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Theme Of Heroism In Frankenstein

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To fit in the role of a tragic hero the character must show heroic actions, have a flaw, have an increase in knowledge, and the audience must have sympathy for them. Many novels include a tragic hero further the plot of the novel or the play. Many tragic heroes do not only have a heroic characteristics, but they can also have villainous characteristics based on what the character considers as heroic. In Mary Shelley’s gothic novel Frankenstein, Shelley illustrates the theme of appearances vs. reality to embody the tragic hero in the creature. Through the use of chaotic imagery, fluid characterization, and critical diction, Shelley comments on how society rejects others based on their appearance therefore themselves creating the monster.
Mary Shelley uses diction to convey the creature's flaw, which is his appearance. The creature's flaw was not intended to be his appearance since Victor …show more content…

The creature sees that the little girl is drowning so he decides to save her. Once he saves her the parent of the little girl takes her and starts to run away from the creature. The creature runs after them believing that since he has just saved a human he will be accepted but instead he receives a "quote of being shot" He is once again rejected by humans because of his visage./ His flaw is once again containing him in a life of isolation and is making him realize that he will never be accepted. This characterizes him as a tragic hero as he has once again shown heroic actions but has been rejected because of the way he looks. He has finally had enough with humans rejecting him. This incidents just adds anger and bitterness, and causes him to seek revenge on humanity especially Victor. Shelley is commenting on how the society labeled the creature s e a monster, which resulted in them creating the monster who is now thirsting for

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When the name Frankenstein is uttered people immediately imagine this green monster with screws coming out of the side of his neck, and stitches on his head. This image pops into many people’s mind because they associate Victor Frankenstein with the monster he created, while some others are confused and think that the monster is named Frankenstein not the doctor who created him. However, those who call Frankenstein a monster may be correct. Throughout Frankenstein Mary Shelly used uncivilized thinking to show that the creation is less a monster, than is Doctor Frankenstein and society. The creation was turned into a monster by being a byproduct of society, and listening to what they called good and bad.

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Many authors choose to incorporate a variety of characters in their literary works as an effort to interest the reader and develop the work as a whole. Frankenstein is no exception to this trend, as Mary Shelley includes various personalities for her characters. She incorporates certain foils in order to emphasize distinctive qualities of the main character. One of these foils, De Lacey, acts as the instrument of contrast for Victor’s overflowing passion for the monster’s rejection and ultimately alters the meaning of the work into an important lesion in judgment.

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Third, the book is a tragic story because its characters are tragic heroes. A “tragic hero” is defined by Study.com to be “A virtuous character whose greatest strength typically results in their suffering and downfall.” This definition is played out perfectly in the character of the “old man,” or Santiago. He is an everyday character who is compassionate and kind towards both the boy Manolin and the animals he is around, and his greatest strength is his determination. Unfortunately, this determination causes him to hold onto the fish for an extremely long time, letting the fish drag him farther and farther out to sea and away from nourishment and rest.

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Valverde 1 Joseph Valverde Mr. John Salmon Ap Literature October 2014 Volume 2 - Chapter 1: Victor Frankenstein is going through great sorrow and grief as his conscience cannot handle the guilt caused by the death of the innocent Justine. He “wandered like an evil spirit” (Shelley 103) as he was unable to conceive peace. This state of mind preyed upon [his] health” (Shelley 103) as he was unable to cope with the present events and his guilt, this marks the mood at his part of the novel as that of despair and of regret. . Victor is then taken to Belrive in order to find peace, there he pondered about the outcome caused by his actions.

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The actions of an individual defines the boundary between sympathy and wickedness. Their behaviors and thoughts change the plot of the story and character identity. Mary Shelley uses moral ambiguity to overlook the unrealistic nature of her story. In Frankenstein, this concept incorporates itself into Mary Shelley’s characters. Ambiguity invokes an attachment between the figures and readers.

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A timeless human goal has always been to set visionary goals to advance the coming generations. Although many results can be successful, a great number of them can turn out deadly. In the novel, Frankenstein, Mary Shelley illustrates the result of a man’s visionary motive of creating life, which consequents into the birth of the deadly creature. The creatures understanding of justice is based on eliminating anyone or anything preventing him from reaching his goal; accordingly, his actions to attempt revenge upon Victor only led to his downfall throughout the novel. The creature’s understanding of justice and it’s revenge against Victor is the driving force of the story because it builds up the anticipation the reader has for the final confrontation.

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A tragic hero is a person who begins in a high level in society but then falls to a low level because of some great flaw in his character. Frankenstein could be seen as a person who was in a high level of society. This is because he came from a wealthy family in Geneva. His good life could be seen in the quote, “No human being could have passed a happier childhood than myself. My parents were possessed by the very spirit of kindness and indulgence.”

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Duality is shown in Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, a gothic tale of a scientist whom looks to advance the life-giving qualities of mother nature. Through this novel, Shelley proves that good and evil in human nature is not always simple to define, and that everyone has both of these qualities within them. The duality of human nature is shown through the characters of Victor Frankenstein and his monster, who are both heroes in the novel while simultaneously displaying anti-hero qualities. Shelley forces the reader to sympathize with them both but also creates gruesome ideas of the two. Frankenstein’s creature places himself in a submissive position when he begs his creator to have mercy on him and asking the creator to “create a female for [him] with whom [he] can live in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for [his] being.”

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Due to neglect and immediate abandonment during the beginning of his life, the creature develops a hostile attitude and seeks revenge on Victor Frankenstein. In response to the cottage dwellers attacking him, the creature exclaims “cursed, cursed creator! Why did I live? Why, in that instant, did I not extinguish the spark of existence of which you had so wantonly bestowed” and reveals his feelings “of rage and revenge” (Shelley 135).

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Beauty and ugliness is often used to justify the reaction of others in the novel, Frankenstein; in which the relation between external appearance and internal desires are shown to be related. The theme of how appearance affects judgement is often demonstrated through the characters response to the monster’s physical being. Shelley depicts this situation through Dr. Victor Frankenstein, the Delacey family, and through the monster himself. The use of appearance to determine judgement is shown to be a negative habit. By automatically associating ugliness with evil, and beauty with innocence, society unintentionally develops a negative being in those considered ugly, while at the same creating an illusion of innocence over beautiful individuals.

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Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is a gothic novel that tells the story of scientist, Victor Frankenstein, and his obsession with creating human life. This leads him to creating a gruesome monster made of body-parts stolen from grave yards, whom upon discovering his hideousness, the monster seeks revenge against his creator, causing Victor to regret the creation of his monster for the rest of his life. Shelley uses the literary elements of personification, imagery, and similes to give a vivid sense and visualization of Victor Frankenstein’s thoughts and feelings as well as to allow us to delve deeper into the monster’s actions and emotions. Throughout the novel, Shelley uses personification of various forces and objects to reflect the effect in Victor’s actions.

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The gothic fiction novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley centralizes on humanity and the qualifications that make someone human. The content of the novel Frankenstein depicts a monster displaying human traits that his creator Victor does not possess: empathy, a need for companionship, and a will to learn and fit in. Throughout the novel Shelley emphasizes empathy as a critical humanistic trait. The monster displays his ability to empathize with people even though they are strangers. On the other hand Victor, fails to show empathy throughout the novel even when it relates to his own family and friends.

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A hero, who is a person considered to be looked up by someone in a respectful way. A hero, who is willing to leave their lives to help someone. Having amazing abilities, powers but hero will not waste any of them. A hero, who would not waste the powers to complete the selfishness on his own perspective. Moreover, there should not describe a hero if he or she is considered as selfish, undetermined, and uncompassionate and so on.

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