Frankenstein- Society and Alienation

In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the monster is used to show how society alienates people because of certain characteristics. Victor Frankenstein’s creation is rejected by everyone that it comes into contact with. The reason that the monster is so abhorred is because of its hideous appearance. Although the monster has amiable intentions, the people around him immediately assume that he is completely evil. The monster is rejected by complete strangers, by people he loves, and even by his own creator. The importance that society places upon a person’s appearance is evidenced by the way that Frankenstein’s monster is judged based on his monstrous façade.

The monster’s appearance causes anyone who sees him to flee, depriving the monster from having the chance to show its inner goodness. The monster’s first encounter with a human that it can recall occurred when he entered a small hut belonging to an old man. Immediately upon seeing the monster the man screamed and ran away. The creature never made any threatening gesture nor said any aggressive phrase. The mere sight of the monster was enough to make the man assume that the unknown creature was a monster with evil thoughts and intentions. The monster had a similar experience in a village the following day. In this case, the villagers reacted in different ways. One of them faints, some scream, and the majority of them attack the monster. Society tends to judge people according to their appearance, and in this case the villagers judged that the creature was evil, dangerous, and something to be feared. Their decision was to either hurt or drive away the monster before it would the chance to hurt them. They fact that the monster might not want to hurt them never enters their minds. A similar experience occurs later in the novel when the monster witnesses a young girl slip into a river. Although the monster has been spurned by humans before, he still has enough good feeling left inside of him to want to save the girl. He