Analysis Of Frankenstein By Mary Shelley - 1449 Words

Duality Makes The Man: What It Takes to Be Human in Frankenstein In her nineteenth century novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley explores the characteristics of humanity, illuminates societal influences on development, and challenges the traditional biological definition of human through character developments and interactions. Particularly, she focuses on the characterization of the creature and his creator, pitting an ugly, malformed giant against an educated, dedicated scientist to establish a surprising conclusion. While the creature becomes fallen and corrupted through society, he retains the desire for companionship and emotional sensibility that he is born with; his duality makes him more human than Victor, who is born more monstrous.†¦show more content†¦Society does not only influence the creature subconsciously; through observation and imitation, the creature consciously learns and acquires the faults of humankind. For example, he â€Å"[learns] how to work mischief,† and he applies these tricks to scapegoat an innocent Justi ne (101). All in all, the creature embodies Rousseau’s concept of natural man; he is born instinctive and oblivious, but through interactions with society, he becomes corrupted and â€Å"evil thenceforth [becomes] [his] good† (159). Despite experiencing constant rejection by society, the creature persists in his efforts to seek out companionship; he retains the innate human characteristics he is born with. Victor awakens to the creature â€Å"mutter[ing] some inarticulate sounds† with â€Å"one hand stretch[ing] out† (36). Though Victor interprets this as the creature’s efforts to detain him, the creature’s actions actually reflect an infant’s babbling and instinctive reaching out to parents for comfort. Thus, the creature is born with a desire for companionship, which Victor denies. However, the creature’s longing persists; he demonstrates the hope for connecting with the De Laceys through language, looking forward to the day when he would â€Å"first win their favour, and afterwards their love† (79). He experiences rejection again, but his yearning re-manifests uponShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Frankenstein By Mary Shelley Essay1231 Words   |  5 Pages2016 Frankenstein Literary Analysis Power is the ability to control something or someone into doing what is given. Knowledge is the understanding of an idea, but not yet following through with it. You can have knowledge without power but the two combined usually result in a better outcome. Victor creates a monster which goes on rampages after they go separate ways. Because Victor originally left it and never later took control of it, unfortunate consequences occurred. In Frankenstein, by Mary ShelleyRead MoreAnalysis Of Frankenstein By Mary Shelley1755 Words   |  8 PagesFrankenstein An Analysis of the use of knowledge In the novel Frankenstein by Marry Shelley, it is apparent that a lack of knowledge along with an abundance of knowledge can lead to the destruction of relationships that are ideal for a happy life. The theme of corruption through knowledge is a recurring literary device throughout the novel. This corruption compels the reader to question whether or not it is beneficial to have the vast amount of knowledge that Victor has. Knowledge is a powerfulRead MoreAnalysis Of Mary Shelley s Frankenstein1411 Words   |  6 PagesIn the early 1800s Mary Shelley set pen to a paper and started to develop a novel that little to her knowledge would become world renowned. In 1818 she finished and published the novel to sell to the European public. 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History.com Staff states that this book, by 21-year-old Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, is frequently called the world’s first science fiction novel (History.com Staff). According to Wikipedia, Shelley was an English novelist. She was born August 30th, 1797. She died on February 1st, 1951 (Wikipedia). Shelley came up with the idea of Frankenstein as she andRead MoreAnalysis Of Prometheus And Frankenstein By Mary Shelley Essay1996 Words   |  8 PagesPrometheus and Frankenstein both written in two different centuries I will show that our mentality hasn’t changes much in regards to monsters. While Prometheus and Frankenstein are, both consider monsters, Prometheus deals with trying to help humanity and Frankenstein deals with trying to find an understanding of why he was created. Both are considered monsters because of their actions. In the book Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, there is an article entitled Psychoanalytic Criticism and Frankenstein. In thisRead MoreAnalysis Of Frankenstein By Mary Shelley1372 Words   |  6 Pageshumanity. Although not in the technological age, the characters in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, experience isolation due to bad choices or the opinions of society. Yet, the true evil in Frankenstein is not the characters, but isolation itself. When one is disengaged from family and society, egotism, violence, and revenge occur. Victor Frankenstein decides to abandon his family for six years in order to focus on his quest for glory. Frankenstein became focused on creating a scientific miracle that he isolatesRead MoreAnalysis Of Frankenstein By Mary Shelley1590 Words   |  7 PagesIn this sense, she was actually quite similar to Frankenstein’s monster from the novel, Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley. The monster is brought to life by Victor Frankenstein only to be abandoned moments after his creation. Desperate to find companionship and make sense of the world, the monster ventures off on his own, only to be shunned by society because of â€Å"hideous† appearance and â€Å"gigantic† stature (Shelley). Miserably alone in a cruel world, the monster extracts his revenge on his creator by killingRead MoreAnalysis Of Mary Shelley s Frankenstein Essay2155 Words   |  9 Pagesmain agenda could orchestrate catastrophic repercussions to the human populations. Mary Shelley’s work â€Å"Frankenstein† although over two-hundred years old, remains at the pinnacle of irresponsible innovation that wreaks havoc to the human population. In the â€Å"Jurassic Park,† an aspect of mad science that deteriorates the stability of life is depicted. Both Michael Clinton’s â€Å"Jurassic Park† and Mary Shelley’s â€Å"Frankenstein† extensively explore the role of man in maintaining and sustaining life. The two