The Perception Of The Creature In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

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In Frankenstein, the perception Victor Frankenstein has of his creation contrasts with the creature’s own perception of himself, giving readers the opportunity to view the creature as either man or monster. The moment the creature opened its eyes, Victor declared him a horrifying monstrosity (Shelley 39). With the absence of the creature’s voice in volume one, the first picture painted of the creature is demonic and wretched. However, in the following volume, the creature described himself as a being with a loving soul longing for the compassion of his creator (Shelley 78). Through this perception a new picture is painted, one of a new born human being filled with curiosity and the longing for companionship. It is in the body of the story where…show more content…
It was not the intention of the creature to wreak havoc on all of mankind, but particularly sought out revenge against his creator. An example of this is when the creature saw a young boy passing by him, his first instinct told him to take the boy under his wing as a companion (Shelley 117). However, when he noticed the boy was somehow affiliated with the Frankenstein name, friendly intentions turned to that of murder (Lunsford 175; Shelley 117). Frankenstein’s feelings toward the creature were inconsistent (Shelley 121). After hearing the creature describe the events of his life, Victor almost wished to console him—but when reflecting on the appearance of the creature and how he was responsible for the creation of this ugly being, hate covered all compassion (Shelley 121). Companionship was all the creature longed for, and Frankenstein was given the opportunity to reconcile with him by promising to create again. However, Victor’s love for his own reputation caused him to break his promise, and with that the creature was enraged (Shelley 140). Hate and selfishness was all Frankenstein had ever displayed to the creature, which is why hate and violence is what Frankenstein got in return (Lunsford 174-176). The creature murders Frankenstein’s closest companions in an attempt to show him what it feels like to have no one (Shelley 148, 166). Readers must consider how the actions of the creature would have been different if Victor did not display such disgust towards him (Chao 223; Lunsford 175). It is the self loving voice of Frankenstein and the voice of desire for belonging of the creature that set a specific tone to the novel, allowing readers to critically consider who the true monster of the story
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