Examples Of Alienation In Frankenstein

The concept of alienation is one that most people tend to view with great trepidation, and wish to avoid at all costs. Most people abhor the thought of being excluded from social groups and activities by their peers because they do not accept them as they are. People tend to behave in such a manner that keeps them within their own peer groups’ social norms, or even adapt their behaviors to fit multiple groups to avoid being excluded. Society has taught us that it is necessary to behave a certain way for the common good. People tend to shun those who do not think, behave or dress in the manner that represents their peer group. People may also be shunned if their outward appearance is altered in any way; this can be purposeful as with tattoos,
piercings, hair color or clothing style, or it can be from a birth defect or accident that alters a person’s outward appearance and causes people to avoid or alienate them. In Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein; the Modern Prometheus, the main character, Victor Frankenstein is a shy, awkward young man who becomes completely obsessed with science when he goes away to college. As he gains knowledge and insight of scientific experimentation, he becomes completely pre-occupied with the idea of creating a living being-not an infant conceived through natural means and born, living from its mother’s womb, but a creature that he creates with spare body parts and somehow brings to life by scientific means. As time passes at school, he becomes all consumed by his dream of bringing a creature to life. After several failures, he is determined to see his dream to fruition, to create a being that is dependent on him and reveres him, viewing him as god-like. When is finally succeeds, he is immediately overcome with revulsion, horror and remorse for his arrogance in what he has done. As the creature comes to life, Frankenstein realizes the folly of his pursuits, the God-complex that he had developed as he descended into scientific madness. “I had desired it with an ardor that far exceeded moderation, but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart” (Shelley 34). The animation of this beloved creature slapped him with the realization that he had done something so dreadful and dangerous to himself and to the world because of his own ignorance and arrogance. This caused his immediate rejection of the creature as being a horrible monster instead of the beloved creature he dreamed of. Frankenstein’s creature is an unfortunate being, he is first rejected and turned out by his own creator, and then by society because of his freakishly ugly countenance and his size. This causes the creature to experience alienation and isolation throughout his unfortunate and unnatural existence. Unbeknownst to Frankenstein, his monster was a highly intelligent and intuitive being, with an inquisitive and studious nature. He wants to be accepted and loved by people, but they are so terrified of his outward appearance that they immediately chase him away. This causes a tremendous feeling of despair in the creature which quickly turns to anger and hate for mankind and especially his creator, with a mind set on revenge. “Accursed creator! Why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in disgust? God, in pity, made man beautiful and alluring after his own image; but my form is a filthy type of yours, more horrid even by the resemblance. Satan had his companions, fellow devils, to admire and encourage him, but I am solitary and abhorred” (Shelley 88). The creature realizes that his creator revered himself as God-like until his obsession saw fruition, then he was overcome with soul wrenching guilt and despair for aspiring to put himself above God and had to reject his very existence. The sudden death of Frankenstein by natural causes forced the creature to cease his rampage and mental torture. His murderous rampage to exact his revenge upon Frankenstein for being made a creature so repulsive that he was not allowed to live amongst gentle society, forced to live instead amongst shadows on the fringes. This sudden twist of fate caused him to reflect upon himself and his existence and conclude that only his death will release him from the bonds of alienation. “I shall die, and what I feel now be no longer felt. Soon these burning miseries shall be extinct” (Shelley 156). Shelley introduced two types of alienation in her novel.
First, Victor Frankenstein, who alienated himself through his obsession turned to madness, allowing his need to create his own beings to love and revere him because he made them and brought them to life, just as God did for the world and for humans during creation. Once he brought his vision to life, he was pulled further into alienation because if he was around people, they would see what an obvious state of misery he is in and want answers. He avoids close human contact to avoid being
discovered. The monster is forcefully alienated, through no fault of his own, because of the way he has been assembled and animated caused him to have a hideously terrifying countenance.
People cannot know that he is a sensitive, gentle and intelligent being on the inside because they are afraid of him. He is entirely alone. In contrast, Albert Camus’s novel, the Stranger depicts alienation on a different plane. His character Mersault is a simple, self–involved man who does not view life in the same manner as most people do. He is unable to form normal relationships with people because he cannot form a connection to them, thus preventing him from being able to form emotional attachments to other people. He does not feel obligated to try to blend in. When his mother passed away, we are introduced to his peculiar and detached nature. To reach the home he had placed her in several years prior to her passing, he had to travel by bus for two hours. In his conversation with the director upon reaching the home, he attempts to comfort Mersault by stating that he knew why he had moved her there, and that she had understood it also: he was a young, single man, who had a low-paying job and was unable to provide a caretaker for her or to be one for her since he worked. In reality Mersault was thinking that she had been a burden and an inconvenience to him. “That’s partly why I didn’t go up there much this past year. And also because it took up my Sunday- not to mention the trouble of
getting to the bus, buying tickets and spending two hours traveling” (Camus 5). He is aware of how others may perceive him in his words or actions so he does not speak much to the workers who have prepared her body or to the elderly friends who have come to sit the vigil with him. He becomes clearly annoyed with the whole situation, of the expected customs he is to perform and the forced interaction with older people from the home, his mother’s friends. “The woman’s sighs and sobs were quieting down. She sniffed a lot. Then finally she shut up. I didn’t feel drowsy anymore, but I was tired and my back was hurting a lot. Now it was all these people not making a sound that was getting on my nerves” (Camus 11). After the funeral, his life goes back to normal. He has a man that he considers a friend of sorts, and also a woman that is his girlfriend, He is stilted in his thinking process, and he is not emotional. He has normal physical needs but cannot form an emotional attachment to her. He has a detached business - like thought process towards other people. He demonstrates this in a conversation that is initiated by her about love and marriage. She asks him if he loves her and wants to marry her. His response to her is simple and clinical in nature. “I explained that it didn’t really matter and if she wanted to we would get married. Besides she was the one doing the asking and all I was saying was yes” (Camus 41). Most people would not make the decision to get married as simply as if deciding what to wear or what to fix for dinner. During an outing with his friend and girlfriend, and altercation with them and some Arabs occurs down on the beach during the heat and noise of the day. Mersault ends up murdering one of them on the beach with his friend’s gun. After his arrest begins the journey of self-discovery that causes him to realize that his way of thinking is not accepted by society and his encounters with the people that will be called as witnessed will not be favorable to him. His lawyer is distressed at his lack of emotions and his lack of good character witnesses, especially those regarding his mother’s death. “I explained to him that my nature was such that my physical needs often get in the way of my feelings” (Camus 65). After trial when he is convicted and sentenced to be beheaded, he spends countless hours day-dreaming of escaping his imprisonment and impending execution, wishing he had paid greater attention to such things as a free man. He continually refuses to talk to the chaplain because he does not believe in God. He finally consents, and the priest speaks to him of the usual forgiveness before death talk. Mersault simply does not buy into it. “What did other people’s deaths or a mother’s love matter to me; what did his God or the lives people chose or the fate people think they elect matter to me when we are all elected by the same fate” (Camus 121). He seemed to feel we were all condemned to die the same death regardless of how we lived our lives; it would be the same for all of us at the end. Mersault had been alone, alienated his whole life because of the he held that most people could not respect or understand. “For everything to be consummated, for me to feel less alone, I had only to wish that there be a large crowd of spectators the day of my execution, and that they greet me with cries of hate” (Camus 123). Alienation is a powerful motivator. It keeps most of us in line, because all of us have felt alienated at one time or another by our peers, regardless of whether it is our fault or not, we feel a strong sense of ambivalence at the thought of it. No one wants to be continually avoided by others, most people want to be liked and have fulfilling relationships with other people. These two authors demonstrate alienation brought about in three different ways and how the characters handled it. The only commonality was that each one went to their deaths because of it, either directly or indirectly.