Frankenstein Essay, Research Paper

Jaclyn Knag

The beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart. The first time you see someone, you pass judgement whether you will admit to it or not. You automatically analyze the person by how they look, and later how they communicate with you. The first time you meet someone is the most critical, because that instance will leave a lasting impression on them for as long as you know him or her. When Victor first saw the monster he created he was terrified and he ran away. Due to his initial actions the monster ran away from Victor and swore revenge for his creation of him. In Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, the monster was judged unfairly by both Victor and the common people in the world.

Stories of Frankenstein, the horrible monster that terrorized people in France and England have been told ever since Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley wrote Frankenstein. Before I read Frankenstein, I was under the impression that the monster s name was Frankenstein. I had no idea that the man who created him was actually named Victor Frankenstein. Up until now I always imagined the monster to be a tall dark haired man, who had bolt on either side of his head. His face was green and rotting with stitches that held the pieces together. His body was wide and stiff, when he walked his hands were always straight out parallel to the ground. I always thought that the monster killed innocent people because they were scared of them. The monster came out to me as cold, harsh and mean. It never occurred to me that maybe the monster had feelings and motive to do what he did. After reading Frankenstein, my opinion of the monster changed. In the early chapters of the book the monster did not want to kill anyone. He was only trying to fit in with the rest of society. He did this by listening and watching the DeLacy family all day, he read three novels and tried his hardest to understand the human culture and history. When the monster presented himself to the blind man everything went well, he had a great conversation and the old man was not scared of him. But right before he left Felix and Agatha returned only to see the beast with the father and Felix acted out in fear to the monster. When the monster narrates part of the story you pity him. He realizes just how hideous he is and how the way he looks affects society. The monster in fact is not monster at all. He tries to save a young girl from drowning and in response he is shot at. Due to the actions that occur against the monster, he decides to seek revenge against Frankenstein for making his life such misery.

The monster in the novel was nothing like what I always thought the real Frankenstein monster was like. The majority of the people in the world, except for those who have read the novel or have knowledge of the true monster do not understand the characteristics of the monster. The monster acted the way he did, in reflection due to the man who made him. How would you react to yourself when you wake up and the first person you see runs away from you? It is not fair to pass judgement on looks alone, a wise friend of mine once told me: Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes . So next time you meet someone get to know them first and then you can pass a judgement. Perhaps if more people did that with the monster in Frankenstein, nobody would have ever been killed.