Analysis Of Mary Shelley 's Frankenstein And Frankenstein

When Frankenstein decides to create the Creature, he isolates himself from his family and friends in the name of scientific discovery. His father, writing letters of concern, receives no response. Henry Clerval, Frankenstein’s life-long companion, tries penetrating his friend’s depressed mind to no avail. Frankenstein’s self-inflicted isolation in the early stages of the plot foreshadows the breakdown

"A Hermit is simply a person to whom society has failed to adjust itself." (Will Cuppy). In the gothic novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley we follow the life of Victor Frankenstein in 18th century Germany. Shelley displays a recurring theme of isolation and how it drives once good people to do terrible things. If civilization does not adjust itself to a creature of any kind they will be forced into isolation and ultimately self destruction.

Every work is a product of its time. Indeed, we see that in Frankenstein, like in the world which produced its author, race, or the outward appearances on which that construct is based, determines much of the treatment received by those at all levels of its hierarchy. Within the work, Mary Shelley, its author, not only presents a racialized view of its characters, but further establishes and enforces the racial hierarchy present and known to her in her own world. For the few non-European characters, their appearance, and thus their standing in its related hierarchy, defines their entrances into the narrative. For the Creature, this occurs on the ices of the Artic, when, “atop a low carriage, fixed on a sledge and drawn by dogs, pass on towards the north, at the distance of half a mile;” Walton and his men perceived, “a being which had the shape of a man, but apparently of gigantic stature.” (Shelley 13) Shelley clarifies, even this early in her novel, the race of its principal Other as soon after the intrepid adventurers rescue its namesake, Victor Frankenstein, who, Shelley clarifies, “was not, as the other traveller seemed to be, a savage inhabitant of some undiscovered island, but an European.” (Shelley 14) Later, closer examination of the Creature reveals a visage and figure of near unimaginable disfigurement, with a “shrivelled complexion,” and yellow skin which “scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath.” (Shelley 35) This could be contrasted directly

Alienation is a product of society’s inherently discriminatory bias, catalyzed by our fear of the unknown in the realm of interpersonal conduct. Mary Shelley, in her novel, Frankenstein, dissects society’s unmerited demonization of individuals who defy—voluntarily or involuntarily—conventional norms. Furthermore, through her detailed parallel development of Frankenstein and his monster, Shelley personifies the tendency to alienate on the basis of physical deformity, thereby illustrating the role of the visual in the obfuscation of morality.

Shelley addresses romantic conventions in Victor to convey his loss of identity. Victor is impatient and restless when constructing the creation, so much, that he does not think about it’s future repercussions. One of the great paradoxes that Shelley’s novel depicts is giving the monster more human attributes than to it’s creator [p. 6 - Interpretations]. This is true as the monster seeks an emotional bond, but Victor is terrified of it’s existence. The monster later reveals, “I, the miserable and the abandoned, am an abortion, to be spurred at and kicked and trampled on [Shelley, p. 224].” Victor’s lack of compassion is rooted from the inability to cope with his reality. He distances himself from others and is induced with fainting spells [Shelley, p. 59]. From this, the nameless creature exemplifies Victor’s attempt to abandon his creation to escape his responsibilities. His creation is described as, ‘wretched devil’ and ‘abhorred monster,’ eliciting that the unobtainable, pitied identity [Shelley, p. 102]. The act of not naming the creature reveals Victor as hateful, and unnaturally disconnected to his own created victim.

In Mary Shelley’s, Frankenstein, she shows that good people can turn evil, but are not born this way. Humans being rude and isolating someone can make a person go insane and do things they are not proud of. Shelley shows this through the creature that Frankenstein creates and gives examples showing his evilness, but also shows that the creature tries to explain many times that he wants a friend and cannot find one because of his appearance and why he does things that are not of good character through the eyes of human beings.

John Locke is one of the most influential Enlightenment thinkers and is famously known for asserting that all humans have natural rights. He also believed that humans are born with clean slates, and that the environment humans grow in, especially at a young age, has massive influences on aspects of their personalities, ideals, and motivations. Shelley was most definitely influenced by this claim when writing Frankenstein. As the reader, we can see the monster that Victor Frankenstein creates grow up alone, without guidance, and be formed by the experiences it is put through while trying to survive. Its emotions and beliefs throughout the book were merely a result of its experiences as it encounters the harsh reality of the world. Mary

Frankenstein and the monster’s regard for human life diminished as they began to play God with the lives of others. After leaving the cottage and seeing how even people as kind as Felix and Agatha could not look past his own superficial hideousness the monster turned violent, in an effort to cause as much harm to his creator as Dr. Frankenstein had to him by making the monster so ugly that all of humanity hated him. In an effort to control Victor’s life, the monster killed Dr. Frankenstein’s brother, wife, and best friend, all while trying to blackmail Victor into creating another monster. In the face of rejection from humankind the monster transitioned from wanting compassion, to attempting to command fear “[the monster] was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend, make me happy and I shall again be virtuous.” (.94) The monster recognized the horror he had become and forced his pain upon Victor in order for his creator to feel as much pain as he, the creation, had to endure. Dr. Victor Frankenstein’s desire and success in discovering the secrets of biological science caused him to believe that he was of a higher status than the rest of humanity, whom he believed to be too prideful over their few accomplishments. This perceived self superiority over humanity was what led him to try and create a higher-caliber race, which could accomplish all that normal humans could not. Dr. Frankenstein threw away his relationships with family and friends in the pursuit of

Victor Frankenstein grew up in a typical “perfect” family, with loving parents and siblings, of whom he loved, maybe. All of the love surrounding him leads him to decide to place himself in solitude. Victor describes his new house and laboratory ,“In a solitary chamber, or

As written in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, knowledge can be seen as dangerous power. This pursuit of wanting to know more can be seen throughout the story including Victor Frankenstein’s view of science and trying to create a human being. Also, his creature’s need to know more about the world around him and his thirst for a companion. This knowledge learned from their personal experiences can then be helpful in guiding Robert Walton with his path of danger as well. All of these factors play a part in discovering why knowledge when misused can be a dangerous tool.

The following essay is a book review of Frankenstein, which summarizes and evaluates the story. The purpose of this essay is to describe the two important qualities, which are the overview of the plot (including the characters of the book), and the book’s strengths as well as weaknesses. Frankenstein was written by Mary Shelley and is about a young man named Victor who creates his own human through multiple types of science. The novel is about the monster’s journey in understanding where he came from and seeking revenge towards his creator. The main characters involved are Victor, the creator, the monster, Victor’s family members, etc. There are many strengths and weaknesses of the story, some involving what lessons the novel may teach its readers while demonstrating a sense of revenge that is considered “acceptable”.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein begins with a series of letters Captain Robert Walton has written to his sister Margaret Saville. The letters express Walton’s aspirations for his upcoming voyage to the North Pole. Throughout four messages, Walton describes his frustrations and triumphs leading to his impending journey. His most heart wrenching grievance is his inability to find companionship. In each letter, Walton is progressively farther along in his journey, and, in the fourth and final letter, Walton and his men have been trapped in ice for several days when they encounter a stranger stranded at sea. The men welcome the stranger aboard the ship, and Walton personally sees to the man’s recovery. As the two men spend time together, Walton

If it walks, if it talks, if it feels, it’s alive. If it can learn, eventually speak, or came about because of another, it’s a person. The Creature of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is no exception. Victor’s creation needs nourishment, education, and morals, which should be provided by it’s creator, it’s parent, just like any other child. The way that needs of an individual are met shapes the outcome of their life. In her novel, Shelley demonstrates this impact that parents have on their child’s life through the contrasting upbringing of Victor and his Creature.

When certain people feel lonely with no support system around them,they often do everything in their power to seek revenge against the person who put them in their lonely state without thinking about the repercussion .In Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein,Victor’s creature is treated with no dignity because of his ugly physical appearance. Since he has not receive any dignity,equity or respect the creature decides to seek revenge. It was common in the eighteenth century for people to be treated unfairly than other people because of their different physical appearance. This basic idea of inequality is shown through the text Frankenstein. Frankenstein maintains its relevancy to a modern audience through its powerful themes.These themes include the need of companionship, appearances vs reality and the consequences of revenge.

Introduction: Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” is a book with a deep message that touches to the very heart. This message implies that the reader will not see the story only from the perspective of the narrator but also reveal numerous hidden opinions and form a personal interpretation of the novel. One of its primary statements is that no one is born a monster and a “monster” is created throughout socialization, and the process of socialization starts from the contact with the “creator”. It is Victor Frankenstein that could not take the responsibility for his creature and was not able to take care of his “child”. Pride and vanity were the qualities that directed Victor Frankenstein to his discovery of life: “...So much has been done, exclaimed the soul of Frankenstein-more, far more, will I achieve: treading in the steps already marked, I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation”[p.47]. He could not cope with this discovery and simply ignored it. The tragedy of Victor Frankenstein and the tragedy of his creature is the same – it is the tragedy of loneliness and confronting the world, trying to find a place in it and deserve someone’s love. The creature would have never become a monster if it got the love it strived for. Victor Frankenstein would have never converted his creature into a monster if he knew how to love and take responsibility for the ones we bring to this world.