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  • Essay / The Monstrous Refugee: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

    Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein follows one man's dangerous obsession with reanimating the dead. In his efforts to create a living human being, Dr. Victor Frankenstein ironically loses his humanity. He becomes obsessed, cruel, and treats his own creation with contempt and hatred. Dr. Frankenstein never gives his creature a name or provides any type of care to what is, in essence, a newborn baby. In his efforts to control and then ultimately kill his monster, Frankenstein reveals himself to be equally monstrous. Frankenstein never taught the creature in the novel that he was human. He receives few acts of true kindness from anyone, and from his first day of "life" the creature is hunted, hated, and rejected. This was a key theme for Mary Shelley. She wanted to explore how society creates monsters by rejecting and vilifying them. The novel shows how cruel and judgmental people can be, often based on superficial appearances or their own innate fears and prejudices. Dr. Frankenstein's monster represents entire groups of people who are hated and feared through no fault of their own, such as refugees, the homeless, and the poor. Much like Dr. Frankenstein, society first creates these people and then denies their humanity, labeling them as “monsters” worthy of fear, hatred, and contempt. The simple solution would be to treat everyone with kindness and humanity, regardless of their appearance or situation. However, the novel shows that superficial appearance has a powerful influence on people and that humans are eager to dehumanize those they perceive as "different" or "inferior". Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayThe novel Frankenstein is concerned with how people should treat each other and the consequences that arise from treatment unjust or unjust. The theme of justice recurs frequently in the novel, beginning with the idea that Dr. Frankenstein is essentially creating another human being. However, instead of showing compassion and care for her creation, and treating her like a parent should, Dr. Frankenstein is horrified and chases her away. Dr. Frankenstein is fully aware of the duties of a parent. His own parents were loving and caring and tended to young Victor's every need. “My mother’s tender caresses and my father’s smile of benevolent pleasure as he looked at me are my first memories. I was their toy and their idol, and something better - their child, the innocent and helpless creature that heaven had granted them, who must be raised to goodness and whose future fate it was theirs to direct towards the good. happiness or unhappiness, depending on whether they fulfilled their duties towards me. » Victor therefore has a sense of the responsibility that parents assume towards their children. However, he completely abdicates this responsibility when he creates his monster. Not only does he run away from the monster in revulsion, but he ignores the monster's attempt to reach out and talk to his "parent." He flees his house and hides in the yard and abandons his monster right after bringing it to life. One of the cruelest things a parent can do is abandon their child without first ensuring that it will be cared for, and Dr. Frankenstein runs away without hesitation. The monster is understandably angry and confused by this reaction. When he finds his creator, the monster says: “Yet you, my creator, you hate and despise me, your creature, to whom you are linked by bonds which can only be dissolved by the annihilation of one of us. Your goal is tokill. How dare you play with life like this? His recrimination: How dare you play with life? clearly shows that Shelley and the monster believe that the creators owe a debt to their creations. Shelley harshly criticizes Frankenstein for "playing God" and upsetting the natural order of life. Consider the monster's words to Victor Frankenstein when the Doctor threatens to fight him and end his life. “I am your creature, and I will even be gentle and docile to my natural lord and king if you will also fulfill the role you owe me. » (114). The Creature sees himself in relation to Adam, with Victor Frankenstein as God, the “natural lord and king”. » By designating itself as Adam, the creature clearly indicates that it is, like Adam, the creation of God. And the monster reprimands Dr. Frankenstein, saying that if he would only do his part as Creator, the monster would line up and behave appropriately. But because Dr. Frankenstein failed in his duty, the monster goes on a violent rampage and murders those he holds most dear. Shelley's criticism of Victor Frankenstein is also a rebuke to those who reject people who are, for various reasons, vulnerable and dependent. Like children. After all, Victor Frankenstein knows exactly how important it is to grow up feeling loved and cared for. His parents are shown to care very deeply about the poor, as Victor's mother herself was a poor child who was saved from poverty. So it's clear that Victor has an awareness and understanding of what a child might need to have a chance at happiness. And yet, when Dr. Frankenstein deliberately creates life, he rejects it with the next breath. This causes the monster unbearable suffering. He is rejected and left alone in the world, left to his own devices, which would be a cruel fate for any child. This criticism applies not only to the parents (literally and figuratively) in the novel but to society as a whole. The monster is associated with refugees, the poor, the disabled, and anyone who has ever been separated from loved ones and displaced. His solitude is the solitude experienced by all the excluded. The monster is, in many ways, the ultimate outcast, created and then rejected by its creator. He is then forced to relive the pain of this rejection over and over again, with every interaction he has with the outside world. When the monster and Dr. Frankenstein are finally reunited in the mountains, Dr. Frankenstein reacts violently and threatens to kill. the monster. The monster says that he “expected this welcome” because “all men hate the wretched; how then must I be hated, I who am miserable beyond all living beings! » (113). People have obviously repeatedly reacted to the monster with raw hatred and disgust, to the point where the monster expects no other reaction. Although Dr. Frankenstein has reason to hate the monster at this point (for murdering his younger brother), no one else would have reason to immediately hate the monster, other than because of its appearance. That the monster expects to be hated as soon as he sees him is a sad commentary on the superficiality of human beings. Everyone screams and flees, except for Mr. De Lacey, who is blind and only perceives the monster as a kind, articulate being. This indicates an underlying problem with the apparitions in the novel. The monster is described as being hideous, of course, much larger and stronger than a normal person, and made of sewn together parts of dead humans and even animals. Dr. Frankenstein describes him: “His yellow skin barely covered the working muscles and arteries beneath; her hair was shiny black and flowing; his teeth a.