Frankenstein by Mary Shelley - Critique of Society for Causing the Creture's Actions

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Natalie Hind                Miss Perks

Year 11 English Literature

Prose Fiction Assessment

Frankenstein

Frankenstein is a novel by Mary Shelley that was constructed in order to provide a critique of society through the characterisation of several key figures. Shelley is commenting on the effect that society has on the innocent and on the importance that is placed on appearance. Frankenstein offers a perspective that while in the novel, blame for the Monster’s actions can be seen to fall on the shoulders of Victor, the Monster and several other characters, Shelley does this in order to criticise the society she lived in and its corruption and rejection of the innocent because of their materialistic ideals. This is achieved through the criticism of Victor Frankenstein, the Monster and the people the Monster encounters on its journey, who all represent aspects of society.

Throughout Frankenstein, Mary Shelley suggests that every being is created as an innocent; however it is society’s views that interfere with its purity. This is obvious when the Creature is denied kindness wherever it travels, demonstrating the flawed and shallow nature of mankind and our inability to accept those who we perceive as different. This is justified by nothing but the Creature’s demeanour. Although the Monster eventually becomes a murderer, the cause of this is society’s constant and unflinching rejection of him, after he continually attempts to reach out to others for help and affection. An underlying message in Frankenstein is mankind’s responsibility as the corrupters of the innocent and the creators of the evil that exists in the world. The Monster reads from the book Ruins of Empires, after which the creatures states ‘For a long time I could not conceive how one man could go fourth and murder his fellow,….but when I heard details of vice and bloodshed my wonder ceased and I turned away with disgust and loathing.’ Readers are able to understand the irony that the creature labelled as a monster is disgusted with the actions of mankind. Society has the most influence in a person's point of view on a given point. Mostly society causes misconceptions about people based on appearance and the unknown. This is especially evident in the novel Frankenstein, where labels placed on the main characters by society are often the exact opposite of their true nature.

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Victor Frankenstein abandons the Creature at birth and takes no responsibility for his own creation, though it was by his hand that it came into being. Victor refuses to show the Monster the same love and affection that he received when he was a boy, and therefore has no right to expect that the Monster will develop into anything except the murderous fiend that he comes to regard it as. Victor cruelly denies the Creature of the upbringing he received and abandons the Monster, leaving him to walk through the world with none of the values that Victor possessed ...

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