Frankenstein essay

Frankenstein could be called a monster because he is trying to play god. He created the monster from the bodies of the dead so this makes him a monster because he will be causing masses of emotional pain to the relatives of the dead. However this could also be a strong proof of his humanity because his experiments show the curious nature that is in every human; he has just taken it one step further and decided to act on his curiosity. Atheist’s who don’t believe in life after death could even call him good hearted because he is recycling!

Another reason for Frankenstein being monstrous is that he decided to try and play god a second time when he wanted to create the monster a bride. However this was done at the monsters request so it could be argued that this shows the humane side of Frankenstein because it shows compassion for others. He realized the monster was lonely so decided to create him a companion.

The monster could be called more monstrous than Frankenstein because of two reasons. One he looks like a monster and as he is made from the rotting flesh of dead he probably smells like one too. The second reason is because he kills innocent people; this is portrayed in all versions of the story that I have seen/read so far. Pullmans play explains the murder by saying it was a revenge act against Frankenstein who in abandoning him caused him lots of emotional pain. The monster wanted to see him hurt. Most versions of the story agree with this view but brook’s version explains the murder of the child as an experiment. The monster had seen flowers can float so wanted to see if humans could float as well.  

Both explanations however show humanity inside the monster. The first one does this because it shows emotions- something that everyone agrees monsters don’t have. They show hurt and sadness because the monster is depressed at being abandoned by everyone. It also shows revenge- an emotion all of humanity can reflect on. Everyone retaliates so what makes the monster’s retaliation a sign of monstrosity? The second explanation proves his humanity because it shows the curious nature that is in every human; he has just taken it one step further and decided to act on his curiosity. He is experimenting just as Frankenstein experimented to create him.

Because of the arguments stated above, it could be said Frankenstein and the monster are as monstrous as each other. The monster is monstrous because he kills innocent people and Frankenstein is monstrous because he robbed graves and caused emotional pain to many people just so he could satisfy his own curiosity. However I feel Frankenstein is more monstrous because he tried to play god and to an extent succeeded as he did create life. But he then abandoned his creation; because of this, Frankenstein is also to blame for the murders that the monster committed because he didn’t tell the monster the difference between good and bad. He didn’t educate the monster. That is the same as leaving a baby to fend for itself. As the baby is new to the world it wouldn’t know how the world worked or what it was supposed to do and what it wasn’t. For this reason I feel Frankenstein should be labeled as the more monstrous one.