Frankenstein’s Monster is not categorized as evil by his malicious behavior and is sympathized with due to his creator abandoning him and the role of nature versus nurture taken place II. Monster’s Nature and alienation A. Monster originally had an inquisitive nature yet gentle nature a. Information on the German family was “each interesting and wonderful to one so utterly inexperienced as [he] was” (105) B. With the rejection and alienation from society, the only interactions the monster experiences, he becomes full of hatred a. Rejected by De Lacey family by his looks and labeled a monster b. Tries to save a child but is shot by child’s father C. Reader may feel sympathy towards the Monster’s actions because the readers know that his true nature was not evil and he was misjudged III.
Acceptance within society is difficult, especially when you are being feared by your own family. This can lead you to do things that you didn’t think you would have done, such bringing immense sorrow to loved ones. Maybe even murder. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein the obsession for acceptance and love overcomes moral values in the monster, who then murders to teach a lesson to his master, but ends up becoming even more of an outlier. The monster is a very conflicted character.
A kind, empathetic, and loving creature transforms into a terrifying and cruel monster after the sharp edges of society shape him as they see fit. Societal monsters are products of injustice. They do not fit in and for that, society ridicules them. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, there are many instances of societal injustice. This prejudice can be traced back to other monsters in real life society.
“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.
Despite his attempts of interegrating himself into society and seeking companionship elsewhere, the monster was rejected and shunned at every turn. When he first encountered humans, they were fearful and hostile towards the monster. Even when he tried befriending some townspeople, they eventually reacted with terror upon seeing his appearance. This never-ending rejection reinforces the monster’s sense of isolation and fuels his anger towards society even more. To try and alleviate this loneliness, the monster demands Victor to create him a potential mate.
This prejudice based solely on the Monster’s appearance is what truly broke him and made his “heart sink within me as with bitter sickness”. The Monster’s initial plea of “Why did I live?” showcases him questioning the purpose of his existence. The constant rejection from society makes him ponder whether living in a world that shuns him because of his appearance is worth living in. These feelings and questions develop into anger and a desire for revenge, the Monster saying “I could with pleasure have destroyed the cottage and its inhabitants, and have glutted myself with their shrieks and misery.”
Society is well-known for pushing those who are outsiders or strange away from society. This is prevalent to the examples in Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein. The monster who was created by Victor Frankenstein who wanted to be the first to create life was appalled by the sights of the his creation. Frankenstein’s monster is judged based on his appearances and is often ostracized by society, just as anyone in modern day society can be shunned or pushed away due to their looks or how they think. The most outstanding example of ostracism that occurred throughout the novel is based on the monster’s physical features and structure.
In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the secret and ghastliness of the story make up a portion of the components that make the work so splendid. The monster that Frankenstein made had the most strange foundation of any person or bad guy that I have at any point learned about in a work of writing. Victor made the beast simply to demonstrate that he would be able, and the dismissal by his maker is his most memorable involvement with life, which Shelley needed to push perusers to comprehend that acknowledgment is so urgent to a sound life and that dismissal by society makes monsters with human countenances. The excellence that the people could appreciate was likewise accessible to the Monster, yet he had nobody to impart it to.
The unjust treatment that the creature received from humankind was harsh and unreasonable as he wasn’t allowed the opportunity to prove his intentions were far from malicious. His loneliness, isolation and injustice from those he tried to befriend turned him into an actual monster, evidently his perspective and personality changed after being excluded. The monster had been treated unfairly by humanity “I desired love and fellowship and I was spurned. Was there no injustice in this? … Am I to be thought the only criminal when all human kind sinned against me?”
Novel Analysis #7 - Frankenstein Disappointment, expressed from various scenes of sorrow, plagues all humans and evades none. For Shelley, Frankenstein embodies disappointment in the eyes of the one he created, the “monster”. Since Frankenstein hardly superseded anyone, the immaculate expectations set by the creature, Shelley criticizes Frankenstein's shortcomings.
The moment Victor Frankenstein successfully infuses life into his creation he is overcome with horror and disgust. Without further examination he is certain to have created a monster, not a human being (Shelley 35-36). However, despite his grotesque appearance, Frankenstein’s creature was not born malicious. During the first stages of his existence, unbeknownst to Frankenstein himself, his acts are motivated by innocence and virtue, which even earns him the title “good spirit” (79). Frankenstein did not create a monster.
In Mary Shelley’s book Frankenstein she presents the monsters rejection for society be the horrific cause of his rebellion and put the innocent people that face him at risk. Frankenstein tries to deal with the pain of being called names like ogor and wretch but couldn't take the pain anymore and rebels by killing Victor's loved ones and doesn't feel accepted but feels like an object. The monster rejection on the system was based on specifically how Frankenstein outer appearance is. Whether we like it or not we are based on how society judges us and if you don't meet up to the standard code then you will get called names like the monster did.
One of the greatest themes in Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, is the intense human desire for relationships. The monster yearns to be wanted and loved by another and not be discriminated by who he pursues a relationship with. He wants friendship in the purest form. The monster explains that “to be friendless is indeed to be unfortunate” (95). During his time in the hovel observing the De Lacy’s, the readers learn a myriad about the monster’s thought process and why he acts the way he does.
The monster’s soul, designed to be human-like, corrupts as his acts of kindness are treated with hate and malice. In Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, the monster causes suffering and harm to others due to the injustice and harm inflicted upon the monster’s well intentioned actions. Since the monster’s creation, he isn’t guided through what is right or wrong, and his appearances prevent him from establishing rapport with other humans. When the monster tells Victor about his first feelings upon being created, he states “I saw, felt, heard, and smelt at the same time; and it was, indeed, a long time before I learned to distinguish between the operations of my various senses” (Shelley 70). The monster is similar to a child since
The Monster’s Nature “For while I destroyed his hopes, I did not satisfy my own desires. They were forever ardent and craving; I still desired love and fellowship, and I was still spurned. Was there no injustice in this? Am I to be thought the only criminal, when all human kind sinned against me?” (Chapter 24, 240)
