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The Importance Of Human Being In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

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“I began the creation of a human being” – Victor Frankenstein (Shelley Pg. 35). What does it mean to be human? “Susceptible to or representative of the sympathies and frailties of human nature” (Merriam Webster). In Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein (1818), she examines the difference between a real human being and an artificially created man. Crippled by his physical appearance, all who see him are horrified, and assume the worst of the creature. The creature becomes excluded from society, and tries to humanize himself through knowledge of language. Reading and writing is what makes the creature able to communicate with others. One could conclude that Shelley is using this to tell us that our ability to communicate through the written word is what makes us human. Great amounts of technology and human body parts were used to put together and animate the creature, however they are unable to make him truly "human." He has the desire to converse with people and be a part of their society. …show more content…

90).” The creature tries to use language as a way to relate to humans to compensate for his appearance. He understands that the sounds people make are a way of relaying thoughts and ideas to others. What the creature finds most interesting is that these sounds can cause different emotions in the person listening. The creature’s desire is to be able to join these people, and therefore wants to learn how to create a positive reaction in them. He is trying to overcome what separates him from the humans and sees these sounds as a way to humanize

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