Why Monster is significant in the novel Many people are considered monsters in the world. Whether it's for killing someone, commiting a crime, or even the way they act towards other people. The novel Monster demonstrates multiple ways people are monsters. Some people are even falsely accused of being a monster when they aren’t
Monsters come in many forms. Monsters could be what people sees as villains in movies, scary Halloween pictures or simply the “creatures of the night. The word “monster” became a way of explaining the seemingly inexplicable. People create and ascribe meaning to monsters, endowing them with characteristics derived from their most deep-seated fears and taboos. In David Mill’s story, Derealization, the monster motif is used to encompass a bigger idea that the monsters that the readers are afraid are the ones that actually lies within their true
In his attempt to assimilate, the Creature begins to learn language and admire the concept of a family and forms the same human desires that people possess: a family, a companion, a home, and an identity. However, as he tries to interact with people, he learns that his ugly appearance prevents him from integrating into society. The elements of the Gothic are present here, as the Creature's isolation is a principal trope of Gothic fiction. According to Ashley Craig Lancaster’s text, “From Frankenstein's Monster to Lester Ballard: The Evolving Gothic Monster,” “…the Monster drifts away from society as a creature driven first by kindness, then by hatred, and finally by desperation, only to continue to live alone” (Lancaster 139).
Throughout the essay, Charles Murray stresses the idea that college is the wonderland of finding oneself and to find the career that one would want to follow for the rest of their lives. “College is seen as the open sesame to a good job and a desirable way for adolescents to transition to adulthood. Neither reason is as persuasive as it first appears.” Murray, C (2008) Practically spoken, this is not normally the case. College is a fair amount of work, much more work than one would normally acquire through any course of a high school or secondary school setting.
Because the monster didn’t have a guiding figure that accepted him from the beginning of his creation, he was unable to interact with others. The inability to interact and make human connections led him to loneliness and depression, which ultimately turned into a devastating end. In today’s society, the monster could be analogous for queer people, who are not entirely accepted by society as they think and behave differently than what is deemed “normal.” Additionally, some families are not accepting of their children’s identity, which is similar to Frankenstein’s reaction to the monster. This rejection by family members is often detrimental to an individual and can lead to the same feelings and behaviors that the monster experienced, such as depression and violence against themselves and others.
Matthew Hanson CO 150-003 Nora Gordon 22 September, 2014 Originally published in the Oxford American in August 2011 is the essay “Who Are You and What Are You Doing Here?” and republished in Ethics in Higher Education; written by Mark Edmundson, a tenured Professor of English at the University of Virginia. In Edmundson’s essay he explores more than the thought that college is more than the beginning of a new life and a career in the end. Edmundson asserts his idea that students think going to college is just for academics and good grades that will land them a high paying job after graduation.
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?”
College is an important and new experience for many people including myself. Coming into college I think a lot of people have small mindsets including myself towards what takes place. As Robert Frost said “we come to college to get over our little mindedness.” I agree with statement currently being a freshman in my first semester of college. College in general is a life changing experience that comes with a lot of life lessons.
The monster depicts his otherness when he wonders: “Was I, then, a monster, a blot upon the earth, from which all men fled and whom all men disowned” (Shelley 85). The monster evidently remains in isolation and is dehumanized. The monster attempts to get integrated into his society but his appearance and lack of social skills hinder his success. The monster strives to be accepted but is incapable of acceptance. The monster reiterates this feeling of isolation as he says: “I felt as if I were placed under a ban- as if I had no right to claim their sympathies – as if never more might I enjoy companionship with them” (Shelley 108).
Exploring the unknown can be dangerous and being curious is more often punished than rewarded, and “that one is better off safely contained within one’s own domestic sphere.” Cohen suggests that the monsters keep us from stepping outside boundaries. Cohen continues to note that the monster prevents geographical, sexual and intellectual mobility, and that by challenging the limits you risking being attacked by monsters, or even becoming a monster yourself. These words seem to act as symbols against the limits of society and culture.
The monster is also capable of wanton destruction when he burns down the DeLaceys’ house and dances “with fury around the devoted cottage”(123) like a savage. Finally, the monster seems to enjoy the pain he causes Frankenstein: “your sufferings will satisfy my everlasting hatred” (181) he writes to Victor. Were these pieces of evidence taken out of context, the reader would surely side with Frankenstein. But Shelley prevents such one-sidedness by letting the monster tell his version of the story. The monster’s first-person narrative draws the reader in and one learns that the creature is not abomination
Although he comes with friendly intentions, the Monster is treated violently and with contempt, essentially being forced into his alienation to survive and becoming the “monster” he is already thought of as a result. The Monster’s actions are a response to the treatment he has received from others, everyday villagers and Victor alike. With little known about his origins and no way to explain himself, there is no hope for the Monster to assimilate himself. This is present in other characters of the novel as well, for example, Richard Walton, who has self-alienated in order to gain distinction and knowledge. The Monsters origins and appearance develop these themes of alienation throughout the novel, themes that are further developed by other characters and play an important role in delivering the message of
Isolation and a lack of companionship is the tragic reality for the monster, who was abandoned by his creator and is repulsive to everyone that he comes across. Victor removes himself from society for many months; severing nearly all human contact then renouncing his creation based on the monster's appearance. As the monster matures he begins to understands the relationship the cottagers share with one another, while the monster, “yearned to be known and loved by these amiable creatures: to see their sweet looks directed towards me with affection was the utmost limit of my ambition. ”(Shelley). Armed with nothing but the longing for a real connection, the monster approaches his unknowing hosts only to be “brutally attacked—by those he trusted...because of their human ignorance.
Regardless of who we strive to be, or who we dare not to be, those who we respect and look up to will be the ones who leave an impression on our lives. To the Monster’s credit, it continued to pursue a life of good deeds until the people it idolized turn on it. Because of the influence made on it by its parental figures the Monster behaves like an outsider, and as an outsider it gains new role models and is governed by new emotions such as anger and hate. The monster should not be blamed for its malicious nature, rather, the people who taught it hate and the Doctor who created it without a true intent of being its
Imagine that you have just graduated high school. You are more full of life, enthusiasm, and energy than you have ever been. Your four years of hard work have finally paid off, and now it is time for the next step. According to your parents, teachers, and just about every other authority figure in your life, college is that step. However, what if that did not have to be so?
