Frankenstein's Monstrosity
Christopher Thai
Kingstone
15 October, 2010
1616W
Frankenstein’s Monstrosity “I’m just a soul whose intentions are good, Oh lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood” a verse from the notorious rapper Lil Wayne who judges one’s physical appearance rather the inner qualities that never is seen. Throughout the last century, society has been based on superficial concepts of good or evil, beautiful or ugly, ordinary or abnormal. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the Creature is depicted as a overwhelming ugly monster with superhuman strength and the lust to kill his next victim. Playing with the elements of God, Dr. Frankenstein’s dream was to bring upon life regardless of how it was created. Frankenstein’s creation is human in the sense that it holds emotions, a sense of compassion and the yearning to feel loved. All these characteristics are that possessed by humans not monsters. However, through society’s quick judgment and being “misunderstood” of the creatures physical abnormalities, Frankenstein is a monster. The contrast between Dr. Frankenstein and his creature implies that a monster is solely based of his physical characteristics. Victor Frankenstein is an egotistical scientist who succeeds in reanimating life but is disgusted by his creature’s appearance and thus abandons from him. Who is the real monster here? Although Dr. Frankenstein's creature is portrayed as a monster in Mary Shelly's Frankenstein, the real monster is Victor himself, as Victor's creation is imbued with Victor's negative character traits. There is an invisible value placed on the existence of inhumane characters in fiction, in comparison to the value of life of humans. Mary Shelley seems to play with the distinct differences between humanity and monstrosity. Intelligence and emotions, and
whether the character in question is actually alive in the conventional sense, are usually what dictate the morality of the situation. The term monster is defined as an unnatural being that doesn’t
Kingstone
15 October, 2010
1616W
Frankenstein’s Monstrosity “I’m just a soul whose intentions are good, Oh lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood” a verse from the notorious rapper Lil Wayne who judges one’s physical appearance rather the inner qualities that never is seen. Throughout the last century, society has been based on superficial concepts of good or evil, beautiful or ugly, ordinary or abnormal. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the Creature is depicted as a overwhelming ugly monster with superhuman strength and the lust to kill his next victim. Playing with the elements of God, Dr. Frankenstein’s dream was to bring upon life regardless of how it was created. Frankenstein’s creation is human in the sense that it holds emotions, a sense of compassion and the yearning to feel loved. All these characteristics are that possessed by humans not monsters. However, through society’s quick judgment and being “misunderstood” of the creatures physical abnormalities, Frankenstein is a monster. The contrast between Dr. Frankenstein and his creature implies that a monster is solely based of his physical characteristics. Victor Frankenstein is an egotistical scientist who succeeds in reanimating life but is disgusted by his creature’s appearance and thus abandons from him. Who is the real monster here? Although Dr. Frankenstein's creature is portrayed as a monster in Mary Shelly's Frankenstein, the real monster is Victor himself, as Victor's creation is imbued with Victor's negative character traits. There is an invisible value placed on the existence of inhumane characters in fiction, in comparison to the value of life of humans. Mary Shelley seems to play with the distinct differences between humanity and monstrosity. Intelligence and emotions, and
whether the character in question is actually alive in the conventional sense, are usually what dictate the morality of the situation. The term monster is defined as an unnatural being that doesn’t