Frankenstein And Society Essay, Research Paper

Frankenstein and Society

Society is inevitable. It will always be there as a pleasure and a burden.

Society puts labels on everything as good or bad, rich or poor, normal or aberrant.

Although some of these stamps are accurate, most of them are misconceptions. In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley this act of erring by society is extremely evident.

One example of this judgment is the way the family is looked upon. They are seen by society as the lower class. They work every day on their garden to make food for meals because they do not have enough money to be able to buy food. They are viewed as poor and unfortunate, but are actually rich in spirit. They are good people. They do not complain with the status quo but enjoy what they have, which is an admirable trait for people in any standing. The old blind man sings songs to the others, plays a musical instrument, and adds a sense of experience and content to the family. The children do their daily work without griping as well. Just because they are looked down upon by

society that still does not stop them from enjoying what has been provided for them.

Society itself, which is supposed to be good, is actually ignorant. They wrongly treat the monster on the assumption that he actually is a monster. They scorn, attack, and shun the monster just because of his outward appearance. This is not justified by anything except his demeanor. They are also afraid of it because they are afraid of things

about which they no nothing. Society also unjustly kills Justine because she is the only person that could have possibly have done such an evil act. They again wrongly label Justine as the killer. They do not look into the facts but instead find a quick and easy answer to the problem. This again shows the ignorance of society in this novel.

Two of the most inaccurate assumptions of society revolve around the central characters of Dr. Frankenstein and the monster. Society’s labels for these two extremely different characters are on the exact opposite side of the scale from where they are supposed to be. Dr. Frankenstein is more of a monster while the monster is the more decent of the characters.