Preview

Ambiguity In Frankenstein

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1567 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Ambiguity In Frankenstein
In the novel, Frankenstein by Mary Shelly, Victor creates the creature in order to be noticed and remembered for creating life. However, even though making the creature was fascinating and exciting for Victor once the creature was animated Victor wanted nothing to do with his creation. Throughout the novel the creature can be seen trying to fit in and be accepted by Victor and the other people in the society. However, he is turned away and treated harshly because he does not look like a normal human, he looks like a monster leading him to be overcome by rage and be the monster he is seen as. Therefore, the creature is portrayed as morally ambiguous because of the good and evil that can be seen in him throughout the novel.
In Frankenstein, by
…show more content…
For example, he understands that he only wanted revenge on Victor and he wishes that he had not been created. This can be seen when the creature says, “CURSED, CURSED creator! Why did I live? Why in that instant, did I not extinguish the spark of existence… despair had not yet taken possession of me; my feelings were of those of rage and have revenge. I could with pleasure have destroyed the cottage and its inhabitants…” (97). Therefore, showing that even though he knew that he could have killed the cottagers for rejecting him he realized that it would only be out of revenge and he asks why Victor had not killed him before. Moreover, at the end of the novel the creature's rage and hatred is gone after finding out that Victor has died. The creature tells Walton that he never meant to hurt anyone, he says, “Oh, Frankenstein! generous and self-devoted being! what does it avail that I now ask thee to pardon me? I, who irretrievably destroyed thee by destroying all thou lovedst.” (163). The creatures asks Victor to forgive him for all the evil he has caused and the torture that he put him through because he feels guilty for all that he has done. This reveals that the creature was a good person even though he had committed murders, because he was able to realize that what he was doing was bad and he went to ask for forgiveness because of the guilt he

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein presents that Victor’s creation is a monster and that is not true. The true monster in this story is Dr. Victor Frankenstein. Victor had one goal in creating his creature and that was to gain fame and to gain praise from his creation. The one difference that separates Victor and the Creature apart is that Victor thought that the creature was still evil in the end, but the creature realized that what he had done was…

    • 370 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The creature’s anger and revenge stemmed from Victor’s neglect and abandonment. If Victor had reacted differently and provided the love and care a creator usually has, then the creature wouldn’t have committed any murders in the first place. In the literary criticism, “Parent-Child Tensions in Frankenstein: The Search of Communion,” Calridge states that, “It is not, then, the…

    • 1129 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    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…

    • 144 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In ‘Frankenstein’ we see the monster being rejected which inevitably reflects on his rehearsed motives within society for example the murders the creature imposed on the innocent members of the society. The monster experiences feelings of anger and destruction which develop throughout the…

    • 2021 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The creature in Frankenstein is banished by De Lacy, Felix Lacy, Agatha Lacy, and Safie. The creature lives in a room next to theirs and watches them. He subtly helps them and is quite kind, but when he reveals himself they chase him away and beat him. "I do know that for the sympathy of one living being, I would make peace with all. I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy the one, I will indulge the other." This is a quote by the monster showing that he is rejected by almost every person he comes in contact with in the book. The monster begins to act out after constantly being rejected and starts to kill Victor’s loved ones for…

    • 502 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    When Victor created the monster he did not have the intention to get rid of him. He created the monster and regretted it but he did not know he would feel that way before he made it. “You see for knowledge and wisdom, as i once did and i ardently hope that the gratification of your wishes may not be a serpent to sting you, as mine has been” (9) Victor also seeks knowledge and wisdom so that he can do good. He had good intentions to seek those things and was planning on doing good which it acquired. Victor Frankenstein and the monster have good intentions when they do things and do not intend for them to go wrong yet things tend to go wrong for them. The monster had good intentions also. The monster may have had hate for Victor since he created and abandoned him but the hate was not sincere because he actually cared for his creator. He could die once his creator was dead. When the monster killed the boy he did not have the intention to murder him.. The monster did not know its strength even though he did not intend to hurt anyone, this is seen when the monster says “I drew his hand forcibly and said, “Child, what is the meaning of this? I do not intent to hurt you””(16). Whenever he does something with good intentions and it goes wrong, he gets very angry. He only wants to do good but he does not know how so his anger is because he can't do what he wants to do. He never had the intention to…

    • 1131 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Frankenstein, one of the themes involves cruelty and the mistreatment of others. This can be seen when Victor turns away from his creature and abandons him. It can also be shown through diction Victor constantly calls the creature a demon, the devil, vile, and a monster. The hurt done to the creature by Victor Frankenstein is the main cause for the plot development and rising conflicts. Realistically, if Victor had accepted and showed the creature an accepting society, there would be no story. But since he never experienced love or acceptance anywhere, he vows for revenge and death to everyone his creator loves. Because he was only shown hatred and disgust, he only shows hatred and disgust for society.…

    • 457 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein creates a creature to which he immediately abhors and detests. Frankenstein believes he is responsible for the monster’s well being, however, he states that his duty to his fellow man was more important: “My duties towards the being of my own species had greater claims to my attention because they included a greater proportion of happiness or misery” (Shelly p.207). He ran from his home leaving the creature alone to fend for himself in the world of man. Those who see the beast immediately find hatred towards it and lash out. This continues until the being finds refuge in the forests. It is here he finds a haven from man, as well as a family living in…

    • 551 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In her novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley portrays her idea that creatures are born with good intentions, but this innocence is soon snatched away by the gnarled hands of life. The monster, when he is first created, wanders until he finds a family which he observes intently. At first the monster would steal some of their food, but “when [he] found that in doing this [he] inflicted pain on the cottagers, [he] abstained” (Shelley 99). The monster has been alive for a very short period of time and knows little of social norms, yet he has an instinctive predisposition towards good actions. Victor was also innocent in his youth, and remembers fondly how he was raised by devoted parents. Victor recalls, “I was so guided by a silken cord that all seemed…

    • 381 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As his mind is clouded with anger, Frankenstein decides, through thoughts about Elizabeth and consideration for his own possible death, “not to fall before [his] enemy without a bitter struggle” (121). Although Victor reflects on the sorrow his “beloved Elizabeth” may experience if he dies, he is still completely determined to, at least, try to fight if ever face to face with his creation (121). Shelly implies that Victor disregards the consequences of a “bitter struggle” because his thoughts still display his persistent desire for vengeance, to not “fall before [his] enemy.” Muddled with vengeful thoughts, individuals are prepared to withstand any afflictions that may follow the attempts to exact their lust for retribution. This indifference to consequence shows the lack of rational thought within individuals that seek to exact revenge, a clear warning from Mary Shelley. As he kneels in the graveyard, following Elizabeth’s murder, Victor “swear[s] to pursue the demon, who cause[s his] misery, until he or [Victor] shall perish in mortal conflict”(145). With the death of his fiancee, best friend, and younger brother, Victor Frankenstein declares his only purpose for existence is to seek vengeance until death. The lust for retribution ignites intense emotion which proves to be in direct correlation with mental instability. Similarly, the monster’s hatred for all things, including Frankenstein, intensifies his lust for revenge and as a result, leaves him a victim of irrational, detrimental thought. The monster “for the first time” experiences “the feelings of revenge and hatred” and he “[does] not strive to control them, but allow[s]..[his] mind” to focus on “injury and death” (95-97). The search for vengeance sparks within the monster, and without hesitation, the monster allows the feelings of rage to take control, and his mind’s focus turns…

    • 1071 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    By this definition, in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein both Victor and his creation can be perceived as monsters. Both characters breach socially established boundaries with the creature blurring the lines between life and death as well as humanity and bestiality through his combined circumstances of birth and outward appearance. Frankenstein’s creation is not of human origin, but rather exists as an amalgamation of corpses created through scientific experimentation, “a product of nature – his ingredients are 100 per cent natural – and yet by the process and the very fact of his creation, he is unnatural”. Admittedly, Frankenstein’s creation fits the definition of the archetypal monster as “a large, ugly, and frightening imaginary creature” however, this is only true in regards to his aesthetical appearance for he is shown throughout the novel to exhibit the essence of humanity through his morality, intelligence and emotional capacity. In fact…

    • 444 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In Frankenstein, the role of the monster and human are subtly revered with Victor considered more monstrous than the creature he created. This is because first, Victor is portrayed monstrous than the creature because he abandons his creature instead of educating and friendly introducing him to the world, which is itself a monstrous act of irresponsibility. Secondly, Victor ought to know that the creature will likely harm others, but due to his selfishness he places his family and friends at great risk. Some might say that Victor is not monstrous and disagree with the fact that he only wants creature to be killed, because he agreed to the creature that he will make the female form of the creature to fulfill the creature’s need and for his family’s…

    • 1656 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Perception in society has a huge effect on the way people treat one another. In most cases, that perception is usually flawed. It is greatly affected by looks, height, weight, and other physical traits. An example would be a student categorizing his teacher as strict and aggressive because of his height or because of the tone of his voice. Also an overweight person is usually classified as a non athletic individual. Flawed perception had an enormous effect on the monster’s behaviour throughout his experience as a living being. Many examples of flawed perception are evident in Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein. Stereotypes and fear are examples of flawed perception. The consequence of those flawed perceptions can be seen through…

    • 1963 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Frankensteins Innocence

    • 932 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Although the Creature later went on to commit crimes, he was not instinctively bad. Victor's Creature was brought into this world with a child-like innocence. He was abandoned at birth and left to learn about life on his own. After first seeing his creation, Victor "escaped and rushed downstairs." (Frankenstein, 59) A Creator has the duty to teach his Creature about life, as well as to love and nurture him. However, Victor did not do any of these; he did not take responsibility for his creature. One of the first things that the creature speaks of is that he was a "poor, helpless, miserable wretch; I knew, and could distinguish, nothing; but feeling pain invade me on all sides, (he) sat down and wept." (106) The Creature knew nothing when he was born. He could not distinguish rite from wrong. The only thing that he could feel was pain from being rejected by his own creator. Victor was the first to force the Creature's child-like innocence away from him. Even after being educated by the DeLacey family his child-like innocence shines through. He was reading books while he stumbled upon a story of bloodshed and he "could not conceive how one man could go forth to murder his fellow… (He) turned away (from them) with disgust…

    • 932 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The creature created by Victor Frankenstein was very vicious and evil as described in the story. The book creates an image of the creature as a monster that murders people close to Victor. The monster is actually a victim of an injustice taking place. The creature understands that in his life there is no justice, he tries to make himself perfect in order to change his injustice, and the willingness of searching for fairness gives the story a sense of inspiration and life lessons.…

    • 560 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays