During the story Frankenstein’s creation has an urge to get revenge on Frankenstein for deserting him and not helping him in the world, basically not keeping him from running away in his early hours of his life and just letting it be. However the monster decides that the suitable way of getting revenge of Frankenstein is to murder a series of his close relatives and friends. Starting with William, Frankenstein’s younger brother and was able to frame it on Justine Moritz who was hanged because people were lead to believe that it was her who murdered William. However just as Justine was being hanged Frankenstein realized it couldn’t have been her it could be no one else but the monster sadly it was too late and before Frankenstein could get a word in Justine was dropped from the top of a building and her neck snapped. To have someone frame someone for something as great as murder would be self explanatory, when the creature framed Justine Moritz he obviously intended he to be killed for it as by doing that he was ‘killing’ two birds with one stone, two people that Frankenstein cared about greatly, only a heartless creature could ever even think of doing something like that and u can understand where Frankenstein was coming from when he said how he feels about the creature and when he calls him those names like “wretch” and “daemon”. Not only was Frankenstein’s well cared for and loved younger brother killed but the love of his life was also killed, Elizabeth Walters, someone who was described to be a perfect human being in Frankenstein’s eyes. “The beautiful and adored companion of all my occupations and pleasures”, she was his heart and soul someone who did no wrong “Elizabeth as mine - mine to protect, love and cherish” surely no one not even a beast with a heart and soul of its own would be so evil and uncivilized to even want to hurt let alone kill someone as superior as this, or would they given their position. Would you kill someone like this if it were to get back at a person that had betrayed you and left you to die out in the cold, crewel world? Or would you not have gone as far as that? But it wasn’t your decision anyway it was the monsters decision and he chose the evil way the way that only a monster would choose. Another one of the creatures’ victims was Frankenstein’s closest and best friend ‘Henry Clervel’ who is also described as an amazing person “So thoughtful in his generosity, so full of kindness and tenderness” Surely to have your best friend murdered by something you created has to be the worst thing to happen to you. To have someone you may have known since you were children or even just someone you’ve known for a couple of years, but they are your best friends because they are the only ones who would be your friend, die from a creature created by you. This must have devastated Frankenstein, first his younger brother that meant so much to him, then his wife Elizabeth who he loved and cherished more than life itself, and now his best friend sir Henry Clervel.
For the first half of the story, Frankenstein is the narrator of the story and he describes to you how his creation is something to look out for to be aware of because there’s no telling what he’ll do, in other words the creature is something to ‘fear’ which is exactly what Mary Shelly is trying to make is feel towards the creature. But in the second half of the story, the creature himself is telling the story. Now his objective of telling the story is to make you feel and sympathize with him. He wants you to understand that it is not his desire to look the way he does and underneath his hideous outer layer lies a beautiful caring man that just wants to have a friend, but sadly his creator didn’t give him an outer layer worth looking at he didn’t even give the creature a name, well no name worth wanting to know, all Frankenstein called him was ‘devil’, ‘wretch’ and even things worse than that.
The creature had no real mind when it was brought to life; it was like a newborn baby, amazed at the sight of everything, as he had never seen it before (not in this life at least). Later on in the story the creature has been out on his own for a period of three days with very little food. Over the last night it had snowed and if he did not find food and shelter soon he may become seriously ill or may even die. Not long later he found a cottage and settled down. The cottage was home to some children of different ages, probably ranging from about 8 to 18, and an old man called De Lacy. This is another important part of the story because it takes a blind man to understand and talk civilly to the creature and help him. The old man listened kindly to him and said that his heart is pure but as he could not see his face he cannot say that he is not ugly. However the creature is fearful that when the children get home they will not intend to listen to him and jump to the conclusion of him being nothing but a monster which he cannot blame them for thinking that. When the children came home they weren’t to be as comforting as the old man, one fainted another ran out the cottage and the third grabbed the creature and pulled him to the ground and beat him with a stick until he ran away. At this part in the story you are defiantly going to feel some sad emotions towards the creature.
The rejection by the DeLacy family makes us feel especially sympathetic towards the creature because he has just found someone that will finally listen to him and understand his needs but, sadly, it was too good to last, as soon as the children came home he was driven away as if he was some kind of beast ready to attack its unsuspecting prey. If the children had waited one more second it would have given the old man at least a chance to explain but sadly it wasn’t to be and the creature was driven away from the cottage and away form the family to resume his quest for friendship. The children aren’t the only people who jump to the conclusion of automatic hatred towards the creature, but the creatures own creator, to many peoples disbelief, when the creature reached out as if for guidance maybe Frankenstein threw his hand away and ran out the room as if the creature was about to attack him or something. What a truly horrific way to be brought into the world, straight away rejected by the one true person who could ever love you, your own farther.
In chapter 20 the creature asks Frankenstein to make him a female friend, one to be with and feel the same way he does, if you were to ask me that is just the same as asking for some other innocent person to feel the same pain as him. Why should Frankenstein make another unhappy creature, surely one is enough, or do we need to keep inflicting the same pain on all of humanity just to ensure that this original creature is happy. Also if the male and female creatures where to have children then there would be a race of these hideous unwanted beings. Yes I can understand what this creature means but surely he would understand what Frankenstein means when he is against the idea from the beginning. But to destroy the half ready creation right before the person, who wants it so greatly, would be seen as devastating. The creature now thought it was the right thing to do to sustain his reason to live to kill non other than the person who gave Frankenstein the same happiness as the female creature did the wretch, Elizabeth was to be killed and so she was by the beast himself. After the death of Elizabeth Frankenstein remembered the previous words spoken by the monster “I will be with you on your wedding night” and now he realized that it wasn’t to be his last night on earth it was to be his one true love.
The story is well put together and I congratulate Mary Shelly on her well-written story. I don’t think that the story could have been told in a more suited way, obviously this way may not work for other stories at each story will have its own way of telling itself. To have Frankenstein tell one half of the story to give us the sense of fear towards the creature and make us want to hate and detest the beast was the best thought up idea and for the other half of the story have the creature himself tell you about his travels and how he longs for a friend or companion to talk to about his misfortune was also a fantastic idea.
The impact of my essay was to label the parts where Mary Shelly makes us feel or sympathize with the creature which she does thus answering the title question.
