William Barker ENGL: 1200:0052 3/11/2023 Frankenstein Close Reading Paper The theme of revenge is a pervasive element in Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein." The novel's characters are driven by a desire for retribution, which ultimately leads to their downfall. This essay will explore the theme of revenge in "Frankenstein" by analyzing its representation in the novel. This theme of revenge in "Frankenstein" highlights the destructive nature of vengeance. The characters' desire for revenge blinds them to the consequences of their actions, leading to a cycle of violence and tragedy. The novel suggests that revenge is a futile pursuit that only leads to further pain and suffering. The characters in the novel become so consumed by their desire for revenge that they lose sight of …show more content…
The creature's actions are motivated by a desire to make Victor suffer and to show him the consequences of his actions. The creature tells Victor, "I am alone, and miserable; man will not associate with me; but one as deformed and horrible as myself would not deny herself to me" (Shelley, 98). This statement reflects the creature's sense of isolation and loneliness and its belief that its actions are justified by the cruelty of its existence. William and Henry The creature's desire for revenge leads it to commit several acts of violence, including the murder of William Frankenstein and Henry Clerval. The creature's actions are motivated by a desire to make Victor suffer and to show him the consequences of his actions. The creature tells Victor: "I am alone, and miserable; man will not associate with me; but one as deformed and horrible as myself would not deny herself to me" (Shelley, 98). This statement reflects the creature's sense of isolation and loneliness and its belief that its actions are justified by the cruelty of its
Vengeance in Frankenstein Throughout Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein we see how the isolation and detachment from society leads to the characters desire for revenge. As Victor Frankenstein, the Creature, and other characters develop and change throughout the story, we see how they often grow indignant of others actions and seek a way to get back at them. The most prominent example of this being shown through the Creature where he grows greatly disconnected from society which leads him to grow hatred for Victor Frankenstein and kill people. Once the creature is created and immediately abandoned/shunned by others in the public, he turns to evil and seeks to kill those who have made him the way he is. In this case the creature targets people close
Frankenstein: A Passionate Revenge Cycle “The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science”(Einstein). This quote by esteemed physicist Albert Einstein describes the relationship between the unknown and known and how a mystery is used to find answers. In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelly, protagonist Victor sought after the concept of life as it was a mystery which led him towards a dangerous path of scientific discovery.
The Creature is furious at Victor for not keeping his promise, and at the likelihood of his like continuing in solitude. The Creature warns Victor that he will be there on his wedding night. Victor is oblivious to the fact that the Creature kills Elizabeth because he is envious of Victor's life in which he will never have. Victor takes no responsibility to provide a good life for his creation that the Monster has no other duty than to torment Victor and show him what his life is like. Until this point, Victor avoided the Monster but now, he dedicates his life to
Thus, the constant rejection the creature undergoes is the cause for his malicious acts, ultimately suggesting that those who reject the creature, Victor and society, are monsters. To begin, the creature resents Victor for abandoning him, which causes the creature to kill Victor's brother. Science fascinates Victor, and the desire to discoverer consumes him. He uses his scientific
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is a classic novel that explores the consequences of cruelty, both towards oneself and others. Through the course of the story, the theme of cruelty functions as a crucial motivator and major social and political factor, driving the plot and the development of the characters. This essay will analyze how cruelty functions in the work as a whole, the impact it has on the characters, and what it reveals about the perpetrator/victim relationship. One of the most striking examples of cruelty in the novel is the treatment of the creature by his creator, Victor Frankenstein.
The creature expresses his sadness to Victor as he abandons the creature, and the creature cannot make contact with other humans because of his deformities. He also conveys his anger toward Victor from the human's treatment of him. Shelley describes that: “I am the miserable and the abandoned, am an abortion, to be spurned at, and kicked, and trampled on. Even now my blood boils at the recollection of this injustice” (Shelley 224). Victor’s negligence heavily influences the creature’s emotions.
Despite the creature's remorse, Victor denies its plea for a companion, pushing it to seek revenge (Shelley, Chapter 17). Victor's refusal to grant the creature's request for companionship reflects his ongoing cruelty and lack of empathy. His rejection perpetuates the creature's feelings of worthlessness, intensifying its resentment towards humanity. Victor's denial of companionship mirrors society's rejection of the creature, reinforcing the notion that it is a product of its circumstances. This rejection strengthens the creature's belief that it can only find solace in vengeance against its callous creator.
The creature expresses his suffering from Victor's neglect and rejection. The creature's experiences evoke sympathy and underscore the importance of compassion and empathy between family members. The creature builds to that by stating, "Yet you, my creator, detest and spurn me, thy monster, to whom thou art bound by ties only dissoluble by the annihilation of one of us" (Shelley 102). The creature's observations about Victor's neglectful behavior as a parent are significant because it reveals the importance of proper parenting. The creature points out that parenting should not involve neglect or rejection, and this realization is made even more critical due to Victor's upbringing.
(Shelly 69) What Victor endured in the past still fuelled his hate and anger towards the creature. This hate consumed his whole being leading him to parade such savagery to the creature. Through the cruelty he shows buth his own body and the creature we can see Victor's selfishness.
This further constructed the monster’s ambition to prowl out revenge from those who spurned him. He then advances on to hurting Frankenstein. While visiting Frankenstein’s brother, “the boy repulses the monster” leading into “the monster kills him” (Novels). The monster’s doing was derived from his profound sense of suffering and betrayal. The monster’s shift from considerate to bitter was caused by his exclusion from all mankind.
The Creature approaches his creator Dr. Frankenstein with an ultimatum, this ultimatum is that he either makes him a companion or he dies and an example of this would be when the creature says “you my creator, abhor me; when can I gather from your fellow creature that owns me nothing? They spawn and hate me.” (Shelley 184) Dr. Frankenstein listens to the Creature and agrees to create a companion for him. While Dr. Frankenstein is almost done with the Creatures companion he begins to regret his decision and concludes to not finish the project destroying everything in front of the Creatures eyes.
This madness makes The Creature’s goal to destroy every happy thing in Victors life, and not try to control or stop it. Starting with his brother, The Creature decides to start his plan of revenge on Victor: “Frankenstein! You belong then to my enemy- to him towards whom I have sworn eternal revenge; you shall be my first victim.” (163). Another innocent victim is being killed because the creature knows he is not loved.
Duality is shown in Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, a gothic tale of a scientist whom looks to advance the life-giving qualities of mother nature. Through this novel, Shelley proves that good and evil in human nature is not always simple to define, and that everyone has both of these qualities within them. The duality of human nature is shown through the characters of Victor Frankenstein and his monster, who are both heroes in the novel while simultaneously displaying anti-hero qualities. Shelley forces the reader to sympathize with them both but also creates gruesome ideas of the two. Frankenstein’s creature places himself in a submissive position when he begs his creator to have mercy on him and asking the creator to “create a female for [him] with whom [he] can live in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for [his] being.”
Mary Shelley shows the endless amount of revenge and that it is driven by pure hatred and rage. The monster was not created to be vengeful, he was kind hearted but when he was poorly treated by Victor and then by the Delacey family, he turned cold. In her novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley displays the immorality and destructive effects that revenge can have through Frankenstein and his pursuit of the creature. Immediately after the monster had awoken, hatred thickened and would drive the plot to be all about revenge. The creature illustrates this hatred as he says to Victor, “Everything is related in them which bears reference to my accursed origin; the whole detail of that series of disgusting circumstances which produced it is set in view;
Lizette Silva Frankenstein In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, there are many themes that are present. One of the most important themes that we can see is the theme of injustice. Almost every character in this novel faces injustice in abounding types of different measures. In the end, no one really gets to have justice because of all the events that have happened throughout the story.