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Society Is The True Monster In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

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Society shapes the way we think, perceive, understand, and live our lives. Deeply ingrained social norms can influence us to commit heinous acts. In Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, the main characters, Victor Frankenstein and his creation, are no exception. Frankenstein’s irrational actions to abandoned his creation would lead to years of devastation and regret for his choices. In the novel, society is the true monster because the ideals established by society led Frankenstein to abandon his creation, leading to Frankenstein and his creation’s subsequent isolation, both self-posed and forced, resulting in the animosity they developed for one another. To begin, societies punitive stereotypes and ideals of beauty and its nature, led Frankenstein to abandon his creation. Frankenstein spent years of hard work to create the perfect being, but when his plans came to fruition, he abandoned it in an instant. On page 35, Frankenstein states, “now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream had vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart.” (Shelley) Society classified the grotesque with …show more content…

They would drive each other to the ends of the earth in order to exact their revenge. The creation relates, “I gazed on my victim and my heart swelled with exultation and hellish triumph.” (Shelley 102) The creation cursed his creator and vowed revenge. Society’s ideals of beauty had pushed him to such a miserable state that he developed hate for Frankenstein. Accordingly, Frankenstein states, “I was hurried away by fury; revenge alone endowed me with strength and composure…” (Shelley 149) After the death of his best friend Henry Clerval and wife Elizabeth, Frankenstein swore his revenge. Society’s ideals would now push both characters to brink of madness in their search for revenge. Despite this, it can be said that both creator and creation were the true monsters of the

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Frankenstein, Dialectical Journal- Chapter 4- The End A theme that was very prevalent in these final chapters was, Creator and Creation, furthermore how the monster and Frankenstein are more alike than they like to think. Both characters had been wronged by the other and made it their missions to destroy each other, losing parts of themselves along the way. “You, who call Frankenstein your friend, seem to have a knowledge of my crimes and his misfortunes.

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Accompanying feelings of horror and terror, Frankenstein “feels the bitterness of disappointment” once he realizes the outcome of his ghastly concoction (Shelley 49). His one major mistake, the monster, catches up with him, driving him full of revenge and turning him ill (Shelley 190-193). Sadly, these selfish New Age-like characteristics lead to Frankenstein’s

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During the time period of the novel Frankenstein, conformity to society was an expectation a person had, if that person wanted to fit in. If that person did not conform, then they were seen as an outcast and had trouble communicating or being with society as they were different. The creature in Frankenstein, is an interesting character as he tries his best to conform to society, but at the same time questions society not accepting him as he is different. The struggle of outward conformity and inward questioning shows the reader that during Mary Shelley’s society, a person had to look like and act like society. I did not matter if the person was kind or evil; the person had to be like society.

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1483 Words | 6 Pages

Society Made Monsters Societal isolation is not talked about as much as it should, it creeps into a person’s mind and fills them with apathy towards their fellow man. No quote better emulates this than in Chapter Seventeen of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, “I am malicious because I am miserable. Am I not shunned and hated by all of mankind?” The Creature is beseeching Victor Frankenstein to end his loneliness by providing him with a woman like him.

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685 Words | 3 Pages

“I wished to see him again, that I might wreak the utmost extent of anger on his head, and avenge the deaths of William and Justine. ”(74) In Frankenstein, both Victor and the creature try to destroy each other, but the want for revenge affects them and other characters. Death, betrayal, and regret are all outcomes of the need for revenge. In Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley and adapted by Gris Grimly, Victor, the creature, and Elizabeth are all affected by revenge.

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406 Words | 2 Pages

Mary Shelley wrote a book that shows the destruction of two beings purely driven by revenge and hatred for each other. Frankenstein is a book about Victor Frankenstein and how he created a creature that ruined his life by killing his family and friends and the book ends in Viktor dying and the creature saying he will kill himself. The book Frankenstein shows how powerful revenge is and how it drives two beings to their own destruction. Revenge is a vital part of this story, with it driving Viktor to stay alive. Viktor says “But revenge kept me alive; I dared not die and leave my adversary in being.”

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1021 Words | 5 Pages

“At first I started back, unable to believe that it was indeed I who was reflected in the mirror; and when I became fully convinced that I was in reality the monster that I am, I was filled with the bitterest sensations of despondence and mortification”(Shelley 80). The Creation of Frankenstein woke up in a world of hate. Since he looked different, the Monster never fit in with normal people. He would become isolated and feared because of his looks. Because the Monster was a hideous creation from Frankenstein, he was isolated and hated by his looks and behaved in an ethical manner when he began his path of vengeance.

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2539 Words | 11 Pages

The Creature in Frankenstein Mary Shelly’s “Frankenstein” is an inspirational work of horror and science fiction; it is the narrative of an unorthodox act of creation, of a monster which torments his miserable creator. The author puts forth ideas, and reinforces it through the development of the plot, that mankind is capable of both good and evil. Shelly demonstrates the ‘humanity’ of the creature; his actions and his inclination are like those of mankind. Indeed, even the negative aspect of his character, demonstrated through his quest for revenge, has a parallel in the actions of his human creator. In Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” the creature is represented as being vicious and murderous but he is not inherently evil or malicious.

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Eventually, the stereotypes made by society lead the creature to become who they think he is. Frankenstein paints a bleak picture of how society’s stereotyping leads to segregation and suffering with the creature’s journey through life. The society of Frankenstein makes a stereotype based on a single premise, his appearance, and chooses to discriminate and segregate Victor’s creation. This discrimination is evident when “the children shrieked and one of the women fainted.

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833 Words | 4 Pages

In the novel, Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, readers follow the life of scientist Victor Frankenstein and his creation. The accomplishment of creating life is quickly overshadowed by Victor’s lack of responsibility regarding the monster’s needs. Victor doesn’t give it respect or love. Society’s rejection of the monster is responsible for his evil tendencies.

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766 Words | 4 Pages

Mary Shelley shows the endless amount of revenge and that it is driven by pure hatred and rage. The monster was not created to be vengeful, he was kind hearted but when he was poorly treated by Victor and then by the Delacey family, he turned cold. In her novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley displays the immorality and destructive effects that revenge can have through Frankenstein and his pursuit of the creature. Immediately after the monster had awoken, hatred thickened and would drive the plot to be all about revenge. The creature illustrates this hatred as he says to Victor, “Everything is related in them which bears reference to my accursed origin; the whole detail of that series of disgusting circumstances which produced it is set in view;

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782 Words | 4 Pages

In the novel Frankenstein,by Mary Shelley, the mysterious and unnatural origins of the character of Frankenstein’s monster are an important element. The Monster, having been created unethically and haphazardly, is at odds throughout the novel, resulting in his alienation from society and prolonged feelings of anger, desertion, and loneliness. Shaping his character, his relationships with other characters, and the meaning of the work as a whole, the Monster’s origins are what define him. The Monster faces rejection and violence every time he attempts to make contact with the new, foreign world he has been thrust into.

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952 Words | 4 Pages

After Frankenstein experiences the death of Elizabeth, he understands that he is the cause of all the deaths in his family and promises to seek revenge on his creation. All the guilt he has turns into anger and fuels his impulse for revenge on the monster. He very passionately and assuredly describes his anger when he says, “My revenge is of no moment to you... I confess that it is the devouring and only passion of my soul,” (217) and promises to seek justice for what he believes is rightfully his. Frankenstein travels to the ends of the world to enact the revenge he thinks he deserves.

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711 Words | 3 Pages

After a slight repose, during which the spirits of the dead hovered round and instigated me to toil and revenge, I prepared for my journey. I exchanged my land-sledge for one fashioned for the inequalities of the frozen ocean, and purchasing a plentiful stock of provisions, I departed from land.” (Shelley, Chapter 24) In conclusion, the theme, Frustration can lead to revenge, is clearly seen throughout Frankenstein.

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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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