Comparing Frankenstein, Victor's Creation, And Robert Walton

One thing about the monster Victor Frankenstein created is certain: It is hideous. So hideous even that though he has good intentions he gets shunned by society. Due to his ugliness, he has trouble finding a mate and even goes on a murderous rampage in the end which is followed by his suicide. Is the monster driven to this terrible fate by society or is it someone or even something else? In the following, this paper will look at the concept of beauty in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and how it influences the monster as well as society in general. Because of the rejection he experiences, it can be stated that society is responsible for the monster’s misfortune. Humans often associate beauty with good qualities. A study by Dion, Berscheid and Walster from 1972 found that “what is

Victor Frankenstein and Robert Walton’s creation holds the intention to make them almost the exact same person. Both men search for fame, yet refer to it as a, “quest for knowledge.” Unfortunately the need for fame leads to an over-dedication to research, obsessive tendencies, and injuring those who surround the men. Walton speaks of his ongoing journey to Frankenstein and says he would, “...sacrifice [his] fortune, [his] existence, [ his] every hope to the furtherance of [his] enterprise. One man’s life or death were but a small price to pay for the acquirement of knowledge which [he] sought…”(22) Also, Frankenstein admits his studies took priority when he says, “my cheek had grown pale with study, and my person had become emaciated with confinement… [it] caused me to forget those friends who were so many miles absent”(44) While Walton chose his expedition over his crew, Frankenstein chose his creature over himself and his family. Frankenstein’s decisions ruin his life, and if Walton kept his expedition on the intended course he would have an extremely high chance of ruining his life as well. The men’s similarities help the reader understand Walton truly does have the potential to destroy his life just like Frankenstein does. If not for Frankenstein’s cautionary tale Walton would have continued on even if it meant the potential danger of running into many more complications. Shelley decides to make the men extremely similar to let the few differences between them shine

The contrast and comparison between, Victor and the monster affects the plot, the theme and the character motivation is also affected. The two characters of the book Frankenstein are Victor and the later introduced monster. These two character come from a very different plot each but this small change in the plot affects the story in a big way. Their specific theme of the book also matters in the story in a way that impacts the reader's emotion itself. Lastly the character motivations play a key role in making the characters' do certain things that they may not fully want to have done.

In Frankenstein by Mary Shelley the story starts off with Robert Walton writing to his sister about his big journey to the North pole and his extreme doubts of being able to achieve his journey . In letter 1 he explain to her he is determined to go through this journey to get to the north pole but does doubt himself being able to make it he explain to her “My hopes fluctuate , and my spirits are often depressed . I am about to proceed on a long and difficult voyage , the emergencies of which will demand all fortitude : I am not only to raise the spirits of others , but sometimes to sustain my own , when theirs are falling”(Shelley 3) . Robert clearly knows that during this journey he cannot let his doubt stop him from going and even when he

Although not directly written by Shelley, it is clear to the reader that the monster, after seeing his creator deceased, will soon die as well. He has chosen to end his miseries along with Victor. So in the end, Victor’s goal and dying wish for the monster to be destroyed was met, one way or another. Victor dies knowing that he will soon be with his friends and family, and greets death blissfully. In the last pages of the book, it is definitely interesting to point out once again the similarities between Walton and Victor, as well as the monster. Both Walton and Victor departed on a journey (Walton to the North Pole, and Victor to catch his creation). Also with the monster, who only craved a friend and some sympathy, which, at the same time

<center><b>The Unjust Isolation of Frankenstein's Creation and Other Reasons to Never Become a Model: Societal Prejudices in Shelley's Frankenstein</b></center>

Beauty is pain. It is a common thought and a pervasive one for not only do people define beauty by the amount of suffering a person undergoes but goodness is defined similarly. The two concepts are inextricably related. Studies have shown beautiful people are perceived as of good character while those ugly and deformed seem inherently mischievous and untrustworthy (Dorsey). Yet, everyone has at one time or another met an individual whose “beauty” is only superficial. Admittedly, this natural instinct toward prejudgment is difficult to control. Examples of individuals violating these instinctual rules of beauty and morality fill the pages of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Indeed, in her novel, Shelly recognizes and accentuates humanity's prejudice toward ugliness in order to contrast with her personal definition of beauty—one that recognizes virtue as the basis of beauty regardless of physical form—so that her theme, that humanity is less above the beast in virtue and intelligence then it believes, is revealed.

Since the beginning of time, we have believed that the act of childbirth is miraculous, and one of the most selfless things a person can do. In addition, when one is created, one is inevitably born with a genetically predisposed look. However, nowadays, it is common for someone to judge a person based on things in particular, but not limited to a slender physique, or a beautiful face, in essence ones looks, rather than their personality. Therefore, it seems befitting to say that we are shallow and petty, and thus avoid talking to people who do not fit into this particular criterion, ultimately isolating ourselves from them. Throughout Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, also known as The Modern Prometheus, this notion of alienation, is an

Victor Frankenstein was in the eyes of Walton a person who is similar to him, but uplifted Walton’s weary heart as he faced challenges along the expedition. “He excites at once my admiration and my pity to an astonishing degree” (Shelley, 11). Along with the thirst of discovery of the unknown, Victor Frankenstein is also involved in an act of romance towards Elizabeth Lavenza, who he loved dearly “my more than sister, since till death she was to be mine only” (Shelley, 18). Victor was raised in a loving household and was privileged to receive higher education at the university of Ingolstadt. Further analysis of his character show evidence that Frankenstein is egotistical, for he isolates himself from his family and society to create the monster that later he despises (Marklund,6). Thus, ignoring his duties towards his family as his father said to him, “I know that while you are pleased with yourself, you will think of us with affection, and we shall hear regularly from you. You must pardon me if I regard any interruption in your correspondence as a proof that your other duties are

Robert Walton, an explorer, and Victor Frankenstein are the two characters in Frankenstein; Or, the Modern Prometheus who both represent the European elite, as well as display poor moral characteristics. Although he is not described explicitly as a member of the European elite, Walton is still considered as member of upper-class European society because he is rich. In his first letter to his sister Margaret, Walton describes how he got rich, “I inherited the fortune of my cousin” (Shelley 52). Because he is a male with money in 18th century Europe, he is essentially part of the upper class. Moreover, he is an explorer of the polar regions, a position held in history only by other prominent and influential figures like, Sir James Clark Ross,

Victor Frankenstein’s childhood was the perfect, most idyllic life. He grew up in a close, loving family with great parts in Switzerland. As a teenager Frankenstein becomes increasingly interested in the mysteries of the natural world. He chances upon books and becomes interested in natural philosophy. At the age of seventeen, Frankenstein decides to leave his family in Geneva to study natural philosophy in the university at Ingolstadt. While there his interests prompt him to study science. Frankenstein attacks his studies with enthusiasm and ignores his family and life in Geneva. Fascinated by the creation of life and fame he decides to discover the secret of life which no one else has ever found. He starts to begin the construction of a perfect

One of the most essential human desires, is the desire for companionship and relationships amongst other humans. These natural human needs are shown continuously within the characters of Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein. The novel consists of a man named Victor, who pushes the boundaries of societal norms, and nature itself, in order to create life from the dead. The plot is centered around the affects this has on Victor’s own life, and the consequences he and those close to him are subject to. Together with ideas of Romanticism, as well as Shelley’s own personal beliefs integrated in the novel, an overarching ideal presented is isolation and it’s detrimental effects. Put best by author, Marcia Tillotson, in her work entitled, “A Forced Solitude: Mary Shelley and the Creation of Frankenstein’s Monster,” “It is known that Shelley was exceptionally lonely for most of her life so when she began writing Frankenstein, she was subjected to a new and particularly painful isolation: she was excluded from the companionship of Percy Shelley and Lord Byron. A similar exclusion is, of course, the devastating experience that turns the monster into a murderer.” Shelley used her own life experiences to influence the hardships faced to her characters. Shelley conveys how both internal and social isolation can result in deep-seated loneliness. This ultimately consummates in the destruction of each characters own well-being, with the effects of loneliness overlooking the characters

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein tackles the hard-hitting topic of alienation and its source of origination. Alienation is being isolated from a group that one should belong to, which in Shelley’s novel, society excommunicates Dr. Victor Frankenstein’s creation. Society alienates the creature because of the creature’s abnormal and horrifying complexion. Further, the novel from 1818 divulges the strain of involuntary seclusion on the creature and its subsequent effects in the creature’s actions. Although, the creature incriminates himself with his sinful actions, his appearance should not be judged as a way of indicating his true persona. The struggles between appearance and social acceptance are the profound source of alienation consequently driving one to malicious

Victor’s isolated parenting experiments fetter friendships, furthering his isolation. For example, Dr. Frankenstein is “separated from” peers as he works with spawning a living being, a parenting phase (Shelley 53). Thereupon, Victor’s study “chamber[’s]” description as “a solitary . . . cell” demonstrates the pain he feels in seclusion, for he compares it to a prison cell (Shelley 52-3). Dr. Frankenstein’s independence exists inside Ingolstadt’s campus, and throughout the universe as he is also independent of nature and friends. Nevertheless, Victor’s parenting experiments make him “insensible to . . . nature[’s]” “charms” and his “friends[hips],” since he “ha[s] not seen [them] for so long a time” (Shelley 53). Coincidentally, a geographic term, time-distance decay—increasing separation in

In a world full of different cultures and people, those who are different from the projected model of society are the ones who are rejected. Those who are different from what is perceived as normal, are isolated from cultures and societies. Those who refer to themselves as normal, reject anything that does not match the accustomed image that society has painted. Throughout history societies have revealed their corrupted moral values when dispelling different people from the bland model of their society. In the novel , Frankenstein, author Mary Shelley uses different alienated characters to show how society pushes away those who do not fit into society’s model of beauty of perfection and the negative outcomes that occur as a result.