The Creation Is A Monster

What is a monster, really? Is it really a Creature that has three eyes instead of two, with pus seeping out of every crevice in his face and an abnormally large form? Or is it someone with a mind so corrupt it rivals that of Satan? Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a story within a story that centers on the tale of a man with an immense thirst of knowledge and a fetish to imitate the Creator. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a lot like the Greek mythological tale of the Greek God, Prometheus, and his brother, Epimetheus, who were assigned the task of creating man. The story captivates the theme of monstrosity. Mary Shelley wrote the novel in a form so the reader’s opinions never stray far from sympathy for the monster and apathy for Victor

The monster is victimized because he does nothing to warrant the unfair treatment he gets considering he really does nothing wrong. First of all, the monster is not at fault for how he looks. Victor himself even says that what he had been working on for two whole years turned out as a catastrophe. When Victor brings his creation to life, he says, “How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe, or how delineate the wretch whom with such infinite pains and care I had endeavored to form?” Pg 48. Victor works so hard and so long on his creation and he plans for it to be a beautiful creature and he messes up and instead ends up with something that scares everyone who sees it. The monster is mistreated because of how he looks which is not, in any way shape or form, his fault.

Oxford dictionary defines monster as, “Originally: a mythical creature which is part animal and part human, or combines elements of two or more animal forms, and is frequently of great size and ferocious appearance. Later, more generally: any imaginary creature that is large, ugly, and frightening. (Oxford English Dictionary)” This definition is basic in nature. What must be added is whether it is nature that makes the monster what it is or is it nurture that makes it what it is. In both Beowulf and Frankenstein the monster complex engages, complicates and has an effect on us. Beowulf has to battle Grendel, his mom, and the dragon to do his duty as a warrior, but the monsters only make it more difficult to tell

“As monstrous races faded from popularity, the increased focus on unnatural or monstrous individuals added new interest in the long-standing philosophical and theological debates about whether or not monsters could be human and where monsters fit within God’s ordered universe […] philosophers and theologians in both the medieval period and the Renaissance often interpreted these monstrous individuals as carrying a specific meaning for the community into which they were born (Wright 6).”

The definition of a monster is very arguable. A monster is typically seen as something inhuman and hideously scary. A human could also be a monster in that they could be extremely wicked or cruel. In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Victor Frankenstein, creator of the creature, is the real monster because he is a hypocrite, he created the monster and abandoned him, and he is extremely selfish.

What defines a monster? Is it their grotesque, unnatural appearance that separates them from the rest of mankind, or is it their lack of remorse and compassion that makes them different? The word monster conjures up figures from gothic horror of exotic peoples with horrifyingly exaggerated features, and the kinds of impossible delusive beasts inhabiting the pages of medieval bestiaries. Well at first I thought exactly that. When I used to hear the word “monster”, my mind immediately pictured the petrifying beast that took residence under my bed for a substantial portion of my childhood. It had demonic beating red eyes, razor sharp teeth that glistened with fresh blood and amphibian like scales covering every inch of its enormous body. However, as I got older, I started to realize that there was no such thing as monsters and that it was all just a figment of my imagination. Accordingly, the fear of the monster under my bed slowly dissipated. Nevertheless, it wasn’t until after reading a quote by my favorite author, Steven King, that I was finally able to fully comprehend what the true definition of the word “monster” really was. “Monsters are real, ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes they win”. It had taken me awhile to truly grasp what King had meant, but then it clicked. Everyone has a monster inside them, dormant or not. That monster is the voice we hear in the back of our heads, urging us to cheat or to steal, and in some instances, worse. That monster

Monsters are often thought of as green, abnormally large and scary. They are believed to hide in dark shadows and forgotten street corners. Monsters have a bad reputation and the very nature of the term monster is not smiled upon. I believe these thoughts are generic and relics of a much safer past. In our morally bankrupt society monsters exist in the realist scariest form. As we step into adulthood and take our heads out of the comic books that shows us the danger of the Green Goblin we must now be alerted the real demons. Adolf Hitler killed thousands upon thousands of people. His persona and legacy can only be thought of as sick and sadistic. Adolf Hitler did by himself what would take an entire army of

When monsters are thought of a very distinct picture comes to mind. An ugly creature that is out for blood, born into a life where causing misery is his driving force. Do these features really define what a monster is; works of literature like Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Shakespeare’s Othello tell quite a different story. Monsters are not born but made just as people are not born evil but can sometimes end up there. Othello and the Monster start of as good men looking to be part of society but were pushed out because of what others perceived them to be. This caused them to mentally and physically isolate themselves from everyone allowing hatred to take over. Iago and Frankenstein also helped to instill thoughts

In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein we are introduced early in the story to one of the main characters Victor Frankenstein and subsequently to his creation referred to as the monster. The monster comes to life after being constructed by Victor using body parts from corpses. As gruesome as this sounds initially we are soon caught up in the tale of the living monster. Victor the creator becomes immediately remorseful of his decision to bring the monstrous creation to life and abandons the borne creature. Victor describes his emotions and physical description of his creation as follows:

The Creation’s first knowledge of mankind is that humanity will only accept him if he is physically appealing because of the initial rejection from his creator, Frankenstein. Thus, the Creation or ‘monster’ devotes himself to learning how to make his ‘protectors,’ or the De Lacy Family, his friends through reason. He gathers wood for the family and stops stealing their food, demonstrating

The creature once says, “All men hate the wretched; how then, must I be hated, who am miserable beyond all living things! Yet you, my creator, detest and spurn me, they creature, to whom thou art bound by ties only dissoluble by the annihilation of one of us” (Shelley 83). He wonders himself why, in all of his suffering, he has been created at all. He was not even granted the bride he was promised by Victor. This unfortunate existence led the creation to turn to anger and rage. Blind ambition drove his creator, who could not foresee the level of destruction he would give when the reality of his plans was finally realized.

What is a monster? The word "monster" causes one to imagine a hideous, deformed or nonhuman creature that appears in horror movies and novels and terrifies everyone in its path. More importantly, however, the creature described generally behaves monstrously, doing things which harm society and acting with little consideration for the feelings and safety of others. "Thus, it is the behavior which primarily defines a monster, rather than its physical appearance"(Levine 13).

Good people do bad things. Doing a bad thing does not make someone a monster. For example, if a young boy was raised in the ghetto where he and his family never had enough to eat he might have to steal to get for his family. Even though he has done something illegal and immoral that does not make him a bad person. He was just doing what he had to do to get his family food to eat. Even if he kills someone in the process of sealing the food it does not make him a monster. This kid just made a bad choice in an awful situation but he made the choice for the right reason, to feed his family. Victor Frankenstein’s creation, the “monster”, was not all bad. The made some bad choices because of how he was created and how he was treated by Victor after he was created.

Who is the real monster?” acts as the dominant question throughout the novel “Frankenstein” written by Mary Shelly as the reader explores the protagonist Victor Frankenstein and his nameless creation. As the novel progresses, the reader notices how the relationship between the two characters goes far beyond a neglectful creature and resentful creation, for the two influence the thoughts, actions and emotions of each other. Furthermore, the creature’s physical appearance acts as his purpose throughout the novel as well as a mirror of Victor Frankenstein’s true identity. Additionally, the creature’s lack of identity begins to initiate Frankenstein’s shame towards his own identity, revealing the flawed character of Frankenstein and determining the resolution to the question “Who is the true monster? Who is the true catalyst of destruction?” During the novel, the reader is able to identify the creature as the most effective foil for Victor Frankenstein because the creature causes: Frankenstein to view the action of the creature as his own work, the shift between pride and shame in Frankenstein, and his physical appearance demonstrates his purpose to reveal the true character of Victor Frankenstein.

The creature was created by a man named Victor Frankenstein, who abandoned the creature right away. The creature had to face the pain and confusion of being brought into a world full of strange sounds and vibrant colors. He had to learn the nature of the world all by himself. Because he was alone, he had to rely on his primal instincts and learn to survive by trial and error. During the time of trial and error, he went to a village. At the village he suffered as well as brought on suffering to others. His appearance was so horrifying that it brought on the village’s suffering. Women fainted and men feared for their lives because the deformities of the creature made him appear like a monster. While the village suffered from fear of the creature, some villagers threw rocks and sticks at the creature as well as force fire into the creature’s path (Shelley 136). Thus, the creature also suffered. The horror