ipl-logo

Themes In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

571 Words3 Pages

Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein is a book that explores many different concepts and themes. Fear of the Unknown is one of the major themes in the book. It as a novel about a scientist who discovered the secret of life and in turn created a monster. Despite his appearance The Monster is actually a sensitive, emotional, almost human individual. As The Monster ventures out into civilization he is attacked, hated, and shunned by most of the people that face him. When people see The Monster they will run away or scream, and some attack him. All The Monster wants is to be accepted. This shows that when confronted with things they don 't understand or aren 't familiar with, people will often react with fear and defensiveness. Even from the moment he was created, The Monster gave people quite a fright with his grotesque, disfigured build. In this instance it would be The Monster’s creator, Victor Frankenstein. After the excitement and awe of having created a lifeform wore off, fear and perturbation quickly took their place. “Now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart. Unable to endure the aspect of the being I had created , I rushed out of the room and continued a long time traversing my bedchamber, unable to …show more content…

After nearly a half day’s journey, The Monster stumbled across an alluring village. When he entered one of the nicer cottages among the lot, the family inside was petrified upon encountering The Monster. This in turn attracts other villagers to the scene and when they arrive The Monster is yet again shunned, attacked and beaten, for his rancid appearance tends to arise terror and fright. “The whole village was roused; some fled, some attacked me, until, grievously bruised by stones and many other missile weapons.” (Shelley page 87). ….(author meant by

Show More
Related
959 Words | 4 Pages

In Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, the creature 's acquisition of knowledge leads to his diversion from benevolence to pure hatred towards mankind. The works of Victor Frankenstein, the monster was created by old body parts and strange chemicals, animated by a spark making him come to life. The Creature enters life as an eight-foot giant only to have been created with the intellect of a newborn. Abandoned by his creator and confused, the Creature attempts to integrate himself into society only to be shunned away in disgust by humanity. The Creature then makes his way and lives next to a human family which is essentially the start for the creatures detestation towards humanity.

Read More
80 Words | 1 Pages

Mary Shelley’s book Frankenstein is a frame narrative of the life of Victor Frankenstein recorded by Robert Walton. It is circled around his creation of a monster that suffered a lonely life and wanted revenge for being created. In Frankenstein, Shelley portrays many big ideas but, one that continues to show importance is the idea of Human Needs and Desires. so, in the novel Mary Shelley presents the idea that all creatures have a basic need for friendship and love.

Read More
271 Words | 2 Pages

In the novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, Robert Walton is on a voyage to discover unexplored knowledge. While on this journey he finds Victor Frankenstein, who tells the reader of his own journey to discover the unknown. In this novel, Mary Shelley employs literary devices such as repetition, imagery, and rhetorical questions to provide meaning to the audience. For example, the author uses repetition to emphasize Elizabeth’s confidence. Expressing her frustration with the situation Elizabeth repeats, “But she was innocent.

Read More
823 Words | 4 Pages

No one even wanted to get close to him. The monster stole from the town’s people. He was constantly destroying their land and was always causing trouble. Everyone in town was afraid of him.

Read More
1608 Words | 7 Pages

What makes a monster? “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley is a novel about a young scientist named Victor Frankenstein who creates a grotesque but sentient creature in his laboratory through a scientific experiment. The creature, however, is rejected by society and is left to fend for himself, leading to a series of tragic events. The novel is iconic for its warnings against scientific experimentation. However, its themes extend far beyond scientific advancement and delve into complex questions of social ethics.

Read More
1380 Words | 6 Pages

Every action the monster takes reflects back on Victor, the one who invented him and then abandoned him at birth. Victor realizes how “[he] loved [Henry] with a mixture of affection and reverence that knew no bounds, yet [he] could never persuade [himself] to confide in [Henry]” (Shelley 55). The monster Victor created is pushing him away from Henry since Victor left his creation feeling useless, just like an archetypal evil-doer would to anyone. Victor is keeping his monster a secret as well as everything he knows about “awakening the dead”. This doesn’t seem like the smartest thing to do especially when there are people who’re oblivious to the monster roaming the streets.

Read More
832 Words | 4 Pages

The creature desires human interactions to acquire companionship, but later met with violent reactions leading him to depart. The monster recounted,”...but I had hardly placed my foot within the door before the children shrieked, and one of the women fainted. The whole village was aroused: some fled, some attacked me, until, grievously bruised by stones and many other kinds of missile weapons”(Shelley 103). This reaction is natural in humans since they have instincts to judge by appearance rather than personality. As the monster stood in their village, they had never seen such a monstrosity, so they reacted with fear.

Read More
1804 Words | 8 Pages

The monster is not respected despite his efforts and faces discrimination. Both creations were set up for failure by their creators and were not expected to be successful. They were utilized by their creators in an effort to achieve a new scientific breakthrough and prove their original hypothesis. Due to their inhumane origins they will never, despite any progress they make towards becoming more human, be considered human or successful creations by their

Read More
737 Words | 3 Pages

The fear felt for monsters and ultimately connected to desire. Jeffery Cohen has a clear opinion of this. “We distrust and loathe the monster at the same time we envy its freedom, and perhaps its sublime despair.” They are both terrifying and the heart of fantasies. This accounts for the monster’s popularity.

Read More
1083 Words | 5 Pages

The classic novel Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley in 1818, displays the use of literary devices, foreshadowing, allusions and figurative language, which aid the reader in understanding the authors opinion on scientific exploration. These techniques are used to arouse anticipation within the reader, therefore engaging them throughout the text. Along with providing a greater understanding of the novel, by referring to other books, and using the novel to portray the authors own perspective on scientific exploration. All these devices are effectively used within the novel to provide a deeper understandings of Mary Shelley’s work. Add scientific exploration here-

Read More
1179 Words | 5 Pages

He was formed through behavioral views and experiences due to the lack of education and learning the morals of society. To society standards his physical appearance was not accepted and created a feeling of confusion within the monster causing him hateful feelings towards humans after being shown cruel actions. He received constant judgment and rejection due to his appearance, "His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of pearly whiteness; but these luxuriance 's only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same color as the dun-white sockets in which they were set, his shriveled complexion and straight black lips" (Shelley, 58), yet the monster did not have any opinion of his own self but what was given from Victor and the society. The creation refused to continue to let this happen and reacted with anger, just like anyone other human would. The confusion and rage continues for the monster when society treats him with cruelty after meeting a family in the wilderness and they run away from him.

Read More
782 Words | 4 Pages

In the novel Frankenstein,by Mary Shelley, the mysterious and unnatural origins of the character of Frankenstein’s monster are an important element. The Monster, having been created unethically and haphazardly, is at odds throughout the novel, resulting in his alienation from society and prolonged feelings of anger, desertion, and loneliness. Shaping his character, his relationships with other characters, and the meaning of the work as a whole, the Monster’s origins are what define him. The Monster faces rejection and violence every time he attempts to make contact with the new, foreign world he has been thrust into.

Read More
758 Words | 4 Pages

In Mary Shelley’s iconic gothic novel, Frankenstein, Romantic themes are strongly represented in order to propagandize Romanticism over the elements of knowledge and the Enlightenment. In her novel, Shelley uses gothic nature settings to foreshadow dark events that are about to happen in the novel. She also uses nature to intensify the effect that is brought during significant scenes, a strong example being, when Victor Frankenstein’s monster approaches him after a long period of time. Nature and its use to influence mood is one of the most paramount themes of both Frankenstein and Romanticism.

Read More
764 Words | 4 Pages

The novel Frankenstein has a unique way of expressing how the setting functions as a whole. Mary Shelley used an early 1800s setting in Switzerland and London to show how Victor made it through this extraordinary adventure. There were multiple themes that affected how the setting functioned in the novel. Nature, weather, and season all affect the mood of the characters. These things all have a great impact on the setting of the book.

Read More
929 Words | 4 Pages

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.

Read More

More about Themes In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Related Topics

Open Document