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The Good And Evil In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

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A condemnation of unfettered industrialism and the abandonment of human morality, Mary Shelley 's Frankenstein illustrates the Victor is the real monster. Constructing a marginalised and cruel childhood for the invention, Shelley builds her predominant argument crystallising the monstrous qualities of humanity. The subsequent condemnation of the unaccountable nature of Victor builds on her authorial intent that victor’s actions and intentions are in inhumane. Additionally, Shelley is realistic in acknowledging that absolute good and evil do not exist, and in pointing to moments where her cast deviate from their previous moral values, Shelley suggests that the creature and Victor both exhibit monstrous and empathetic qualities. Ultimately Shelley …show more content…

Shelley details the harsh and unjust isolation of the creature at the hands of his master and community in order to persuade us that Victor is the true monster of the piece. Immediately, Shelley deprives the creature of any form of family or company and evidently he is critically aware that “no father had watched infant days”, nor had any “mother blessed me with smiles and caresses.” In the …show more content…

Shelley is nuanced in acknowledging that a belief in absolute good or evil is an unrealistic moral framework of the world and in defining key points of unexpected moral reversal amongst her characters, Frankenstein can also suggest Both The creature and Victor display monstrous and humane qualities. The creature 's own killing spree is unable to be overlooked and especially his premeditated attack on Elizabeth, where he explicitly threatened to be with her "on her wedding night" illustrates that the monster also demonstrated monstrous qualities. Additionally, Shelley presents the destructive nature of her otherwise victimised creature, through the black marks that his murder imprints on the necks of Henry and Elizabeth. This symbolic manifestation of the lasting scars of unfettered industrialism perhaps evoke resentment for the monster 's lack of control and similarly suggest that Both The creature and Victor display monstrous and humane qualities. Moreover, it is Victor who appears transiently capable of consideration for the consequences of his actions who, as he aborts a secondary female creation, questions "had I right... to inflict this curse upon everlasting generations?" Victor concludes that such an action would be "only for my own benefit" and here Shelley explores the concepts of humane qualities. Further, Shelley sets the context of Victor 's actions in his consideration that "my mother was dead" and in this way, it could be portrayed that his

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Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, shows how a character who is portrayed as a tragic hero, in the beginning, can become the monster in the end. Victor and the Monster in Mary Shelley’s captivating novel showed how rival enemies share striking similarities. The similarities between the two tragic characters are driven by their dreary isolation from the secluded world. A large difference is that they were both raised in two completely different environments but understood the meaning of isolation. Physical differences are more noticeable rather than their personalities.

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After conversing with William Frankenstein, Victor's younger brother, the creature lashes out in anger and exclaims, “Frankenstein!”(Grimly 113). From this, some may conclude that murdering William makes him a monster; however, the only reason the creature felt the need to murder William is because of how Victor treated him so horribly. If Victor had cared for and tended to his own creation, then the creature would not have hate in its heart and would instead be peaceful. Similarly, following the murder of Elizabeth, Victor falls into a deep state of despair and recalls, “I was answered through the stillness of night by a loud and fiendish laugh”(Grimly 171). The opposing side would argue that the creature cruelly sought out revenge and made Victor’s life miserable, showing his deplorable behavior, making him a monster.

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The novel Frankenstein brings to light many problems and situations that shed light on the faults of mankind. Cruelty was a huge factor in the novel; throughout Frankenstein is cruel to his body and to his creation. When he first makes the creature he runs from it, leaving the creature to fend for himself; even when reuniting with the creature he continues displays cruelty. The creature, in turn exhibits Victor cruelty right back. Within Frankenstein cruelty can be attributed, often affecting both Victor and the creature; serving as a crucial motivator and revealing their anger, pain, frustration till eventually both die.

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But these are not thoughts befitting me; I will endeavour to resign myself cheerfully to death, and will indulge a hope of meeting you in another world”(24). Victor shows the strong love of family in his childhood “No human being could have passed a happier childhood than [me]. My parents were possessed by the very spirit of kindness and indulgence” (Shelley,40), he raised with excellent conditions and with parents who loved their children, but we do not see that Victor gives this love to his creature and ignored him, notwithstanding the fact that the two figures shared many characteristics. As a result of Frankenstein 's darkness and ignorance toward his creature, he refused to accept the monster because of his physical appearance and Frankenstein sees the creature as if he were the monster when the creature

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Mary Shelley shows this burden of responsibility throughout the book by continually showing the reader how much Victor’s unthoughtful actions affect his future, and how he copes with the results. When Victor first gets the idea

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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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The monster continues by reassuring the creator of his independent intelligence and power over the creature by telling Frankenstein, “This you alone can do”. Here, the creature assumes a role of submissiveness and reliance on Frankenstein. Frankenstein’s monster gains the sympathy of the reader who, despite condemning the murder of innocent people, commiserate with the lonely creature who is in search of an acquaintance, which he will likely never find. The monster also displays power and aggressiveness over Frankenstein; “You are my creator; but I am your master; obey!” The monster wants to desolate Victor’s heart, not by killing him directly,

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We all like to think that evil is not born within us, but rather nurtured into us; while this may be true for some, others have evil born directly into them. When man toys with the powers reserved for only God, God strikes back with a wicked evil to show man the power that they truly lack. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein contains a prime example of a being born of unnatural causes and thus having these evil urges that they cannot control. Frankenstein’s monster is a highly intelligent being, and hence he is very manipulative.

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In the novel, Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley, Victor and the Creature are the main references when it comes to the issues of morality. Several themes such as good versus evil, prejudice, and ambition & fallibility, the importance of friendship along with references to other famous texts like the Christian bible are manifested through the use of Victor and the Creature as they interact with each other allowing readers to construe examples of morality. Many debaters may argue the Creature is “evil” since a majority of his actions harm others while Victor is good because he was the victim and seeks to destroy his creation. However, one may counter this argument if they accentuate Victor is evil since he was the Creature’s creator,

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Shelley’s novel encompasses the unknown and how ambition drove Victor’s passions, ultimately leading him to the tragic end with many other bumps in the road along the way. As Victor had been in the study of life and its cause, the death of his mother had catalyzed a movement of grief which had started, “…depriv[ing him]self of rest and health. [Which he] had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation…” (Shelley 35). Even though he knew that he had been raiding graveyards, Victor believed that he created the body with the ‘finest body parts’ available.

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Sleep fled from my eyes; I wandered like an evil spirit…” Shelley’s use of imagery in this situation gives over the feelings of Victor’s intense guilt at having been the cause of the death of an innocent girl. This also implies that in a sense Victor questions his own existence because of the weight of his actions “Press[ing] on [his]

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In the novel, Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, the two main characters, Victor Frankenstein and his creature, both display a sense of moral ambiguity. Each character has committed both good and evil alike, and neither knew the consequences of what they had done. However, Victor Frankenstein is generally the morally ambiguous character by his treatment of his creation and his own imperious personality. He wanted to be able to help science by recreating life or bringing it back, but at the same time, he did not want to consider the consequences of doing so. Victor tries to prove himself as a good moral character in the relationship between his creation and himself.

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Simultaneously, Victor failing to take responsibility for his own creation leads the creature down a path of destruction that manufactures his status as a societal outcast. The creature's dissolution from society, his search for someone to share his life with, the familiarity with intense anguish, his thirst for retribution, each of these traits coincide with Victor as he is depicted throughout the novel. Victor unknowingly induces his own undoing through his rejection of the creature. Shelley foreshadows his downfall by stating that “the monster still protested his innate goodness, blaming Victor’s rejection and man’s unkindness as the source of his evil” (Shelley 62) The creature essentially places Victor at fault for the creature becoming an outcast of society, by expressing this Shelley constructs a very austere portrayal of man’s contact with outsiders.

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Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein examines how the presence of a mother, negatively or positively, affects the development of a child. Victor’s mother, Caroline Frankenstein, dies while Victor is still a young man (he is about 17 years old), breaking their relationship between mother and son. Because Victor loses his bond with his mother, he is unable to act as a mother would when he creates his creature. Caroline Frankenstein’s absence in Victor’s life creates a disunion between the mother and child bond, which is evident in Victor’s creation and his fragmented relationship with the creature. Caroline Frankenstein, Victor’s mother, portrayed a traditional mother in the Frankenstein household, until her death.

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Frankenstein: From Benevolent to Feind “I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend.” (Shelley 69) Said by Frankenstein’s monster, this quote truly defines him: initially an affectionate, love-seeking creature, he transformed into an enraged killer, angry at humanity for the undeservedly poor way he was treated. Victor Frankenstein is an unique, complex individual who encounters a similar change of nature for similar reasons. The quote—though spoken by the monster—encapsulates the evolution of Victor Frankenstein’s personality; misery—a product of isolation and loneliness—aroused a deterioration of temperament from an initially benevolent Frankenstein.

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