Internal struggles are common enough that everyone has experienced it at some point or another throughout their lives. Whether a person deals with an internal struggle alone or if they find an outlet is based on the individual. Many people, however do search for outside assistance rather than struggle with the problem on their own. There are some, though who chose to keep the internal struggle to themselves. Moreover, building a solitary confinement with which to keep themselves in. Solitude has negative effects on an individual with internal struggles, however proper support and guidance will alleviate it.…
In her novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley explores a wide range of themes concerning human nature through the thoughts and actions of two main characters and a host of others. Two themes are at the heart of the story, the most important being creation, but emphasis is also placed on alienation from society. These two themes are relevant even in today's society as technology brings us ever closer to Frankenstein's fictional achievement.…
Throughout the novel, Victor Frankenstein hides in constant fear of the creature he has created. However, he had one opportunity to live his life free of this constant fear. That was to simply create a partner for his creature and the creature promised to leave him alone forever. He took the agreement and began making the partner. However, in the middle of the process, he betrayed his creature’s trust in him. He destroyed what he had created and vowed to never create another creature ever again. This betrayal of the creature’s trust is what prompted the monster to continue his monstrous rampage and is what led Victor to live his life in constant fear. This one simple act of misdeed, due to the fear instilled into Victor by the creature, allows…
Shelley uses aspects of Romanticism in the novel by having the Creature live in the heath. Romanticism is also displayed on Victor’s retreat to the mountains. Shelley displays an enormous amount of emotion in the novel which assists the reader to understand the feelings of alienation and neglect that the Creature is experiencing. With all of these aspects, the reader may begin to question whether Shelley had an extreme personal connection to one of the characters, whether it be the Creature or Victor.…
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a book about the longing for companionship and social acceptance. British novelist C.S. Lewis once stated “We read to know we are not alone.” (C.S. Lewis) Throughout Shelley’s novel, there it is noticeable that Robert Walton, the monster, and Victor Frankenstein himself are in need of a companion in their life. We first find a longing for companionship when Robert Walton is writing to his sister and says “I have no friend, Margaret: when I am glowing with the enthusiasm of success, there will be none to participate my joy; if I am assailed by disappointment, no one will endeavor to sustain me in dejection. (Shelley 9)…
“As science is more and more subject to grave misuse as well as to use for human benefit…
Readers may surmise that Victor’s tale would be the key to making Walton see Victor in a new and more reasonable light, but they would be wrong. In Walton’s final letters, dated only one more week after Victor began telling his story, he continues to describe Victor in peculiar ways. He calls Victor’s eyes “fine and lovely” (178) and says that “his eloquence is forcible and touching” (179). Although “forcible” could connote something negative, it seems more likely that Walton means it positively as in “powerful” or “convincing” (OED). On the same page he tells Margaret that his mind and “every feeling of [his] soul” were “drunk up” by Victor’s “elevated and gentle” manner and storytelling. Much like his contradictory discussion of his experience…
In Mary Shelley’s book Frankenstein, many themes are presented throughout the story. However, through the impact of historical events during the 19th century, Victor’s relationship with the monster, and the influence of Victor’s mother, causes both Victor and his monster to grow hatred between each other. Therefore, the idea of revenge is the most prominent theme in the book.…
Characters with an obsession tend to segregate themselves from those around them, both physically and mentally. Isolation as a result of obsession aggravates the fixation because it creates an escape from one's important life issues, encourages insanity, and furthers the feeling that the obsession is normal or even beneficial.…
Written in 1818 by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Frankenstein is widely considered to be among the novels that fully exemplify Romantic-era literary achievement. The Romantic movement is a general term used to denote the intellectual evolution in literature and the arts, primarily in 19th century Europe. Substantial facets of literary Romanticism include belief in the innate virtue of humans, the bounds of nature, as well as the polarity of human emotion, all of which are embodied in Shelley’s Frankenstein. Through reading Shelley’s novel, some of the fundamental ideals of Romanticism genuinely become obvious.…
The reader can gain a deeper understanding of The Monster’s internal struggle in Shelley’s Frankenstein of becoming Satan by having read Milton’s Paradise Lost. The Monster’s internal struggle is him giving into his hatred and becoming Satan and a living hell to Victor Frankenstein, The Monster’s creator. Satan was an angel, originally called Lucifer, that was banished to Hell for waging war against God. When The Monster enters the village to find food for himself, The monster states “One of the best of these I entered; but I had hardly placed my foot within the door, before the children shrieked, and one of the women fainted. The whole village was mused; some fled, some attacked me, until, grievously bruised by stones and many other kinds of…
In analyzing Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the monster is a sympathetic character. That is the reader sympathizes with the monsters experiences in life. Abandoned by his creator, and misunderstood by society, the monster exists alone. His search for a companion is unfulfilled. Moreover, the monster attempts to forge a relationship with the De Lacey's quickly being rejected by the elderly man. Finally, through an act of selflessness the monster is injured trying to save a girl. Clearly, great misfortune befalls him throughout the text. He’s an empty soul thrown into a world that loathes his…
One must also take into account that Mary Shelly’s husband was a romantic poet, and she often edited his works. At the time of Frankenstein’s publish, the roots of Romanticism had been laid. Among the characteristic romantic attitudes were: a deep appreciation of nature, a general preference of emotion over reason and senses over intellect, an introspective evaluation of human personality and its moods and mental processes, a fixation with the “genius”,…
Literary works are able to shape an individual. The Republic by Plato contributed to how the American government system works; To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee continues to fight racism and inequality; literature is a major factor in the evolution of both the society and the individual. This is exemplified in a number of historical figures, though perhaps the best example of novels’ effects on an individual is Frankenstein’s Monster of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; or, a Modern Prometheus. However, in this case, literature contributed to the decadence of the Monster, who, in a volatile and impressionable state, read Paradise Lost by John Milton, Plutarch’s Lives by Plutarch, The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and…
The monster continually calls out for sensibility from the romantic. The monster has a desire for companionship, and implores of his creator to make him a being of his own species. The monster also desires to be accepted by mankind. The final way the monster displays sensibility is through his desire to learn. He displays his capabilities of learning at the beginning of his creation, and continues to grow throughout the novel. Victor Frankenstein shows the individualistic, mystic, and love of nature side of romanticism. He displays individualism through his desire to be his own creator. He also rejects the help from others, and strives on selfish ambition. Victor shows the mysticism, through gaining power of being his own god. Finally, he shows a love for nature, through taking the time to breathe and admire the beautiful countryside around him. Romanticism is concluded in the comparison of the two characters, and how similar their situations are. Victor Frankenstein and the monster both have a strong desire for love from others around them. They also show great passion for sympathy from others, which they do not necessarily receive. Their situations are unrealistic, and portray the case of non-neoclassicism. Both Frankenstein and the monster experience deep sorrow throughout the entire novel. This experience is heightened when the monster is denied a companion and Victor loses all of his loved ones. In the end, both Victor and the creature share their desire for friendship, which neither fully obtain, due to the circumstances of the rejection and bitterness. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, displays the aspects of Romanticism through Frankenstein and his creature; they display sensibility, individualism, love of nature, non-neoclassicism, and…