In the book Frankenstein, Mary Shelly shows the creature's point of view, imagery, and setting to create the creature's complex reaction when he gains knowledge, which can offer the creature not as a serial killer monster but also as someone who has thoughts and feelings, ultimately illustrating the danger of knowledge. The narrator's point of view is the creature's view; it gives us a more in-depth understanding of the creature's experience with gaining knowledge. From his point of view we see how the creature reacts, and when he learns, "I learned," "I obtained," and "I admired." This demonstrates his reaction to learning, his feelings and willingness to become like a person, demonstrating that his murders were not the work of a pure evil …show more content…
He was overwhelmed with the knowledge he had gained. He was having feelings other than hunger and thirst. But even when he feared learning, he was also eager to see more of the world and nature. "I will soon explain these feelings... "Allow me to return to the cottagers whose story excites me with various feelings of indignation, delight, and wonder." The creature gaining knowledge caused his despair but he is still interested and delighted to know more about the world; this shows how the creature's reaction is complex. It also was able to show how knowledge led him to suffer from what he had learned. He learned he was not like any of the human beings he saw, and he was hurt when he found out he would not be accepted because he was different, which shows the danger that knowledge can …show more content…
The little hobble he stayed at was able to show him many parts of human life. He sees the different lives of people in this little hobble.. The various relationships between humans, from a mother and a child to lovers and siblings, taught him life's complexity. He learns he has never had a relationship with anyone he has seen, and none of them cared for him. "No mother had blessed me with smiles and caresses" (Shelly). His complex reaction is like a human's, it shows the human side of this creature. That he is like a new born learning about the world. His complex reaction is one of being scared of knowledge but also thinking it’s an amazing thing to have, which contributes to the work showing he isn't an actual monster but more like a human. The danger of knowledge is shown, when learnd he was different from all the others. But he still has feelings; he wants to fit in and be accepted, but because of his appearance, he has learned that he was an outcast and will never experience the warmth he has seen in humans. They will only try to run and kill him. When he gains more knowledge, it explains why he is isolated and why his creator has abandoned
When he succeeds he finds himself repulsed by the creature and runs away from it. Angry, the monster runs away as well. The creature finds himself hiding in the home of a small family. Here he learns to read, write, and love humans. When he is rejected by the family his demeanor grows violent and angry.
It is haunting him in his dreams, and has overtaken all of his other ambitions, including those of interacting with people and pursuing his own happiness. This pursuit of knowledge has led him to ruin and regret, and his hatred for his creature burns within him. Even though he has spent so much time and dedication in building the creature, only regret can follow due to his lack of morals in creating such a thing along with his neglect in other more noble pursuits within his life. It is ironic that the pursuit that overtook his life and well-being managed to end up the thing he hates the most. The pursuit of knowledge leads to the deterioration of his own moral standings and nobler pursuits in
He let his hatred for the creature consume him entirely. His journey in pursuit of the creature absorbed every last bit of life that he had left. But when the creature paid his respects to Victor Frankenstine he acknowledged that what he had done had not caused him the happiness that he so desperately wished for. “Am I to be thought the only criminal, when all humankind sinned against me?(pg. 378)” He still saw that he was not to be fully blamed for his actions.
He is not given the opportunity to explain himself, who he is, or what his true motives are, but others continue to ridicule and reject him just because of his appearance. This is why he kills so many people, and he realizes that no human would ever care for him; therefore, he wants vengeance and is saddened and enraged about how people treat him. Overall, the creature exhibits a number of behaviors that lead to an understanding of his
The creature is wondering why they would attack him as he was kind and shown it through helping the cottagers and not killing Felix even though he could have. The creature's experiences with society show that it did not matter if the person is kind to society, what matters was being like society and in the creature’s case it is his appearance that gets him outcasted even though he did many kind deeds to the
The creature learned what "bitter indignation" was and how to be "cruel" based on the way the villagers and his own creator treated him. The Creature is human because he has all the same emotional traits as we do, he may not look like us, but the thing that makes us human is making mistakes, " My feeling hurt. My heart aches. I cry. I feel sorry for myself.
In Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein (1818), Shelley shows her audience that while acquiring knowledge leads to survival for the Creature and power for Victor Frankenstein, the path to obtain this knowledge leads to the destruction of one’s self. Education and knowledge have major negative effects on both of the characters’ attitude, perception, and decisions. The life experiences of each character is dependent on the amount of knowledge that the character possesses. Knowledge gives Victor Frankenstein a superiority complex, and it changes the Creature’s perspective of the world and the people in it. The Creature, like a baby, is brought into the world with no prior knowledge of how society behaves.
education, however after his experiment, Frankenstein gained real knowledge (Sylvia 20). Failure is a part of maturing and gaining greater knowledge of a subject is a part of enlightening. Through failure Frankenstein realized that his job is not to create life, and that through seeking the secrets of life, he ultimately got himself killed (Frankenstein dies at the end of the book), “You seek for knowledge and wisdom, as I once did; and I ardently hope that the gratification of your wishes may not be a serpent to sting you, as mine has been” (Shelley 22). This goes to show how enlightenment cannot be just experience or just education, there needs to be a proper balance between them.
He is aware of his otherness and knows that he is “shut out from intercourse” (84) with the people he holds so dear. It can be argued that this is the point where the creature’s humanity is the strongest throughout the course of story. He has a basic understanding of human societies, he speaks and reads their language, shows compassion and, most importantly, seeks their company and friendship. In his knowledge that social belonging is the missing component to his own happiness, he confronts the people he secretly observed only to, once again, be met with fear and anger (94-95). He comes to realise that he
Knowledge, the driving force behind Victor’s experiment, caused the creation of the Creature and set the course for the rest of the plot. The Creature desires the power of knowledge in his own life. When he flees after Victor abandons him, he does not know anything about society, the world, or how people interact. He tries to gain this knowledge by observing others from a distance. Eventually, he starts to learn and teaches himself many
A direct result of his search for knowledge is his burden of the Creature, a hideous monster who eventually becomes evil, cold, and a heartless
First, the creature reveals emotions of his “Accursed creator! Why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in disgust. God in pity,
This time spent here helped to begin to develop the creature’s mind, proving he was in fact rather intelligent. The monster knew that he was different from these people, often describing them all as beautiful. He knew they would not accept him, and yet his search for belonging and family continue to surge the novel forward. While the creature is lonely and hurting, his actions slowly become malicious.
As the novel continues he destroyed many families and sought revenge, as a result all of the negative inside him steered him to go down the wrong path. By killing innocent people the creature, through the knowledge he learned his personality changed and paved his way for the rest of his
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein Critical Analysis About the author Naomi Hetherington is a member of the University of Sheffield, the department of lifelong learning. She is an early researcher in sexuality, religious culture, the 19th-century literature, and gender. She holds a BA in Theology and religious studies, an MA and a Ph.D. in Victorian Literature. She currently teaches four-year pathway literature degree at Sheffield University for students who have already attained foundation degrees. Among the books, she has written the critique of Frankenstein.