: B3

24 February 2023

Strength in Normality

Have you ever heard of Social Norms? They are engraved in human culture. They affect our life and everything we do. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka were books that were crowned as one of the most influential books pertaining to the topic of social equality. We as humans can’t function without being pressured by social norms. Most humans can’t speak without being judged. A social norm that links to both books is the topic of your own appearance. Another pressure is what the authors engage with the audience in the hate both creatures get. For Gregor and the monster, the social pressure evenly dispersed itself to both creatures. Since both

Gregor was shown being isolated from humanity, and the monster was secluded from society until he was murdered. The monster was feeling utmost disappointment when he realized his predicament. "I am malicious because I am miserable. Am I not shunned and hated by all mankind?" (Shelley 17). The Monster is disheartened by the hostility he has undergone. The monster is a symbol for an outlier, someone who isn’t accepted by others. He is ultimately removed from humankind and called a threat only due to his appearance. The narrator was explaining the fact the monster was born as a pure spirit, an “innocent and helpless creature bestowed on them by heaven, whom to bring up to good, and whose future lot it was in their hands to direct to happiness or misery, according as they fulfilled their duties towards me. (Shelley 6). The monster was a good person in the beginning, but it is what he has undergone which shaped him to be himself. He doesn’t trust humans solely because they don’t trust him. If the monster had the appearance of a human being, he would be a present to

Most historians believe that the past has built on itself, and this book is an example of that. In the beginning of the Metamorphosis Gregor awakes as a bug, “As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect” (Kafka 15). You truly will never know what will happen the next day. Gregor’s whole life was ruined within a span of 24 hours. He went from a human to a bug within a night. It is a life ruining occurrence that happened and he can’t do anything about it. “In Frankenstein, the act of representation implies the denaturation of man, and the ending of this novel serves to consolidate the impression that there can be no real escape from the monster" (Cottom 9). It shows that even the most unexpected happenings can always hurt the most. Also humans are used to complacent and laziness. Mostly being happy with what we have. We need to get up and solve any minor inconvenience we