Top-Rated Free Essay
Preview

Sympathy for Frankenstein

Good Essays
894 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Sympathy for Frankenstein
In the eighteenth century novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, the protagonist creates a creature commonly known as Frankenstein. From a young age when his mother past away, the main character, Victor Frankenstein had a passion to create life. With this passion, Victor set out for the University of Geneva in Switzerland. Here Victor acquired the knowledge allowing him to execute his plan. Victor was interested in bringing the dead back to life, thus leading to his downfall. After many tries he finally accomplished the creation of a monster. The creation was extremely hideous, but far more real than Victor could have imagined. In the years that would follow, the monsters eloquence and persuasiveness would allow him to not be blamed of murder and force Victor to make another creation all to sympathize for his ugly physique.

Victor Frankenstein’s creation was able to elude the warrants of murder through his eloquence and pensiveness in short talks with his creator. As the antagonist of the story, the creation sought revenge on Victor for making him as appalling as any human being. No person or community would allow the creation to be near them even if he was trying to help. For instance, Frankenstein saved a young girls life. She was drowning and Frankenstein saved her as he was on his way to Geneva. For a reward the girl’s father shot the creation for his horrendous physique. The creation did not want to live the rest of its life relinquished from society and stranded. To balance out his creator’s wrong doing, the monster endeavored to make Victor’s life more miserable than his own. To accomplish such a feat he would have to take what he loved most, his family. Upon crossing Victor’s youngest brother William, he strangled him to death. After this he took the necklace that William had worn and placed it on the family servant, Justine Mortiz, to frame her for the murder. Several days later Justine was executed for the murder of William although it had been the monster all along seeking revenge. When Victor learned of all the misfortunes he knew it most have been his creation. While taking a walk on a snowy mountainside Victor finally met his creation for the first time in almost two years. Victor’s “feelings allowed (him) no respite; no incident occurred from which (his) rage and misery felt furious and wished that he had never created the monster” (Shelley 108). Still when the monster spoke to Victor his eloquence and persuasion could be enough for Victor to sympathize with him and not accuse him of the murder. The monster spoke to Victor and told him how villages had chased him away and even the loving Felix and Agatha could not bear to see him. Victor’s “heart was fashioned to be susceptible of love and sympathy, and when wrenched by misery to vice and hatred, it did not endure the violence of the change without torture such as you cannot even imagine” (Shelley 184). Since Victor would sympathize with his creation, but also the creations overwhelming strength and agility were reasons enough for him to not accuse him of the murders he had committed and the ones that would come.

The second commodity that Victor’s creation achieves through his eloquence and persuasion is that he gets his creator to make him another monster. Throughout the course of the story the creation is lonely and unhappy with his short life. Victor has made him “hideous phantasm of a man stretched out, and then, on the working of some powerful engine, show signs of life and stir with an uneasy, half-vital motion” (Shelley 4). As the creator of the monster he cannot bear to see his creation. Victor realizes that if he cannot look at his own creation than maybe the monster does deserve someone like himself to be with. That creation must “be supremely frightful would be the effect of any human endeavor to mock the stupendous mechanism of the Creator of the world" (Shelley 4) in order for it to get along with another monster as ghastly. Victor creation is able to win Victor over by making him truly comprehend how miserable his life is alone with no one wanting him. With his persuasion the monster gets Victor to make him another monster or wife to live with by his powerful tactics of persuasion. Although the monster would ruin his hopes of a second creation, his eloquence did win Victor over and would keep him from being killed by Walton at the end of the novel.

In all the monsters persuasion and eloquence were crucial in order for it to feel equal amongst people. When Victor Frankenstein first created the monster it was a horrible disaster and an experiment that had gone completely wrong. By the end of the story the monster convinced Victor to satisfy his needs allowing him to get away with the murder of many innocent people. Also the monsters eloquence made Victor sympathize with him and force Victor to make him a wife. This would never happen in the end but the monster did get Victor to sympathize with him. At the end of the story Victor and the monster had built a social integrity with each other through persuasion and eloquence although the monster would be the only one that lived.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Frankenstein

    • 1894 Words
    • 8 Pages

    The novel opens as Victor Frankenstein recalls his curiosity and fascination with human life. Frankenstein quickly becomes obsessed with experimenting, and he attempts to create a living being out of dead body parts. He succeeds, but his creation turns into a living monster. Exclaimed by Frankenstein, “It was the secrets of heaven and earth that I desired to learn” (Shelley 33). Victor is extremely horrified by his grotesque looking creation and falls into a severe illness. While Victor is ill, the monster escapes to the woods where he watches a family and tries to befriend the humans. But once the monster makes his presence known, the family can’t accept Frankenstein’s ugly appearance. Because all humans he encountered reject him, the monster begins to hate people and believe that they are his enemies. Frustrated, the monster returns to his creator and demands that Frankenstein makes a female companion to cure his loneliness. The creature promises Victor that he will leave with his female companion, travel to South America, and never come in contact with humans again. However, two years beforehand, the creature spitefully murdered Victor 's brother William to get back at him. Holding a grudge against his monster creation for the death of William, Victor refuses to make a friend for the monster. In an effort to make Victor as miserable as himself,…

    • 1894 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Frankenstein

    • 443 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In the novel Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein and his creation are analogous, but there are many differences between the two. Victor grew up with loving siblings and parents and they never denied him anything. The monster that Victor created was deserted by Victor to fight for himself, victor was more a monster than the creature. The monster is self-educated learning from watching from Delacy’s (“My days were spent in close attention, that I might more speedily master the language”. P 99) while Victor was taught in school (“When I had attained the age of seventeen my parents resolved that I should become a student at the University of Ingolstadt”. P 28), Victor was loved and had loved but the monster never experienced anything but hatred from everyone around him.…

    • 443 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    While on a stroll, Victor’s brother William was found murdered “stretched on the grass livid and motionless; the print of the murderer's finger was on his neck.” (pg. 67) Victor later sees flashes of the wretch in between lightning strikes. Victor then fully believes that his creation murdered his brother, leading to the conclusion that Victor was directly responsible for the murder of William. Frankenstein’s foolish pursuit of immortality led to great personal loss that he cannot possibly atone for. Later, Victor quest for endless life leads to another victim, the scapegoat of William’s murder, Justine Moritz. Justine was convicted of the murder of William Frankenstein based on circumstantial evidence, as Victor refused to acquit her by telling his tale of the…

    • 497 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Imagine a world where you create a being out of disembodied people. A said being that has such a terrifying effect that you are horrified to look at. The main character of the Frankenstein does such thing. The novel Frankenstein is a well known source of literary canon and is worthy of continuous study. Mary Shelley’s Romantic novel, Frankenstein, is worthy of continued study due to its literary canon, achieved through her commentary of men in a State of Nature and their Marxist struggle of power. The Creature who is created by Victor, goes through a journey of self discovery and lets his persona be shaped by outside forces. State of Nature essentially makes him bad, and his Marxist struggle for power over his creator Victor leads to his downfall.…

    • 171 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the gothic novel Frankenstein written by Mary Shelly Victor Frankenstein creates a monster. At first glance this gothic tale is about this creature's terrible action against society in the late 1700's. Many people who read this novel, would believe that the monster to be the novels villain, however the events that occurred are that repercussions of one man's irresponsible and reckless behavior. Although this man was not the one who killed his beloved family and friends. Victor Frankenstein is indeed the sole cause of this deathly catastrophe and is the one to blame; by creating the monster, not taking responsibility for it , and then isolating himself from the world causing his creation to roam as it pleased, leaving his creation unattended and neglected. Victor Frankenstein ultimately caused the ruin of his closest friends and family, his human-like creation, and eventually his own life.…

    • 1263 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In Mary Shelley’s (1797-1851) Frankenstein; Or the Modern Prometheus (1818), Victor Frankenstein creates a fiend out the dead body parts. Frankenstein, as a product of the Enlightenment and the Scientific Revolution, is obsessed with advancing the cause of science, and in becoming famous and respected."A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me. I might in process of time (although I now found it impossible) renew life where death had apparently devoted the body to corruption ”(Shelley 48). This modern day Prometheus, succeeds in doing what no man has done before, create life. The man he creates is contrary to what Victor envisioned. “How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe, or how delineate the wretch whom with such infinite pains and care I had endeavoured to form? His limbs were in proportion, and I had selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful! Great God! His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun-white sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled complexion and straight black lips”(Shelley 51). After his creation comes to life, he refuses to accept his (parental) obligation; he does not care for the fiend, he does not provide it with shelter nor with food or love. He fails to teach and to instruct dismissing a relationship with his creature. Instead, in disgust of what he has done, Victor abandons “the fiend.” The fiend attempts to live a normal life; however, being abandon leaves the monster confused, afraid, left to his own devices, and angry. "'I am…

    • 2458 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein, although the creature is physically grotesque, Victor's actions and emotions are monstrous. Both Victor and the creature become isolated from society. However Victor's isolation is caused by his own greed for knowledge, whereas the creature has no choice, as he is rejected from society. Victor's inhumane nature is evident when he refuses to comply with his son's request for a mate. Even though both Victor and the creature commit horrible crimes, only the creature is capable of taking responsibility for his actions. Although at first glance the creature in Frankenstein is evil, the true villain is his creator, Victor.…

    • 849 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Victor Frankenstein’s great creation, the monster, is inherently good, but the corruption of the society turns him evil. The monster acts just like a newborn baby, but the “mother”, Victor, abandons him because of his horrific appearance. Being alienated form the rest of the world, the monster hides in a cottage and knows nothing about the world. Not only his creator refuses to accept him, but also the society repulses him. When he sees De Lacey family, his “trait of kindness moves him sensibly”(74) and collects wood for the De Lacey family, however, the family excludes him from them. His kindhearted action receives nothing but hatred. His ignorance and deformed appearance make him a monster who differs from other people. The monster decides to take revenge because of the unequal treatment from the society. The author, Mary Shelley, indicates the idea of the society makes Victor’s creature evil also by pointing out the book that the monster read before - Paradise Lost. The emotional creature suffers despair and loneliness and at last acts of cruelty and murder. His loneliness and the reality of not being accepted by the society led to his horrible behaviors.…

    • 1193 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Frankenstein begins his research with the good intention of helping people, but his thoughts soon turn to the quest for power over life and to be recognized as the creator of a species (Shelley 60-61). He became so caught up in his attempt to create life that he never thought about the consequences. The appearance of his creation changes in his mind from a work of beauty while he is still creating it to a hideous monster when it comes to life (Shelley…

    • 1017 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Evolution of Frankenstein

    • 571 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the novel, Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, the major character, Victor Frankenstein, evolves synonymously with the character of his monster. The evolution of Victor from a man of good to a man of evil leads to his isolation and eventual destruction. Correspondingly, the monster changes from a harmless being to a vindictive psychopath. What began as an innocent experiment in creation ends in a disaster of total devastation. Frankenstein, in trying to gain control of life as a creator, becomes a victim of his own creation.…

    • 571 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Arrogance In Frankenstein

    • 1265 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Imagine being sewn together from patchwork body parts and brought into this world because a brilliant man 's arrogance to achieve beyond what any other scientist or doctor had, then rejected by that creator. "The different accidents of life are not so changeable as the feelings of human nature. I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body. I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart." (Frankenstein, p. 74). Victor, horrified by the creature 's revolting appearance, attempts to save his reputation by abandoning the monster. Victor thought to himself, "I had gazed on him unfinished, he was ugly then, but when those muscles and joints were rendered capable of motion, it became such a thing as even Dante could not have conceived." (Frankenstein, p.…

    • 1265 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Victor is the protagonist in Frankenstein. He created the “monster,” and then realizes he has gone too far in the quest for knowledge. The rejection that Victor has for the monster is instantaneous; this rejection stirs a hatred for humankind from the monster. Victor gave up a normal life, a productive life because of the obsession to bring life to a non-functioning body, much like cloning today. Alone, lonely and horrified at his creation, he runs away from reality and wanders aimlessly in the streets of Ingolstadt.…

    • 649 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Frankenstein is a novel book in which the mistake of Victor leads to the death of his loved ones. A scientist decides to interfere in the plans of nature and nature represented by the creature severely punishes him for that. Only “God” should take responsibility of creating a human form of life. Victor and the monster both die.…

    • 58 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Limits In Frankenstein

    • 491 Words
    • 2 Pages

    While figuring out the cure for death Victor has to “work for nearly two years”(43) to “[infuse] life into an inanimate body” (43). The supernatural has taken up a huge portion of his life, casing him to stop speaking to his friends and family back home in Geneva. The Creation is the embodiment of supernatural, he is larger than a normal human, stronger and faster. Victor purposefully made his creation this way, once while in the mountains he sees “the figure of a man… advancing… with superhuman speed” (85) this figure is The Creation. The knowledge that Frankenstein acquired was how to undo death, a supernatural…

    • 491 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Victor Frankenstein knew all there was to know about Alchemy, and Alchemy’s first rule is that nothing is entirely free; to create, something must be taken. After taking a new interest in dark sciences, later becoming an obsession, his goal was to create life. He robbed graves, collecting pieces of the human body; features he thought would make a beautiful creature. After hard work and determination, Victor accomplished his goal. Something unexpected happened, after giving his creature life he looked at his creation and suddenly became horrified and couldn’t bear to be in the room. The next morning he completely abandoned his creation after seeing it grin at him from across the room. The monster was…

    • 676 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays