Frankenstein: the Monster and His Alienation

Frankenstein: the Monster and His Alienation

  • Submitted By: melan17
  • Date Submitted: 03/07/2009 11:53 PM
  • Category: English
  • Words: 932
  • Page: 4
  • Views: 2

Hideous. Evil. Grotesque. These are a few of the words used to characterize the monster in Frankenstein. In this novel the monster was regarded and portrayed as a being of unimaginable ugliness and evil. He was a creature that would occupy a nightmare that wakes us up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. He wasn’t worthy of conversation, he wasn’t worth of love, he wasn’t even worthy of a second look. Most creatures that are thought of and feared in this magnitude have a reputation that precedes them and gives people a reason to feel the way that they do. In the beginning of the novel, Frankenstein’s monster had no reputation. He committed no crimes, and he didn’t even have a name. However, he was met time and time again with violence, and people automatically feared him. At this time the creature is confused. What did he do to deserve this treatment? He doesn’t know. The answer is simple; he was different, and perhaps “ugly” in appearance. He did not look like the people the people around him. In fact, he did not look like anybody, so they automatically judged him. They made the assumption that if he looked like a monster, it only makes sense that he would behave as one. It may be a little over reaching to say that the people of the world should have just accepted him and not been wary in any capacity. I’m sure the sight of someone like Frankenstein was shocking in itself. The truth is, however, that the reaction of the people to Frankenstein’s monster is only an inflated version of the same assumptions and judgments that we make as people in the real world today.
Imagine that you’re sitting in the classroom and a boy walks in. He has on ripped jeans and black fingernail polish. His hair is thrown in no particular direction and he has on dark makeup. The first reaction of most students would be to laugh or to pull back. Some might even cringe at the sight of him. The assumption here is that since the boy has an appearance of trouble, he is automatically...

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