...The Reality of Rejection An innocent mother and child are killed by a thief for only a laptop and some jewelry. A man is battered in a dark alleyway for the change in his pocket. A fight between a meth abusing teenager and his dad ends in violence. What do these events have in common? They are crimes- reckless acts of malevolence-that no one could ever have any excuse or valid reason for; or could they? In the gothic thriller Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, themes of rejection, morality, and the human experience are explored through the woeful tale of Victor Frankenstein and his monstrous creation. Specifically, a poignant story of a created being experiencing abandonment from his creator-heavily influenced by biblical themes- emerges. This...
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...by. Thus, the creature is a victim of Victor’s over-ambitious nature. His creation is brought about as a result of Frankenstein’s immense desire to create and “father a monster race”. The monster is a victim of circumstance and questions Victor, “did I request thee… to mold me Man?” Here, it is clear he is a victim since he has not asked for his creation and further rejection. Frankenstein refers to him as a “miserable wretch”, damning him from the start of his creation, calling him “hideous” and “deformed”. The monster has no control over his own life and how he is treated and is therefore a victim of Frankenstein’s thirst for knowledge. It can be argued that Frankenstein’s parents were significant in felicitating his ambitions. Frankenstein insinuates that his thirst for knowledge is due to his father’s lack of scientific knowledge as he say “My father was not scientific, and I was left to struggle with a child's blindness, added to a student's thirst for knowledge”. Frankenstein clearly blames his father for his failure and furthemore, for lacking as a father figure which may have led to Frankenstein’s rejection of his creation. While the creature is to...
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...How does the creature elicit sympathy during his narrative in Volume II? In Frankenstein, Mary Shelly allows the creature to share his story of abandonment and sorrow in order to elicit sympathy from both Victor Frankenstein and the reader. The creature manipulates his tale, describing each event and circumstance that culminates in the murder of William, so that his creator – Victor Frankenstein, will grant his request for a female companion. The creature illustrates his pain and loneliness from the moment of his ‘birth’ in the beginning pages of Chapter III; we see his growth in consciousness; much like a newborn. His inability to express himself through words is poignant as the reader is witness to the frustration the creature feels. His innocence is clear as human needs that torment him like “hunger and thirst”, cannot be quenched as his is unaware how and has to rely on his primitive instincts rather that having the luxury of being taken care of. This early pain and abandonment are told of, in an effort to make Frankenstein regret his decision to leave his creation and therefore fulfill the creatures request. The attachment the creature forms with the DeLacy family evokes sympathy from the reader for numerous reasons. Firstly it is a one sided relationship – they are the first people the creature forms a bond with when in fact they have no idea about his existence. Secondly when they do find out they are disgusted by his presence due to his unconventional looks....
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...What motivates and creates the patchwork of experiences that make up people? In her pinnacle of writing, the gothic horror novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley explores various themes and motifs among them nature versus nurture. She does so through a man attempting to create life named Victor Frankenstein and the Creature he creates. In Frankenstein, Shelley gives examples of the consequences of a spoiled upbringing, the effect on people of their surroundings, the idea of innate goodness, and the idea that people are blank slates upon which their experiences are etched. In the debate of nature versus nature over why people are good or bad, nurture is by far the more influential. A privileged and unrestrained upbringing by overly indulgent parents...
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...monster. How different are they? In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the creation is quite similar to his creator, Frankenstein. Throughout the novel, Frankenstein’s and his creation’s appearances and motives are distorted; they are exaggerated and twisted. Instantly, the creation is seen not as the result of a successful scientific breakthrough, but as a monster, a horrifying wretch. However, what really fueled the creation of such a grotesque being were the efforts of a man. The results of Frankenstein’s search for such forbidden knowledge of reanimation allow Shelley to portray the corruption of knowledge not intended for mortals. While Frankenstein works on his biological research in Ingolstadt, his motives become distorted...
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...Only the Lonely Frankenstein is Mary Shelley's most notable piece of work, written when she was only eighteen years old. The novel explores the theme of loneliness and rejection. The monster created by Victor Frankenstein is rejected by human society because of his appearance. Mary Shelley explores the feelings of how the creature is utterly ignored and abused by the society. I believe the novel became a reflection of the inner state of Mary Shelly. It reflects sufferings and loses that occurred in the own authors life. As notes Anthony Badalamenti in his article Why did Mary Shelley Write Frankenstein: “She was also the product of her own past, suffering three successive losses in her early life that reveal why themes of being alone and abandoned run through the novel”(Badalamenti, 431). All these sad events and constant feeling of loneliness helped Mary to create a very deep and powerful character. Victor does not think about possible results of his experiments. He does not think what will happen when he finally succeeds and created a living creature. He is severely punished by his attitude when the creature created by him turns into a monster. Shelley illustrates that the guilt for murders can not be put only on Frankenstein's creation. Society and social norms finally result in the feeling of loneliness and estrangement. “The monster complains that his maker and mankind are moving his nature from goodness and benevolence to wrath and violence. He attempts the company of...
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...Frankenstein Frankenstein is the creator of a monster. His monster became his child. He was the parent, and he was responsible for the monster. The theme of the parent and child relationship is shown throughout the movie Young Frankenstein and the book Frankenstein. The theme of parent and child relationship is shown in different ways throughout the book Frankenstein and the movie Young Frankenstein. In the book the monster had no one to take care of him. So, he had to learn on his own. The creature has a lot in common with a child. He had to learn as any child would have to. A good example of him learning like a child is when he put his hand in the fire. He stated, “One day, when I was oppressed by cold, I found a fire which had been left by some wandering beggars, and was overcome with delight at the warmth I experienced from it. In my joy I thrust my hand into the live embers, but quickly drew it out again with a cry of pain” (Shelley 72). The creature learned not to put his hands too close to the fire or he would get burned. Just like a child would learn this by putting his hands on a stove. The creature did not have a parent to warn him to not get too close to the fire. The creature is just like a child with no parents. Since he had no one to teach him things, he had to learn on his own. He had to learn how to speak and read on his own. The creature discovered, “that these people possessed a method of communicating their experience and feelings to one...
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...felt emotions are the two that most directly apply to The Phantom of the Opera composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Frankenstein written by Mary Shelley. The Phantom of the Opera brings forth a love-crazed sociopath who strives to flourish his love with a lead soprano in an opera house. The Phantom inflicts terror and pain into “those who come between” (Webber) him and Christine, the soprano he cares for. The Phantom acts as an angel-like being, seeking to protect Christine and his opera house no matter the cost. He is an omniscient, mysterious character and throughout the play, little is revealed about his true identity. The Phantom’s deep emotional connection with Christine is also present throughout the play . and causes him to act in irrational ways The Phantom has a growing discontent with Christine due to her not loving him in “'the same way that he does to her. Throughout the play, The Phantom kills off the surrounding characters in order to draw himself closer to Christine, yet finally vanishes into thin air when he finally wins her love (Webber). Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein focuses on a dedicated scientist, Victor Frankenstein, who’s infatuation with creating new life lead to the creation of a repulsive creature. Frankenstein’s Monster is successfully created from various body parts and chemicals used by Victor. His creation, which Frankenstein describes as a “…demoniacal corpse to which [he] had so miserably given life” is supernatural in nature, being the first...
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...Frankenstein by Mary Shelley creates great emphasis on appearance and acceptance in society, which highlights the harmfulness of judging based solely on external appearance. The novel is set in an appearance-based society, and this topic is brought to the limelight by the hideous figure of Victor Frankenstein's monster and the creature's humanistic need for acceptance. Every human is engraved with a controlling desire to be accepted in an intellectual and sophisticated manner, regardless of his or her physical appearance. The duty of the creator is displayed through Victor Frankenstein's failure in taking responsibility for his creature, this constant theme is entwined with the consequences of judging solely on physicality. The monster's revolting...
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...As a myth about procreation, the maternal imagery in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is clear, evident, pervasive. Yet, while the novel suffers no shortage of mother figures, Shelley’s interpretation of the maternal archetype in her seminal work is unique in its focus. The theme of the maternal finds itself in a paradox wherein its absence becomes evidence for its ubiquity; it is everywhere in that it is nowhere. One can therefore conclude that the concept of motherhood in Frankenstein does not require a mother, but only demands the notion that there was once a maternal presence where there is now none. By promptly abandoning his role as his monster’s creator, Victor seems to have perfectly complied with Shelley’s aforementioned definition of the maternal archetype. Still, some argue that the fact of Victor’s sex precludes him from ever fulfilling the theme of motherhood in Frankenstein. Victor is a man; the evident conclusion would be to declare Victor a paternal force in his creation’s...
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...can a baby be considered a monster? Many might argue how an innocent newborn can be compared to something as gruesome as a monster. In the novel Frankenstein, author Mary Shelley, writes about a monster and its creator. The creator who was Victor Frankenstein, just like any person went to college and studied, natural philosophy, chemistry, and alchemy. Later on during his studies, he tries to figure out how to bring alive a body, that is cut from a dead persons’ corpse. After his creation, he becomes very overwhelmed and scared of such a horrid creature. After the creation, the monster brings nothing but sadness, sickness, and destruction into the life of Victor Frankenstein. Now, how can a child be considered a monster? And what led the monster to go bad. The monster had characteristics that were opposites of a child. The monster is said to be unlike a child because of its appearance and creation, lack of parental guidance and abandonment, and it became dangerous because of his rejection by his creator. The birth of a child in today’s society is perceived as a very memorable moment. The beauty of the child, the joy of the parent is what makes that moment more memorable. However, in Frankenstein, the birth of the monster is not what one would expect, to be a way a child is born. The monster that was created by Frankenstein took body parts from dead corpses and put it together to create the monster. This is totally the complete opposite of how a child is brought into...
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...‘As with many Gothic Texts, Frankenstein challenges set oppositions.’ Discuss this statement in light of the novel. In Gothic texts, a common theme is for the authors to write about oppositions. It is often the case that oppositions are challenged in books from this particular genre, such as the opposition of rational and irrational and civilised and primitive. This is shown, for example, in the book ‘Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ by Robert Louis Stevenson, where the characters of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde can be seen as parts of the same person. This is further shown in Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’ where oppositions are explored such as good and evil, human and monster and life and death. In particular, the novel Frankenstein is concentrated on exploring the opposition between the monstrous and human. Shelley challenges the opposition between the monstrous and human through her main protagonists: Victor Frankenstein and the Monster. Victor defines the creature as monstrous from the start, purely on the basis of his physical appearance. ‘His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun-white sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled complexion and straight black lips.’ In this quote, Victor describes the monsters appearance and portrays...
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...Does anyone have an intimation why Frankenstein is called the modern Prometheus? See after reading voluminous kinds of the monster/book named Frankenstein, I believe that sundry people essentially believe Victor is and why called the modern Prometheus, because the enchanting what should be solitary the veracious of God, to give supplementary creatures or human beings life. It’s like a sequence second in mandate, you must remember, when studying Frankenstein’s creation that he was not unfluctuating close to being evil when he was first created he became motivated very hastily even towards his dark ends by the rejection and torments at the hands of human beings. He was not evil by nature but he was made to. A lot of people look down on Frankenstein but doesn’t realize what he has gone though they should look down on the creator of the monster, why Frankenstein rejected the...
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...(Mellor 1). Mary‘s childhood is filled with a desperate need for love and affection as her father, William Godwin “found it easy to express his obvious affection when his daughters were small, but as they grew older together he became remote and awkward, more dutiful than sensitive, unable to show what he really felt for them. They, too, had to fitted into the methodical timetable, with periods allotted when they might interrupt his writing or listen to his latest story” (Locke 217). Although Godwin admires Mary, he does not seem to feel any special affection for her and finds it difficult to express his fatherly love for her. Anne K. Mellor adds, as Mary Shelley grows into the author of one of the most famous novels ever written, Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus, “we can never forget how much her desperate desire for a loving and supportive parent defined her character, shaped her fantasies, and produced her fictional idealizations of the bourgeois family-idealizations whose very fictiveness, as we shall see, is transparent” (1). Just as Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin Shelley’s childhood is filled with solitude and a desperate need for affection, Franz Kafka encounters much of the same experience. Ronald Gray notes, “By nature, upbringing, and environment he was distrustful, isolated, prone to see the worst. The neurotic element in his work is not trivial. A Jew, he was cut off from the Germans whose language he spoke. Living in Prague, he counted as a German, and...
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...Introduction Many literary critics consider Mary Shelley's Frankenstein as one of the most impressive and imaginative Gothic horror novels of all times. In the novel, Shelley managed to create one of the most phenomenal creatures in literary history: Frankenstein monster. The epistolary style that the author employs allows the reader to view the circumstances from varied viewpoints and draw conclusions from the plot and the characters. The book The plot has a variety of story-lines rolled into one. The main however is about a Doctor Victor Frankenstein who though born to a well-to-do and loving family, is over- ambitious and thirsts to prove himself. After achieving excelling academically, he designs a technique of creating life from a fusion of inanimate objects, dead bodies an animal parts. The doctor is not satisfied with achieving conventional feats but is determined to create a living being. It is this ambition that leads to the creation after years of painstaking work. It is this creation that leads to Victor's downfall. The creation is 8 feat tall and due to the use of human parts that do not march his massive size, is hideous. He is described as having watery yellow eyes, a withered, yellowish, translucent skin which barely conceals his muscular system and blood vessels. The only good aspects of his appearance are his perfect, white teeth, long black hair and his black lips. The doctor, who had hoped to create a beautiful being is shocked by his creation...
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