Frankenstein By Shelley Essay, Research Paper

Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley is a complex novel that was written during the age

of Romanticism. This gothic work has enjoyed a wide range of interest and

readership for roughly 200 years. Gothic tales have certain elements in common,

chief among them being certain universal themes, eerie settings, twisted

creatures and a breach in the natural order. Shelly’s "Frankenstein"

is a perfect example of a gothic novel. In this book she explores as her main

theme the development of evil in an individual when he is subject to rejection

by society. She also develops two secondary themes: man’s fear of death, and

man’s conflict between morality and science. These two themes are used to

support and clarify the main theme. These themes are as relevant today as when

the novel was written. The novel is first and foremost an exploration of the

development of the evil in Frankenstein’s monster, which is, a consequence of

his rejection by society. Frankenstein created his monster from bits and pieces

of human corpses, and brings it to life. Horrified by his actions, he deserts

the creature to find its own way in the world. Hideous in appearance, unable to

communicate, and ignorant of his condition, the creature attempts to interact

with the people around him. They reject the creature with fear and cruelty,

causing him to flee in hiding. The monster falls victim to the system commonly

used to characterize a person by only his or her outer appearance. Whether

people like it or not, society always summarizes a person’s characteristics by

his or her physical appearance. Society has set an unbreakable code individuals

must follow to be accepted. Those who don’t follow the "standard" are

hated by the crowd and banned for the reason of being different. When the

monster ventured into a town"….children shrieked, and …women

fainted". From that moment on he realized that people did not like his

appearance and hated him because of it. The creature spends several months

spying on a family living in a hut, learning to speak and read by watching them.

Gradually, he becomes convinced that he needs a companion in order to be

complete and goes in search of his creator. He turns to murder as a method of

forcing Frankenstein to acknowledge his existence and meet his demands. When

Frankenstein fails him a second time, he again resorts to blackmail and murder.

In this novel, Ms. Shelly shows how the creature’s attempts at interaction are

met with rejection until finally the creature sees intimidation and extortion as

his only recourse. The creature was not born evil, but was forced into evil acts

as his only way to force acknowledgment of his existence. This theme strikes a

chord among modern readers, for ours is a society, which places a high value on

beauty and empowerment. Those people who are rejected as worthless by our

society because they are ugly, clumsy, mentally retarded, or too different from

their peers frequently use extreme actions to force acknowledgment of their

existence. These acts might include arson, murder, theft, vandalism, and other

senseless acts of destruction or violence. Like Frankenstein’s monster, constant

rejection breeds not compassion and understanding, but anger and hatred. The

main theme of development of evil is supported by a secondary theme of man’s

fear of death. It is this fear of death and decay, which drives Frankenstein to

create his monster. He believes that if he can discover the secret of life, then

he can cheat death and defeat old age. The fear of death has driven mankind on

many searches throughout the ages to find ways of cheating death and avoiding

old age. Today, scientists and doctors create new medicines to slow the aging

process and defeat diseases, which cause death. They peer further and further

into the genetic code of human life in an attempt to understand why we die and

to see if they can alter the course of life. We can understand why Frankenstein

created his monster, even if we cannot support his cowardice in abandoning this

creation. When Frankenstein abandons his monster, he opens up the theme of the

conflict between morality and science. Frankenstein began his experiments with

the noblest of intentions, but without thinking about what the consequences of

his actions. He failed to consider that simply because something can be done,

doesn’t always mean that it should be done, or that the results are not always

desirable. He usurped the power of God by creating life, and them compounded his

error by recklessly abandoning his creature. Without love and guidance, the

creature was forced to become evil. Frankenstein, in following the goals of

science, lost sight of his moral obligations to the life he created. This theme

plays directly to some of the attitudes and fears of modern society as we

grapple with the questions raised by the development of modern technology in the

areas of genetic research, invitro fertilization, and drug research. The

question becomes at what point should development be stopped on technology, and

when does it become more of an evil than a force for good. Like Frankenstein,

society must reconcile science with morality and accept the consequences of

those decisions. Morality and science, man’s fear of death, and whether evil is

caused by continuous rejection by society are three of the themes explored in

this novel. We as a society are the ones responsible for the transformation of

the once child-like creature into the monster we all know. Shelley seemed say,

that the public needs to know that our society has flaws and they must be

removed before our primal instincts continue to isolate and hurt the people who

are different. With such a large amount of technology among us, some people may

wonder why such an advanced civilization still clings on to such primitive ways

of categorizing people. The themes I’ve discussed are part of what makes the

novel so appealing to readers and as relevant in today’s world as it was when it

was written. Its themes are universal and address age old questions as to the

consequences of actions begun in good faith but ending in disaster.