Marry Shelleys Novel “Frankenstein” was written in the 18th century… the enlightenment period. In the book, we see Marry incorporate some of the newly discovered theories about human nature. John Locke an English philosopher believed that when born you are a blank slate with a mind that does not contain inbred ideas, for example… a son with a racist father will not be born a racist but this will or will not develop later on due to personal experiences. In Frankenstein, we see one of the three narrators “The Creature” endure the most extreme hate and rejection from society. Mary takes us on a journey of his search for love and acceptance from humankind, he internalizes the hate that he receives until he can no longer cope. The Creature is the perfect example of how a good person with only the best intentions can be polluted with society’s hate and can be turned into something evil. The Creature said it himself “I was benevolent and good, misery made me a fiend”
The Creature is an 8-foot man, made of assembled body parts. He was crafted and brought to life by a cowardly man, Victor Frankenstein. When born he is a blank slate “impervious to touch or sight” Just like a child he has no previous knowledge and when Victor flees, The Creature has no one to guide him through the hate to come. his first two encounters where anything but pleasant “…I had hardly placed my foot within the door before the children shrieked and one of the women fainted. The whole village was roused; some fled, some attacked me, until, grievously bruised by stones and many other kinds of missile weapons, I escaped to the open country and fearfully took refuge in a low hovel.” The Creature learns after this that it is not safe to approach humans without a tactic “I saw the figure of a man at a distance, and I remembered all too well my treatment the night before, to trust myself in his power”. because of the way the creature looked he was feared and abused, very early on he learns this and adapts to the peoples fear by learning the cause for their distress upon viewing him. “When looked around I saw and heard none like me. Was I, then a monster, a blot on the earth, from which all men fled and whom all men disowned?” instead of questioning the peoples views he unfairly doubts himself which highlights John Locke’s theory… As The Creature has only faced rejection he deems himself unworthy rather then questioning the humans around him, as that as all he has known from his own experiences.
The first half of The Creature’s life was mainly spent roaming in search of someone who could accept him for what he was and love him anyway. he comes across this small family that he becomes infatuated with. “I had admired the perfect forms of my cottagers – their grace, beauty and delicate complexions: but how I was terrified, when, I viewed myself in a transparent pool… I became fully convinced that I was, in reality, the monster that I am…” The Creature has had only two encounters with humankind and within these two, the fear and disgust on their faces upon perceiving him has made him believe that he is not worthy of the love of the unaccepting humankind. He calls himself a monster yet was he not the one being attacked? The people had no idea that they were turning a man with such a beautiful heart into precisely what they feared he was. A monster. Relating back to John Locke’s blank slate theory. He once said that “No man’s knowledge can go beyond his experience” The Creature, unlike the cottagers that he watched over for some time had not given himself a name. He remains nameless for the entirety of the story. This could be a symbol towards his feelings of being unworthy compared to the human race. The only encounters being ones of hatred would cause one to find reasons to hate themselves. He did not perceive himself as a monster before interacting with society but only after seeing himself through their eyes is when he reacts to himself with disgust, and an “unworthy monster” could surely not take a human name?
“Everywhere I see bliss from which I am irrevocably excluded. I was benevolent and good, misery made me a fiend” I want to talk about the relationship between the rejection The Creature faces and the racism in our world today, both The Creature and people of colour face abuse in their everyday life because of their appearance, something they cannot change. mostly because of an inbred idea, the idea of “you should fear what you don’t know or what is not familiar to you”. Understanding John Locke’s theory gives us a deeper insight too into this system of fear and prejudice, as I mentioned in my introduction no child is born to be racist. This is something that is taught, other then personality traits or disorders we are born a blank slate to any opinions or ideas. So in Mary Shelley’s novel we not only see this theory demonstrated through the creature but through the people who reject The Creature purely based on appearance. This system of injustice is not made for the weak hearted as exampled in the story. The Creature gives in, he stops fighting the violent monster the people paint him to be, instead, he embodies this “For the first time the feelings of revenge and hatred filled my bosom, and I did not strive to control them; but allowing myself to be borne away by the stream, I bent my mind towards injury and death” almost manipulated into a killer by the people around him The Creature turns to violence as his revenge on humankind.
I found that Marry Shelley’s novel “Frankenstein” almost mocks the ridiculousness of the world we live in and not only the prejudice towards innocent people but the hate that is deeply inbred into our systems and taught to children from a very young age which is where understanding John Locke’s theory will deepen your understanding of the novel and its deeper meanings. You could replace The Creature with any group of people who are suppressed because of something that they can’t or shouldn’t want to change etc, Woman, People of colour, LGBTQ+, and the people who made assumptions about The Creature based on his appearance could be any member of our judgemental society as humans. The culture of first impressions from a glance even from Marry Shelley’s point of view in the 18th century is clearly outdated. THUG LIFE means “The Hate You Give Little Infants F’s Everyone” and I think that is the most powerful way I can explain what this book means to me. Hate is taught, and to overcome hate there must be a higher level of education where we can erase the notion of fearing what we dont know and we can embrace everyones differences.
1 Comment
Add Yours →Hi Nevada,
You have some really great insight into the wider themes of the novel. I can tell that you have considered this carefully and your thought that Shelley wants to warn the reader is very valid.
A few things for you to consider:
– Make sure you are not drifting from your point. At the moment. it almost seems like you have three introductions happening inside the one you have written. Look to be focused on the topic that the task requires you to be. There will be an opportunity later in your essay for you to expand into some of your connecting thoughts.
– Try to avoid using the plot to drive your analysis forward. You do not need to introduce the entire backstory of the characters to your readers. Instead, make sure that your paragraphs follow an internal SEXY structure.
– With your evidence, highlight WHAT is happening in the text (quotes and description), HOW it is happening (analysis of the language and its effects) and then follow up with WHY it is happening (author’s purpose). This will ensure you are providing a strong analysis of the text which you can then examine through the lens of your theory (the wider ideas moment).
– Read your work out loud to yourself. You have many moments where you have made an error with your punctuation or grammar. Reading things out loud to your self will allow you to ‘hear’ where you have made a mistake. Pay attention to areas which are difficult to say out loud as this is often an indicator that something is incorrect.
– Be direct with your statements. You are in control. Tell the reader what you want them to know- don’t hedge!
– Look to expand on the moments in which you discuss Shelley’s intentions alongside the theory.
Mrs. P