The Gray Area Of Human Nature In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

The Gray Area of Human Nature

Intro:

A question debated by philosophers, scientists, and thinkers is if human beings are inherently evil. Some may argue that human beings are inherently flawed and prone to evil, others can argue that humanity is inherently good and evil is absorbed by behavior. The nature of man is not entirely evil or good. This is shown in the novel, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, it explains how man is not inherently evil because people go through different experiences, humans are not born with a wicked nature, and good and evil coexist together as a balance.

#1: Man is not inherently evil because people go through different experiences to get to the way they are. If we look into the perspective of the monster, it

Because of his experience with the DeLacey family, he grew hatred and revenge against all of humanity. While talking with the older man he claims,“‘At that instant the cottage door opened, and Felix, Safie, and Agatha entered. Who can describe their horror and consternation on beholding me? Agatha fainted, and Safie, unable to attend to her friend, rushed out of the cottage. Felix darted forward, and with supernatural force tore me from his father, to whose knees I clung; in transport of fury, he dashed me to the ground and struck me violently with a stick. I could have torn him limb from limb, as the lion rends the antelope. But my heart sank within me as with bitter sickness, and I refrained.’” (Shelley, 115). This shows that the monster never had bad intentions or evil thoughts towards humans until he went through everything with the DeLacey family. He claims that he could have torn him limb by limb but chose not to because he doesn’t want to be seen as an evil being. The monster

When Victor Frankenstiend decided to create a living being, he never intended for it to come out as an evil entity. While examining the different features of his creation he says,“The different accidents of life are not so changeable as the feelings of human nature. I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body. For this I had deprived myself of rest and health. I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation” (Shelley, 42). Victor saw his creation and adored it as soon as he was created. The monster was not born with an evil conscience and neither was Victor. When creating the monster his intentions were never to have him kill people left and right. Victor wanted to create a great scientific experiment, he did not want to slowly destroy humanity based off of his creation. It could be argued that Victor created the monster for only glory and praise only being led to an evil outcome. Though Victor would enjoy being praised for his work, he did it because he wanted to do something great for not only himself but for the history of science. Not knowing what his creature could potentially be capable of is not Victor’s fault. The monster was not created from an evil mind or created to do