Is Frankenstein A Man Or A Monster

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein tells the tale of a man whose entire life turns to misery after creating what he calls a monster, a demon and a fiend. However, the real monster in this story is pride and the feeling of superiority. This is evident in the novel with Robert Walton’s view of himself and his expedition, Victor Frankenstein’s attitude towards himself in comparison with the creature, and mankind’s perception of the creature and their ignorance towards him.

Frankenstein, a novel first published in the year 1818, stands as the most talked about work of Mary Shelley’s literary career. She was just nineteen years old when she penned this novel, and throughout her lifetime she could not produce any other work that surpasses this novel in terms of creativity and vision. In this novel, Shelley found an outlet for her own intense sense of victimization, and her desperate struggle for love. Traumatized by her failed childbirth incidents, troubled childhood, and scandalous courtship, many of Shelley’s life experiences can be seen reflected in the novel. When discussing the character and development of the monster, Shelley launches an extensive discussion on the

Mary Shelley’s ability to create such multidimensional characters in Frankenstein proves that writing is a powerful tool that has the ability to provoke vastly different opinions amongst readers. Even though each individual reading the story is reading the exact same words, their interpretation of those words often leads to opposing views in regards to the fate of the characters. The creature, in particular, has been a popular topic of discussion when conducting a close read of the novel due to his arguable versatility as a victim and villain. The concept of the villain has evolved over the years, however its basis still rests upon the simple fact that as a character in the story, their actions are a result of malicious intentions

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

In Shelley’s Frankenstein, the monster is portrayed as a grotesque abomination. However, as Hopkins states in Contending Forces, the cultural and geographical situations, or lack thereof, in which one matures in play a crucial role in the proper development of one’s mind and brain. The monster is simply a product of circumstance. The lack of social interactions alongside geographical isolation propelled the daemon to be alienated from society, ultimately resulting in a lack of morals and an underdeveloped psyche. By being a culmination of his surroundings and experiences it is revealed that the true monstrous entities are the factors that leave the daemon predisposed to fail in a modern society. Arguably, Victor created a being, while the circumstances that said being was placed in “created” a monster. Shelley purposefully terrorizes the monster with such intensity to provoke and justify the overarching theme in this novel which states that people should not be judged on their physical appearance.

In Mary Shelley´s Gothic novel, Frankenstein, the Monster once claimed, “The fallen angel becomes a malignant devil. Yet even that enemy of God and man had friends and associates in his desolation; I am alone.” Frankenstein, since the 1910 film adaptation, has known a series of several adaptations that changed drastically, not only the plot but one of the main characters, the Monster, from stealing its creator´s name to being portrayed as a cold villain. Though, in the original storyline, the biggest threat to society is the creator itself, the one pretending to play as God, Victor Frankenstein. This essay will discuss the nature of the main characters of the novel and conclude who is the “real monster” in the end.

Like most horror stories, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein has a wretched monster who terrorizes and kills his victims with ease. However, the story is not as simple as it seems. One increasingly popular view of the true nature of the creature is one of understanding. This sympathetic view is often strengthened by looking at the upbringing of the creature in the harsh world in which he matures much as a child would. With no friends or even a true father, the creature can be said to be a product of society and its negative views and constant rejections of him. Although this popular view serves to lessen the severity of his crimes in most people’s eyes, the fact remains that the creature is in fact a cold-hearted wretch whose vindictive nature

Who is the real monster?” acts as the dominant question throughout the novel “Frankenstein” written by Mary Shelly as the reader explores the protagonist Victor Frankenstein and his nameless creation. As the novel progresses, the reader notices how the relationship between the two characters goes far beyond a neglectful creature and resentful creation, for the two influence the thoughts, actions and emotions of each other. Furthermore, the creature’s physical appearance acts as his purpose throughout the novel as well as a mirror of Victor Frankenstein’s true identity. Additionally, the creature’s lack of identity begins to initiate Frankenstein’s shame towards his own identity, revealing the flawed character of Frankenstein and determining the resolution to the question “Who is the true monster? Who is the true catalyst of destruction?” During the novel, the reader is able to identify the creature as the most effective foil for Victor Frankenstein because the creature causes: Frankenstein to view the action of the creature as his own work, the shift between pride and shame in Frankenstein, and his physical appearance demonstrates his purpose to reveal the true character of Victor Frankenstein.

     Romantic writer Mary Shelley’s gothic novel Frankenstein does indeed do a lot more than simply tell story, and in this case, horrify and frighten the reader. Through her careful and deliberate construction of characters as representations of certain dominant beliefs, Shelley supports a value system and way of life that challenges those that prevailed in the late eighteenth century during the ‘Age of Reason’. Thus the novel can be said to be challenging prevailant ideologies, of which the dominant society was constructed, and endorsing many of the alternative views and thoughts of the society. Shelley can be said to be influenced by her mothers early feminist views, her father’s

Is Frankenstein a Creature or Monster? Whether Frankenstein's creation is a creature or indeed a monster is a key factor of the novel as a whole. Mary Shelley successfully uses language to create and manipulate the reader's opinion of this nameless creation. Frankenstein is from a well respected and well educated family; "my family is one of the most distinguished of that republic".

Over the years, the monster in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein has become universally portrayed in one way: a tall, green-skinned, dumb brute with no language or reasoning abilities. Society has turned the story of Frankenstein into a mere horror story, dehumanizing the monster more than was intended in Shelley’s novel. However, the message of Frankenstein is a far cry from the freak show displayed by the media. While many people may only see Frankenstein as a grotesque story meant to thrill its audience, its purpose goes much deeper as it advocates for the equal rights of women in society.

Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, which was published in 1818, is considered the literary work that created science fiction, much as the novel’s protagonist, Victor Frankenstein, created his monster. The novel raises the question of what makes a human. The Creature is living and human shaped, although grotesquely, but he is not considered human. Throughout the novel, the Creation searches for humanity and wishes to be seen as equal to humans, and this essay will explore how he does and does not accomplish that goal by analyzing his motives and morality, and how he succeeds through failing. One of the first and foremost human features in the Creature is his morality and how it is directly influenced by his environment.

Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein is often regarded as the first work of science fictions and one of greatest horror novels in the entirety of history. In Mary Shelly’s perspective, she wanted to write a novel that would bring out the mysterious fears of readers and awaken a thrilling kind of horror. However, throughout the novel, readers can see the loneliness of Victor Frankenstein’s creation as his seeming monster was deemed a societal outcast due to its repulsive features. Thus, if read carefully, readers can see the story of Frankenstein as the story of a monstrous and disastrous birth.

This literary analysis will define the role of “monster” that co-exists in Victor Frankenstein and the monster in Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein: or, the Modern Prometheus.” Victor Frankenstein’s unethical and immoral use of science to create the monster defines a “monster” of science that does not truly understand the ramifications of his creation. In this manner, Victor’s motives for “reanimating” a human being are partially caused by the death of his mother (and the desire to end death), but he becomes so self-absorbed he does not consider the dangers of his experiment with the Monster. However, the monstrous and unethical behavior of Victor’s scientific experiment inevitably creates a creature in his own image. After the Monster is reanimated, it begins to understand the sympathetic relationship it has to Victor:

The message, merits, and moral implications of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein have been long debated and discussed. Many recurring themes which are apt to surface in these conversations are those such as the woes of artificial creation and the “man is not God” argument. These themes have been so thoroughly explored and exploited that this essay could not possibly generate and original thought within the realms covered by these topics. In order to formulate something remotely fresh and at least relatively interesting, this essay seeks to shift the focus to the less explored dilemmas which Shelley may have purposely or subconsciously woven into the classic novel.