The major aspect of Shelley’s
Frankenstein that surprised me was the eloquence and depth to the monster’s
character. I was always familiar with the basis of the Frankenstein tale, but
never did I expect the monster to speak so fluently and to be so humanized. It
was very intriguing to see how Shelley developed the monster’s character and
the dynamic between the monster and civilization around him caused me to
develop a love-hate relationship for him.
The monster is like an orphaned
new-born adult, thrown into the cruel world of man and forced to try to
assimilate with others around him. It is no surprise that every human the
monster encounters reacts in fear and disgust upon looking at him because practically
anyone in modern day would react the same. The blind old man that speaks to the
monster says a lot about humanity. This instance is practically the only time
the monster is not immediately judged and feared – simply because the man
cannot see the monster’s appearance. To the old man, he is just like any other
human. This scene emphasizes how society is prejudiced and tends to outcast anything
that deviates from normality.
It was
honestly sad to read the monster’s story and see how every act of kindness and
innocence was shot down without even a question asked. Nobody tried to talk to
him or even give him a chance to speak. The monster was isolated from the very
beginning, making him an easy character to sympathize with. People throughout history
have been treated unfairly for their skin color, religion, sexuality, weight,
disability, etc. I saw a lot of parallels with the issues real people face
with the treatment of the monster. I was pretty mad at civilization for most of
the novel, but no one made me as furious as Victor did.
Victor is
an incredibly selfish character who creates this grotesque creation and
abandons it immediately. Although the monster kills everyone in Victor’s
family, it is completely Victor’s fault for not taking responsibility at any
point in the novel. Victor’s carelessness causes the monster to become very
sinister and violent and I am convinced he could have avoided so much death and
suffering if only he had kept his promise.
