“I was too busy even to write home to my friends and family. I could think of nothing except the work I was doing. However vile it was, it had a hold on my mind, and I allowed it to replace any feelings I might have for anyone or anything else.” (page 23)
He crosses the line between a doctor interested in medicine and a mad scientist wanting to create life. After Victor created the monster he knew he had made a mistake and rejected it. He thought he could play god but did not think of the consequences of what he was doing. He was not sorry for making the creature but instead he was angry with the creature for not being what he expected
“…disgust filled my heart. The thing I had created was so ugly I could not look at it.” (page 25)
Victor is the monsters creator and so he should have looked after it, but instead he wants nothing to do with it. When the monster kills some of Victors family and friends, Victor finally realises his responsibility in the deaths.
“Have my dreadful deeds claimed your life too, my dearest Henry? Now I have destroyed three people, and perhaps there will be more.” (page 101)
Though he is sad at Justine being framed for a murder she did not commit, he does not have the courage to tell who the real murderer is. If he did people would be shocked that he had created the monster. Indirectly he killed the people by making the monster and so he to should be seen as a monster.
The character of the creature is difficult to call a monster because though he kills peoples it seems that it is not totally all his fault. The biggest responsibility for the killing must be with Victor for creating the creature and then abandoning it. The creature seems like a sad and lonely person who only wants the love and understanding that everybody else has got.
“The grey storm clouds are kinder to me than your fellow humans. But you made me. It’s your fault I’m miserable. You have the power to make me less unhappy.” (page 46)
The monster may look ugly, “veins showing through his yellow skin, horrid dull eyes and thin black lips” but he is misunderstood because he is actually sensitive. People become scared of him because he looks like a monster but in fact he is more human than a lot of the other characters in the book. At times I feel sorry for the creature because he knows he will never fit in because of his looks.
“All humans hate ugly things and so, since I am the ugliest creature on this earth, I am the most hated too.” (page 45)
The creatures reactions to the de Lacey family prove he is not a monster. He watches them, learns from them and wishes he was part of a family like them. He even feels guilty about stealing food from them and helps them by secretly doing jobs for them, such as chopping wood. These are not the sort of things monsters do. He also saves a girl from drowning so that shows that he is not created bad and his surroundings cause him to become evil.
“I had feelings of kindness and love, and they were repaid with anger and hatred.” (p 94)
It is very sad when the creature tries to make friends with the family but is rejected because of his appearance. Now the creature has no other choice but to take revenge on people as they will not accept him as a ordinary person.
“The raging hell inside me would never let me rest. I longed to tear up the trees by the roots and destroy everything I saw. I knew now that I could expect no pity from anyone.”
(page 73)
Another sign that the creature is not really evil is the fact that in the end of the book he feels sorry about everything that has happened. He knows he has done wrong and feels bad about. The creature knows he will not be accepted and be able to live like a normal person. It is just his fate.
“Why are you not angry at the peasant who tried to kill me……. Instead you think of them as good people, but me as evil. Is that fair? Is that right?” (page 126)
This is very human and not how monsters are supposed to feel. He even plans to kill himself because then he does not have to suffer any more and the world will be a better place without him.
The character of Grendel is obviously a monster. He has monster features such as huge size, great strength, a “scaly hide,” “talon-tipped hands” and is called a troll. Unlike Frankensteins creature Grendel is as evil as he looks. He is not a kind and sympathetic character who becomes bad because he is badly treated. From the very beginning Grendel hates humans and everything good.
“Grendel prowled in, hating men and all human life. “
The Sea Captain calls Grendel names that show what the monster is like such as, “Night Stalker,” “Man-Wolf” and “Death Shadow.” He sounds like a animal and people are his prey. Grendel lives in a dark and gloomy lair and kills at night when it is dark. He is always shown as being scary such as the way he, “sniffed and smelled the man-smell.”
The biggest reason why Grendel is a monster is the way that he kills the warriors. He actually enjoys doing it.
“Laughing in his throat, he reached out and grabbed young Hondscio, and almost before his victim had time to cry out, tore him limb from limb and drank the warm blood.” (p41)
The reason Grendel is shown as such a evil creature is that it makes a contrast with Beowulf who is so good. When Grendel tears somebody apart it is horrible but when Beowulf pulls off Grendel’s arm and later chops off his head he is a hero. Lots of films like to use the situation when a person becomes a hero after he kills a monster.
An example of a human being as a monster is Adolf Hitler. Though he was a human the things that he did were so terrible it has hard to think of him as a person. He orderd the invading of countries, was responsible for many deaths and had innocent people killed in concentration camps. He did things that normal people would never think of doing. Like some monsters in stories he was evil and there does not seem to be a reason why he was like that. It was up to the rest of the world to do something about him
“Our policy is to wage war against a monstrous tyranny.” (Winston Churchill quote)
He looked like a ordinary person but had eyes that were described as evil looking. Labelling Hitler a monster seems fair to me because he wanted to kill all other races because he thought they were inferior and did not deserve to live. The experiments that were carried out on people during WWII were even worse than what Frankenstein did. Hitler’s ideas were as bad as all the killings he was responsible for so he should be called a monster.
The Loch Ness monster is an example of a non-human creature that has been labelled a monster. When it has been seen it is usually described as having a long neck and a large body a bit like a dinosaur. It is not like any other animals humans know about. A tiger is not called a monster because a lot is known about them. You can see them in a zoo and everybody knows what one looks like. The loch Ness monster is different. It is rarely seen and when it is it’s by one or two people when it is misty and foggy. It is an example of something that does not exist but when people see something they can’t explain they think it must be a monster. It’s looks might be like a monsters but it has not attacked people or boats so it does not seem evil or wicked. Scientists have tried to find it many times but they never do. The Loch Ness monster is now used as a tourist attraction. People go to Loch Ness thinking they might see the monster but they never do. The monster is now on t shirts and souvenirs and this shows that while some people are scared of monsters they are also fascinated by them. I think it is fair to call the Loch Ness monster a monster but not because it is evil or wicked but because it is a mystery that interests people.
