Monsters Point Of View Essay, Research Paper

“Monster’s Point of View”

The significance of the reason for existence in the world is a question that boggles the mind of every individual during one time or another in their lives. We all like to believe that we have a purpose in life, and we set goals to achieve such purposes. We might also believe in a creator, a God who wanted us to exist, and showed unconditional love for our mere existence. But what if our creator hated us, believed that our existence was a mistake, and we had no purpose in the world. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, such a man existed, a man who was shunned by his creator as an outcast, a hideous beast who had no reason for survival. This man is simply known as the “monster”.

In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, a brilliant student by the name of Victor Frankenstein follows his ambition of creating life in order to one day find a cure for death. Frankenstein states that he wanted to “in process of time renew life where death had apparently devoted the body to corruption” (36). From the ambition of wanting to save lives, Frankenstein decides to create a being from a lifeless matter in hopes of one day being able to enhance ones lifeline. But upon creating life, Frankenstein becomes horrified by his creation, and flees from the anguish and fear he feels from the monster. Frankenstein abandons his creation, therefore shunning the monster from him, leaving the monster with no one to love or acceptance him.

Shelley conveys to the reader that the monster has learned to speak and read by observing the De Lacey family who resided at a cottage which had an adjoining lean-to, in which he resided. Shelley also conveys that the monster learned about love by observing Felix De Lacey and Safie’s love for each other, and by reading a novel entitled “Paradise Lost”, to indicate that the monster was lonely and wanted a companion. The significance of this passage is that the monster’s resent towards his creator grew because the monster felt that his creator had not made a companion for him, unlike God making Eve for Adam. Also, the monster becomes enraged with hatred towards his creator because of his abandonment. The monster cries ” unfeeling, heartless creator. You endowed me with perceptions and passions and then cast me abroad as an object for the scorn and horror of mankind” (114). Shelley conveys to the reader that the monster was once full of love and compassion towards mankind, but the monster is now filled with rage and hatred towards them. Shelley emphasizes that the creature’s inhumanity is directly related to the inhumane treatment, which the creature receives from the community of man. Solely from his physical abnormalities, the monster is rejected and attacked by mankind. This rejection and “misery” is what the monster says made him a “fiend”.

The reason for the monster’s misery relates to that of man’s misery in the world. All men want to be accepted, exclusion and hatred are fears that drive people to misery. Many cases show that a father’s rejection of his children lead the children to reject and hate their father. In essence, Frankenstein is a father to the monster. It is incomprehensible to the monster that a father could so callously reject his own creation. This illustrates the monsters hatred in a way that mankind can relate to. The reason for the monsters rejection by Frankenstein is irrational, only the monsters disfigurement restricted Frankenstein from accepting his creation. Hence, the reader can see the victim in the monster.

Shelley’s illustration for the reasons of the monsters hatred conveys to the reader who should be labeled as the monster. Frankenstein had his reasons for rejecting his creation. Frankenstein explains to Walton that “{the monsters} yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness; but these luxuriance’s only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same color as the dun white sockets in which they were set, his shriveled complexion, and straight black lips” (39). Anyone with such a figure would be intimidating, but Frankenstein was his creator, therefore he should have stayed and learned of his creation instead of fleeing like a coward. A father with an abnormally figured child does not give the child reasonable cause to accept his/her fathers rejection. The actions that Frankenstein portrayed inevitably make him the monster of this novel. He is the initiator of hatred and rejection, a prejudice in the eyes of the creation.

Shelley states that the monsters only wish from his creator was to have a female mate, a mate who’s appearance was just like his because that would secure him from rejection. Shelley signifies the compassion for companionship the monster craves in his life to show that the monster’s misery exists from loneliness. Shelley also signifies that Adam had Eve, and God had made Eve for the compensation of Adam’s loneliness. The monster had no one, and he felt that Frankenstein should compensate him for his loneliness and abandonment by making him a bride. Adam had violated divine law by taking a bite of the apple from the Tree of Knowledge, but the monster had violated no law, and was rejected for no reason. Therefore, the monster felt that he had a justifiable reason for such a request. The monster plea’s with Frankenstein, “Oh! My creator, make me happy; let me feel gratitude towards you for one benefit! Let me see that I excite the sympathy of some existing thing; do not deny me my request” (120). Unlike the Babylonians who built a tower to be at the equal level of their God, this shows that the monster accepted his limitations, and could not be equal to Frankenstein. All he wanted was companionship, and the monster even went as far as to say “you, nor any other human being shall see us again; I will go to the vast wilds of South America” (120). Shelley conveys to the reader that the monster would go to any lengths for a shot at friendship, and he is willing to give up all of his revenge for it. Shelley is implying that the monster is in great misery because no one will accept him, and, although his creator won’t except him, he would be contempt if some living thing will except him.

Shelley’s novel is significant in many aspects to every human kind. If we were ever able to find out who our creator is, we would only be contempt if we knew that we are loved and accepted by our creator even with our limitations. But if our creator rejected us the way Frankenstein rejects his creation, we would be full of rage, anguish, and revenge towards our creator. If no one accepted us, and we had no friendship, our lives would be as diminishing as the life of the monster. We would have no acceptance; therefore we would have no ambition to live successfully. Our lives would be forwarded on revenge, and revenge will not give us happiness, but only solitude. The monster decided to make his creators life a living hell, and I believe we would do the same.