Victor has not only treated the monster with heartless emotions but has repudiated Frankenstein, this helps express your sorrow. “I beheld the wretch- the miserable monster whom I had created.” Not only does it show Victors distaste but his abandonment towards the monster, which attract pity towards Frankenstein. The way Mary Shelley uses the term “monster” to address Frankenstein only adds to the feeling of neglect created by Mary Shelley. At the beginning of chapter 5 she describe the creation of Frankenstein, the way Victor discarded Frankenstein as if only a mere tool makes the reader feel a throbbing pain. The reaction of Victor changes the role between him and Frankenstein, making Victor the monster.
Another aspect that is interesting is the turn in behavior for the monster. Perhaps the best quote to represent this idea comes from the actualization of the monster to himself in front of Victor’s dead body “My heart was fashioned to be susceptible of love...it did not endure the violence of change without torture” showing how evil nature overcomes the good nature in human beings (Shelly, 158). Initially the monster is very amicable, however, due to continuous rejection, he seeks revenge upon all human beings. Is Shelly saying that even though even nature is good, evil eventually overcomes this good nature? Or Is Shelly saying that human nature is bad and full of rejection and isolation?
Throughout Mary Shelley’s gothic novel Frankenstein readers are forced to compare and contrast the morality and monstrosity of both Victor Frankenstein and ‘the monster’. In literal terms, behaving monstrously is described as ‘committing actions that are inhumanly or outrageously evil or wrong’. To this end, it could most definitely be argued that both of the main characters in the novel are monstrous at one point or another. Ultimately, the following essay is intent upon exploring whether it is in fact the humans or the monster that act ‘the most monstrously’. Firstly, Shelley depicts Victor Frankenstein as more monstrous than the ‘monster’ through the use of a careful plot structure.
Thus each of the human societies shuns and despises these creatures for what they are. The significance of the alignment of the monsters with ourselves is how the monsters are the personification of our ontology. The unconscious human mind is the content of what these works attempt to personify in the monster. As Donna Haraway said in her "Cyborg Manifesto," "we are all chimeras." The curious thing is that the protagonists in some of the works actually portray monster-like characteristics--a role reversal between the monster and the hero of the work: "We have found the enemy and he is us."
This film shows the importance of how one treats others is more important than how one is made, and this is a product of nurture one receives. In the film, Frankenstein, Frankenstein, the scientist, decides to create a life with his knowledge of science. When Frankenstein succeeds in creating a life, the creature tends to respect and obey Frankenstein’s rules. However, the cruelty of Fritz, Dr. Waldman, and the carelessness of Frankenstein’s duty to nurture the Monster leads to the Monster’s evil behavior. The movie begins with a short narration by the narrator that this is one of the strangest tales ever told; with the two great mysteries of creation- life and death.
In a tale of epic proportions, where gruesome monsters meet valiant heroes, it is a surprise that human nature is a topic that is expressed so excellently in Beowulf. The reader is introduced to multi-dimensional characters that possess god-like strengths, but also typical human-like mistakes. These mistakes are what make Beowulf so relevant and relatable to the common man and are what acknowledge the age old saying that nobody’s perfect. Even Beowulf, the superhuman man who could kill a monster with his bare hands is susceptible to these weaknesses. Human flaws are portrayed numerous times through characters in the poem, by both monster and by man.
The reader's empathy for various characters shifts throughout the novel. First the reader empathises with Victory Frankenstein who is a family man and has good intentions to cure the human race of death. Then the monster narrates, which shows the reader that he is not an evil monster under his horrible appearance but an innocent and childlike creature, this makes the reader empathise with the monster instead of Victor Frankenstein. Victor Frankenstein narrates again, during which he loses his family and becomes bitter and sad, these emotions help the reader to empathise once more with Frankenstein. The novel's alternative title is the modern day Prometheus.
In what ways does Mary Shelley create sympathy for the monster? When we see the name “Frankenstein”, we are instantly reminded of the doctor’s creation and of how he played God, with out even knowing it. Even by today’s standards he went against human nature after being warned not to. Before studying Frankenstein, I stereotypically associated the monster, to hideous rejects in society. However the monster was brought into the world, isolated, unwanted and discarded; he deserved sympathy not cruelty.
Grendel's frustration is not simply a matter of loneliness; he also cannot choose between his hatred of humanity on the one hand, and his admiration of man's accomplishments on the other. The novel ends where its inspiration, the epic Beowulf, begins--with the arrival of the mighty Geat soon after one of Grendel's bloodier rampages. Grendel, we know, is doomed to die by Beowulf's hand. In Grendel, Gardner makes that death a matter of great philosophical
In what ways does the novel present knowledge as dangerous and destructive? The inhumane pursuit of knowledge shows that it is dangerous, through Victor’s acts of his creation, which in the end results in destruction of his loved ones. Shelley presents knowledge as being destructive and dangerous in many ways, through the actions of Victor’s father, the gothic scene where the creature was created, and how the search for knowledge differs in other characters. The creation of the monster shows Victor’s self centred nature. Frankenstein praises his accomplishments by claiming that even though ‘so much has been done...more, far more, will I achieve’.