Frankenstein
Glog
Henry
Eschricht
Meehan
– English and Lit
February
2012
Mary
Shelley bestows Frankenstein’s monster upon us in order to subtly challenge
every facet of mankind’s brittle morals. Through the synthetic beast, we see
both the deepest fears and the most distant dreams of human beings come true.
Shelly doesn’t just challenge one group however; she showers us with a spectrum
of human morals and how they are reflected through their interaction with a
quasi human. Shelly Begins here story with a series of letters from a sailor
that open a window of curiosity for the reader.
Through
Frankenstein’s creation of the beast we see human beings undying need to become
godlike. Frankenstein becomes divine when he creates another human being; he is
a creator of mankind. “The sight of the awful and majestic in nature had indeed
always the effect of solemnizing my mind, and causing me to forget the passing
cares of life” (91). He did not
consider any of the repercussions that would entail is faux creation of a human
being and instead narrow-mindedly focused on conquering divine abilities. When
he becomes weary of this godlike rush, he falls into a deep pit of reality in
realizing what he has done; he states, “A thing such as even Dante could not
have conceived” (61). This is
ironic because he has, through action and quotation, been jettisoned from the
divine to the satanic.
Next
we see the undeniable intolerance of human beings through the beast. While the
beast is viewed as, well, beastly; at the same time he represents the pinnacle
of human tolerance and moral fortitude. He understands human ignorance, saves
lives, and desires the acquisition of knowledge. When he is seeking a human for
advice, he already understand that almost all people will immediately see him
for the beast that he is; so he, as a many inspirational story will repeat,
goes to the literally (and figuratively) blind, who will appreciate him for
what he is really worth. It is remarkable that he can understand this concept
at such an immature point his understanding of mankind and their complex
emotional system. The irony behind this is that, while the beast epitomizes a
moral human being it is interesting to see that his innocence betrays him.
Frankly (no pun intended) if the world was like the beast, it would be a better
place, yet no one in this world accepts him; even when he beseeches a friend in
a blind cabin occupant.
In
the following events of his betrayal of human emotion, he soon is educated as
to the reason behind this mysterious excommunication he suffers. “Looked upon
them as superior beings, who would be the arbiters of my future destiny” (105).
The irony is so apparent it is slightly uncomfortable her, which is perhaps,
what Shelly has intended to do here. What humans should be like emotionally has
betrayed the visual standards of the species, while the visual standards of the
species have betrayed the morals human beings should have. This raises the
question if being a human is defined more by your emotions or your physical
appearance? And if it is, what does that make Mr. Frankenstien? A god? A demon?
No comments:
Post a Comment