The Dangers Of Prejudice In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Prejudice has been a common problem in our society for many years, and continues to be an issue to this day. It can be shown in all levels and to every extreme. It can be something as little as a group of high school students excluding somebody from their lunch table because they look different, to the full blown prejudice against African-Americans that our country experienced in the past. Nowadays, even though prejudice against skin color is still an issue, another added factor includes the population that prefers homosexual relationships, showing that prejudice changes with the times and always exists. Prejudice has been known to have deteriorating effects on the victim, making them feel alone or even hateful towards their tormentors. This

This is the way that humans learn how to respond to different scenarios. If a certain scenario or feeling is repeated, humans tend to change the way they react so they are able to cope with whatever is thrown at them. This occurs with the monster in Frankenstein multiple times.
Repeatedly throughout the story, the monster is persecuted and abused mentally, physically and emotionally. The villagers, DeLacey’s and even his own creator isolate him and cause him to feel excluded and distant from the rest of the human race. His torture begins in the beginning of the novel, when Victor Frankenstein first creates him. Although Frankenstein was initially thrilled to have created life, he was suddenly turned away because of the monster’s appearance: “...but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream had vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart. Unable to endure the aspect of the being I had created, I rushed out of the room...” (M. Shelley 49). This would be the equivalent to a mother leaving her child at the hospital because she did not like the way it looked when it was first born. Allene Stuart Phy retells the scene when he writes, "As soon as the creature showed life and his horrible eye opened, Frankenstein was seized by remorse and fled his quarters, thereby deserting the being he had brought to life and refusing to take any responsibility for him” (“Frankenstein: The Book…”). It shows how, at an early age, the monster was left alone to fend for himself, not because he was at a fault of any kind, but purely because he looked horrid in Frankenstein’s