FRANKENSTEIN es un ensayo que analiza aspectos de la obra, Monografías, Ensayos de Literatura inglesa

¡Descarga FRANKENSTEIN es un ensayo que analiza aspectos de la obra y más Monografías, Ensayos en PDF de Literatura inglesa solo en Docsity! 1 Sanz Martín, Lola The Monster in Frankenstein, is he good or evil? It is widely thought by those who have never read the book, that the novel Frankenstein or The Modern Prometeus: the 1818 text by Mary Shelley is just a horror novel. However, it cannot be denied that it is much more than a story about a frightening creature. Indeed, after the reading of the book, most readers find out that the novel is polyhedral and so is its main character, the Monster. The excerpt chosen for this analysis covers from chapter three to chapter five of the second book. To a certain extent, it is the most revealing since this extract clarifies the reasons why the horrible creature commits such atrocities. All along these three chapters Mary Shelley states the dilemma of whether the monster in Frankenstein is good or bad in its entire dimension. For this purpose the writer gives him the word so that he can tell us in great detail the reasons why he became such a controversial character, plenty of contradictions and contrast. It is when the monster relates the awakening to his senses for the first time. He also explains how he learns to speak his creator’s language and even how he is into the reading of some classic authors. In short, during this fragment Mary Shelley impressively knows how to portrait a being composed from parts taken from corpses and who is capable of the most generous actions or the most horrifying ones. The awakening to the senses of the monster occurs in chapter III. Everything starts with confusion "...no distinct ideas occupied my mind" (Shelley) and fear "He wept" (Shelley) As if he were a newborn who does not understand what he is 2 feeling or the world around her. But, unlike this one, there is no one to protect and calm the monster. These feelings of loneliness and fear will not leave him during his entire existence. However, a chance discovery, the fire, brings him some order and peace in his negative emotions. For the first time Shelley, through her character, describes how good sensations flourish inside him like the pleasant perception of warmth. “I was …overcome by delight at the warmth I experienced from it” (Shelley 81). The moment turns out to be a funny situation and even may awaken empathy among the readers. It happens when he burns his hand because he innocently touches the fire out of curiosity. “How strange, I thought, that the same cause should produce such opposite effects!” (Shelley 81) Unfortunately peace does not last long. The monster suffers for the first time the violence of a whole village which persecutes him when the people get horrified because of his wretched appearance, reacting with extreme violence and rage against him. Luckily, he finds a hovel where he will spend the next months peacefully. But duality will not disappear, since, in spite of the fact that he feels happy living in his new shelter, he irremediably feels miserable "from the barbarity of the man" (Shelley 84) Chapter IV opens a new stage in the evolution of the character. From now on, the personal and intellectual development of the protagonist will take place next to the De Lacey family, his protectors as he calls them. His senses are already fully developed and the time has come to cultivate noble emotions. Proof of this is the appearance of words like "love", "respect", "affection", "gentleness" etc. So far positive senses have been expressed in order to show us the well-being of the monster. Nevertheless, the difference is that, now, these feelings are not focused 5 The drawback of human nature is that it is hopelessly dual. We are capable of the best and the worst. And the same goes for this character. Perhaps the darkest side of this creature remains in the fact that, despite all the good things there are in her, she is not capable of assuming moral responsibility for her misdeeds. On the contrary, the monster, poisoned by his rage and thirst for revenge, shatters Frankenstein’s family. Similarly he is also indirectly responsible for the death of Justine Moritz, who is blamed and executed for William’s murder, Victor’s younger brother, which is actually committed by the monster. But at no time does he show regret or guilt. Yet, he justifies his outrages as a deserved reaction to the rejection he receives from others and, of course, as a result of his feeling of loneliness. To a certain extent the creature is not mistaken. From my view, the monster of Frankenstein inherits the lack of moral responsibility from his creator, who, by the way, rejects his creature from the beginning to run away. This is an interesting point because now the circle is closed. As analysed during this essay, the monster shows a dual nature between good and evil, which has much to do with humans. Victor leaves a legacy to his creature when he creates her. He somehow prints character on him with his lack of moral responsibility. This prevents the monster from feeling remorse to finally unleash violently his feelings of revenge and rage on the Victor’s family. In short the monster is neither good nor bad. To my mind, he is complex, sensitive and vengeful. But is not it true that all that, in the end, makes him more human? 6 Bibliography Shelley, Mary. Shelly, Mary. Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993. Webgraphy Significados. n.d. 23rd November 2022 <https://www.significados.com/>. Sparknotes. n.d. 20th November 2022 <https://www.sparknotes.com/>. Study. n.d. 1st December 2022 <https://study.com/>.