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What Does It Means To Be Human In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

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Marry Shelley’s novel Frankenstein raises many critical humanities questions like the question,” What does it mean to be human?” along with many others. It also highlights individual responsibilities along with societies and how important it is socializing with others. In the novel, Victor Frankenstein, our protagonist creates a creature but as soon as this creature comes to life like he wanted it to, Victor gets scared and rejects it. This will not be the only time the creature experiences rejection; every time the creature tires to approach people to form a bond, people refuse to talk to him or start being violent towards him with the expectation of a blind man and Robert Walton. This blind man cannot judge the creature by its looks and is not frighten by him until his son …show more content…

When telling Victor everything he experienced the creature says, “Inflamed by pain, I vowed eternal hatred and vengeance to all mankind” (138); meaning that all these events he experienced mold him to be wicked and spiteful. Without human interaction, he becomes an actual monster, when he at first only craved company and longed a friend yet all he received was mistreatment and insults. When he saw Victor’s younger brother he thought “I could seize him, and educate him as a companion and friend…” (138), but sadly the boy was prejudice against his looks and insulted him, and shortly reveled he was a Frankenstein and the monster killed him out of spite. This shows the importance of social connections and just having someone to talk to and lean on. In a way, it is societies responsibility to care for the misfortune and treat them with not only respect but with kindness. However, in the story Victor had the biggest responsibility out of everyone to care for the creature he created. If he was not going to care for it nor have it cared for he should’ve destroyed it. Even his creation after suffering the rejection of a family he came to love exclaims,

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