Human Connections In Frankenstein

In a world of continuous external forces and the impact the society has on human growth and development, we have to analyze Erik Erikson developmental theory as it relates to the “monster” in Frankenstein. Erikson suggests that social interaction and experiences play an important role that shape the development and growth of human beings through eight different stages. Throughout the book, the “monster” goes through each stage, which impacts his development as a living being.

The life of the monster can be related to the motherless life led by Shelley. Shelley’s mother too left her as soon as she was born, and as a result, she had quite an arduous life. Combined with her father’s financial woes, her tumultuous relationship with her stepmother meant that Shelley did not have an ideal childhood, which would have had a serious impact on her personality. She had to put up with a lot of miseries when she grew up, and was subjected to lifelong condemnation from the society because of her affair with the married Shelley.

In the novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, human connections play an important role in people’s lives as individuals. These connections help people learn social skills, understand the difference between right and wrong, and to feel a sense of belonging, which keeps them from acting rashly. Also, strong human connections foster new relationships. Shelley shows how social skills are an importance through the monster and his actions.

In Mary Shelley's gothic novel Frankenstein, Shelley introduces a Creature who represents many symbols throughout the story. Such as the war between passion and responsibility, the effects of a corrupt society, and the Creature is a symbol of nature vs. nurture . through this Creature we see mainly the effects of society on an abandoned, innocent being and how it matures in the story fending for itself against society as a whole.

Thesis Statement: In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the creature’s identity as a monster is due to societal rejection, isolation, and misinterpretation.

Mary Shelley, author of gothic novel Frankenstein, validly perceives human connections as a crucial component in the lives of individuals as well as in a peaceful, functioning society. She continues to show this throughout the story, proving that failing to connect will result in complete corruption, mental madness and depression, while partaking in them can heal, and make dark times better. Everyone needs human connections, for, as later proven, survival.

Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein is book about the importance of human relationships and treating everyone with dignity and respect. The main character of the book is Victor Frankenstein who is a very intelligent man with a desire to create life in another being. After he completes his creation, he is horrified to find that what he has created is a monster. The monster is the ugliest, most disgusting creature that he has ever seen. Victor being sickened by his creation allows the monster to run off and become all alone in the world. Throughout Frankenstein, Mary Shelley uses the theme of human relationships to illustrate the bond that man has with other beings and the need for love and affection. The importance of human relationships

Despite his appearance, the monster is a very caring, and genuine creature who just wants companionship, and to be loved. Mary Shelley proves this through the kind acts the monster secretly does for De lacy, Felix, and Agatha. By gathering firewood for the family every night he makes their lives easier, in hopes that one day, when he reveals himself to them, he will be accepted despite his appearance. He also shows his true colors when he saves the little girl from drowning. Being shot after saving the girl only shows even more that the monster doesn’t mean to harm anyone, but because of his looks, his efforts are misconstrued, and he is once again attacked for trying to help.

Within everyone, there lies a side of them that they do not show the world. This side contains the deepest, darkest desires that unconsciously determine how one lives his life. The question remains: will one’s inner monster ever make an appearance or does it stay cleverly hidden? In Frankenstein, the protagonist fights the battle within himself between listening to the devil or the angel. By looking through the lens of a psychoanalytic critic, one can find the monsters hidden within the characters of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, J.M. Hunt’s “The Creation of Man by Prometheus,” and The Holy Bible version of Genesis.

relationships, what the ramifications are in one’s own life of not having the potential to forge

Hey Kyle, although I disagree with your overall you did bring up solid points against Leopold’s arguments. Such as the fact that there can’t be equity for all forms of life, due to the evolutionary process, some animals are better equipped for survival, etc. I do believe though you missed the point of Leopold’s statements on man’s interconnectedness to nature. He made the statement that there is an interdependence of each animal in our ecosystem if one of these “cogs” as he calls them were to fail then it would hinder the rest of the system. So, to look at humans as if we aren’t reliant or connected to nature I would say is foolish, we rely on nature for everything. You brought up human’s interconnectivity only in terms of human emotions and didn’t look at the fact that humans are reliant on nature to produce what we need to survive.

Mary Shelley creates an allegory between the community’s reaction to the monster and human nature. The monster physically appeared different from humans; therefore he was rejected by society to the point where he was the target for objects being thrown at him and scared the villagers to the point where they fainted. The monster acknowledges his difference when he said “its unearthly ugliness rendered it almost too horrible for human eyes” (104). The community’s reaction is an allegory to human nature to reject the one’s who are different. Ordinary people are raised to accept those who are like them and avoid the outcasts, therefore the monster is unable to find acceptance among the community.

Human beings and creatures alike, require food, shelter, and water for survival. While survival is considered living, it is not considered to be living life to the fullest. To live fully, is to be happy. There are many components that contribute to happiness. Friendship is one of those components. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein the theme of the importance of friendship is displayed. It is apparent that Frankenstein’s life is meaningless without his friends and that the creature cannot find happiness without a companion. Friendship is vital for one to be content and to live life fully. Shelley is able to successfully demonstrate this throughout her writing.

Mary Shelley, a writer and leader of the Romantic era, was clearly influenced by the great thinkers of the Enlightenment. One such thinker was John Locke, who expressed that all humans have natural rights. Locke also had a theory that humans are born with clean slates, and the environment humans grow in, especially at a young age, has massive influences on aspects of their personalities, ideals, and motivations. Shelley’s novel Frankenstein was, without a doubt, influenced by this claim. This is evident in more ways than one, with the strongest argument being that the monster, that Victor Frankenstein created, was almost completely like a newborn baby with a fully developed brain. His actions and beliefs were merely an result of his experiences and the natural goodness of human beings. In essence, Mary Shelley is using the monster of Frankenstein as a representation of other human beings who are affected by the hate and cruelty that surrounds them and become that which they experience. In essence, the monster is an embodiment of the human condition, in a creature that isn’t classically defined as human, but meets all the criteria.

The monster is the hero because of the society rejections he faced whenever he wanted to integrate with people. The monster was chased wherever he went because of his physical appearance. Due to his hideous and huge figure, the monster was rejected by the society. Shelley is the using the rejections act in her work to demonstrate how society and people reject an individual due to his physical appearance or person with a different perspective who stay on the borders of our homesteads and society. She makes that monster is not to blame for what happens to him, thus; eliciting reader sympathetic feelings of someone who so deeply misjudge and misunderstood by the people in the society (Shelley, 2018). The monster tries to fit in society but because of his appearance, he never got a chance to be a member of the community in the society. Since the monster was never accepted in the society, he shunned any human contact except when it's exceptional. Therefore, Shelley used romanticism in her work that promoting and contributing to Romantic Movement (Gill,