The text finally uses the interaction between Victor and the Monster to display the similarities of their misfortunes, but then completely contrasts the two characters, leading readers to create a larger conclusion about the text. At the end of the Monster’s life story he demands a companion emphasizing Victor’s role in his misfortunes: “Instead of threatening, I am contest to reason with you. I am malicious because I am miserable. Am I not shunned and hated by all mankind? You, my creator, would tear me to pieces, and triumph… and would not call it murder” (104). The texts ironically portrays the Monster as the responsible figure attempting to change his future contrasting him to the human who refuses to participate in a self-determined change of fate. Due to the fact that the Monster is dependent on a human creator, no decision he makes can ultimately change the fate of his misfortune. Victor on the other hand not only has the choice of the Monster’s happiness in his hands, but also his own fate. By displaying the Monsters inability to change his destiny, the text emphasizes the…
In many novels throughout literature, enemies often share striking similarities. They push and pull at each other to the point where they lead to the each others undoing, yet they share tremendous likeness. In the novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelly Victor Frankenstein and his creature are two sides of one person. Both despise each other, and in doing so they are despising themselves. There is a power struggle between the two adversaries, which leads to both Frankenstein, and his creature ending up alone. Shelly’s novel christens the era of romanticism and successfully merges these ideas with those of gothic style. The infatuation with discovery and creation is evident in the main character, Victor Frankenstein, and his pursuit of knowledge…
The main character trait between Victor and the creature is their love of nature. For example, “My country, my beloved country! Who but a native can tell the delight I took in again beholding thy streams, thy mountains, and, more than all, thy lovely lake” (Shelley 52). Even though Victor is grieving over William’s death, he still finds peace and tranquility through nature. The creature also indulges in the beauty of nature and he also finds peace. “Soon a gentle light stole over the heavens, and gave me a sensation on pleasure” (Shelly 75). When Victor left the creature right after he created him, the creature had no one to care for him so he fled to woods and found that nature enlightens him just as it does for his creator. “The sky became clouded; but the air was pure, although chilled by the north-east breeze that was then rising. But it refreshed me, and filled me with such agreeable sensations…” (Shelly 134). When Victor through the female creature in…
As ironic as it seems, and for the many differences shown between Victor and the Monster in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, there are also various similarities between these two characters. The way they want to learn, they way they used to love but now hate the world, and the great sense of remorse they feel at the end. Both, Victor and the Monster, had a great desire for learning. For Victor it was more about studying and becoming fully educated in the sciences. As for the monster however: he was more interested in learning about human life, “but how was this possible when [the monster] did not even understand the sounds for which they stood as signs?” (p. 98) He learned to speak from listening and learning from humans talk. For Victor “natural philosophy, and particularly chemistry… became nearly his sole occupation.” They are both extremely fast learners and were able to learn the things they studied very quickly.…
No matter how much two individuals are alike, there are always traits that separate one from the other. In Mary Shelley's novel "Frankenstein", Victor Frankenstein and Robert Walton are both seekers of knowledge who are determined to succeed. However, while Walton is able to risk everything, Frankenstein soon realizes his errors in his frenzied obsession with discovery.…
The characters John, from Brave New World, and the monster, from Frankenstein, both have very similar backgrounds. In both novels, the characters are treated very poorly in the societies they live in, and are considered outcasts. However, these characters also have some major differences. John and the monster both struggle with rejection but they differ in that John was given more control of his situation.…
When two contrasting personalities are juxtaposed, it often results in the illumination of distinctive characteristics of the personalities, reflecting the theme of a literary work. In Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, Victor Frankenstein and The Monster are an example of this. As a foil to Frankenstein, The Monster exhibits personality traits that greatly contrast those of Frankenstein. The portrayed sensitivity in the monster contrasts the selfish behavior as Frankenstein; his harsh ways are highlighted by the compassionate ones of The Monster, and the rationality shown in the dialogue involving The Monster shows how irrational Frankenstein can be, all relating to the theme of the need for a balanced life.…
For many people, seeing someone who is different may be hard to accept. In Frankenstein, a plethora of characters mentioned were unable to accept that the monster was, for want of a better word, a person. There is an innumerable amount of traits that make a us human and the monster appeared to have many of them. The qualities that make us human include the ability to care, intense emotions, the ability to tell right from wrong, and competence. Examples of the monster portraying these traits are spread out through the book.…
Frankenstein’s creation should be considered an anti-hero because although the monster does not portray pure morals, it has concealed intentions covered with emotional complexities. After Frankenstein abandons his own creation, the monster shows its genuine and noble side by attempting to create a friendship with the old man and his family. Although the monster was charged out of the house, it exemplifies the ideals of a “flawed hero” on the monster, showing its honest attempts to become apart of the human race even if he is shunned out of the rest of society.…
Where there is so much as a speculation of an abomination, there is a society desperately scrambling to reinstate dominance. Society’s fight for supremacy is prevalent in both books, Frankenstein by Marie Shelley and Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. The creature from Frankenstein and Lenny from Of Mice and Men are both mortally wounded from the agonizing blows of society. They share the same cuts and bruises, but neither of the characters receives the necessary stitches to help heal the wounds. Due to the mental distress, Lennie and the creature share the same feeling of rejection that contributes to the overall theme of loneliness.…
The lens through which readers encounter monsters is often a skewed one. This lens could be that of the author, who seeks to embody a monster as a horrific, non-human entity that will cause havoc in an area. Similarly, this lens could be that of a character in a piece, one who witnesses the monster’s wrath and destruction firsthand and hopes to avoid the cruel savage being. Monster narratives rarely unfold from the perceptive of the monster, and, as such, audiences must rely on other sources as to the monster’s course of action. Such voices can carry a bias with them. As in the case of the author, the omniscient perspective provides descriptions of the monster without directly interacting the monster. This perspective could easily fail to report…
In Shelly’s novel Frankenstein’s monster in often compared to Adam from Milton’s epic work. In fact, the monster himself tells Victor Frankenstein that he sees himself as being very similar to Adam. Like Adam, the monster was, in a sense, perfect at his creation. The monster was full of love for humanity and nature at his creation but was turned to a life of evil and hardship by outside forces beyond his control. Similarly, it was a circumstance beyond Adam’s control, namely Satan, that turned him to a life of sin and hardship. This comparison of Milton’s Adam and Frankenstein’s monster focuses attention on the ideal of the “noble savage,” an important idea in Romanticism. The idea of the noble savage stressed that man, left to his own devices, is inherently good, and it is an important theme in Frankenstein. The monster also sees himself as being similar to Milton’s Adam because he has no others like himself and fervently desires the companionship of an equal. He, like Adam, implores his maker to create such an equal. With this comparison Shelly brings to the reader’s attention the idea that every person needs another person, an equal and a friend, in order to be complete and happy. This idea is also a central idea in romanticism.…
Victor Frankenstein, the creature and Robert Walton are three characters in Mary Shelly’s novel “Frankenstein” that are very similar due to their contribution to the duality in the story. Both Frankenstein and Walton share the common interest of science and knowledge. However similar to that they may be, Walton is also foil to Frankenstein. Frankenstein’s ambitious dream to explore the cause of generation and life leads him to self-destruction and death, whereas Walton chooses to stop his voyage due to the safety and life of himself and his crew. The creature’s hatred for Victor feeds into his monstrous side while the love he feels for the family he helped feeds into his loving and humane side. There is no doubt that this story is full of duality.…
Mary Shelley’s efforts to have Victor Frankenstein play creator simply points to the inability of an imperfect human trying to play God. Man’s motivation to use science to advance selfish needs becomes an obstacle in the quality of life that the creature created would experience. The idea that free will trumps control of living beings is easily recognizable. In the end, the failure of the monster to be successful speaks to the intricacy of creation. The complexities…
The story of Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley, was first published in 1818. The book shows many representations of gothic literature and romanticism. Majority of Frankenstein’s characters are intensely intertwined and have relations with at least one other character. This leads to the tragedies written in the novel, affecting more than one character at a time. There are two main father-child relationships in this novel that will be discussed in the following paragraphs. Indirectly, these relationships are central to the storyline created in this novel of Frankenstein.…