Humanity of the creature in the Novel Frankenstein - Essay Example

Prompt 3 Humanity of the creature in the Novel Frankenstein The ability of human beings to characterize an individual in the society as one of their own is intrinsic since it acts as a determinant of the kind of relationship the latter will experience in the society. This is the sort of thing that Robert brings into his narration about Victor’s creature in the novel “Frankeinstein”. Humanity of a creature serves as one of the inherent theme that a reader can easily discover from the novel. The way Robert presents the narration about Frakeinstein’s creature shows that the people in the society are afraid to relate to the creature because of the difference in physical appearance. In most of the scenes, the physical appearance of the creature makes the society to shun and be hostile to the creature. Consequently, this forms the major objective of the paper which is to present an argument for or against the humanity of the creature. In order to achieve the objective, there is need for building a framework of human qualities found in the creature and those that it does not have. Intuitively, comparing the qualities of the creature to that of human beings, without considering its physical grotesqueness, essentially makes the creature one of the human beings. Just like any other human being in the society, Victor depicts the creature as having the sense of self awareness. Self-awareness is one of the important characteristics that make up human and it involves having clear perception of one’s personality in the society. Through self-awareness, human beings are able to determine their weaknesses and strength consequently making them to work for a happy life. Apart from accessing inner self, the awareness also constitute a major aspect in understanding other people in the society. This includes recognizing how the society perceives an individual. Consequently, determining the societal perception enables a human being to set on a journey of determining the appropriate response. Similarly, Robert depicts a creature which is able to develop a sense of awareness when he tries to integrate himself in the society. The creature realizes that he is rejected by the society making it set on a journey of determining the main source of rejection in itself by looking at the mirror. He asserts: “This was then the reward of my benevolence! I had saved a human being from destruction, and as a recompense I now writhed under the miserable pain of a wound which shattered the flesh and bone” (Cobley et al, 19) The mirror shows him a different physical appearance to that of human beings it had always experienced. Through self-awareness, the creature realizes that Victor is the only person who could understand his state in the society; a situation which makes him sad when Victor dies. Another important characteristic that the creature shares with human beings is altruism. Altruism refers to an act of unselfish concern to other beings in the society, regardless of the status of an individual. Indifferent to other animals, which are always concerned with their children, altruism makes human beings stand tall since it promotes the seen unity among them. Through altruism, human beings are able to work together towards saving other people, especially during disasters such as poverty and floods. Intuitively, altruism makes humans be brother’s keeper thereby making them the strongest creatures among other mammals. In the absence of altruism, the disintegration between human beings would have been intense and the witnessed economic and technological development would be illusions. In the novel, Victor presents the creature as having a sense of altruism to prove that it is not an evil being and should be accepted in the society. The creature shows unselfish concern to a group of poor peasant, without considering the benefits he could derive from the action. Further, the monster also saves a little girl from drowning. His altruism nature is noted when after saving the little girl he asserts “my life has been hitherto harmless and in some degree beneficial” (Cobley et al, p. 25).These are strong evidence that shows the creature supports the existence of human beings and if given a chance it would present its best in achieving human development goals. Besides altruism and self-awareness, sensitivity is another characteristic that proves the humanity of the creature. Sensitivity is the tendency of human beings to become upset about things done to them or said about them. The aspect allows an individual to determine a proper way of relating with other beings through rebuking those who are against him or her, and accepting those who are positive towards him. Through sensitivity, human beings are able to depict an act of vengeance towards the people they feel are stumbling block in their way to achieving a successful life. Usually, without sensitivity most of the individuals realize they cannot achieve their goals in life especially after working closely with their enemy. Consequently, sensitivity is important for the continuation and strength of human generation since it allows individuals to act best towards other human beings. Naturally, the way Robert presents his narration about the creature indicates that the latter is able to live among other beings. After realizing that his physical grotesqueness, considered as the blinding factor which blinds the society from the seeing his human nature, was the result of Victor’s creation, he set off on a revenge mission. The following is a quote illustrating sensitivity of the monster: “The feelings of kindness and gentleness which I had entertained but a few moments before gave place to hellish rage and gnashing of teeth. Inflamed by pain, I vowed eternal hatred and vengeance to all mankind.” (Cobley et al P.20) He ends up murdering Victor’s closest friend and wife. In human perspective, the revenge action by the creature would mean blocking the action of another individual from hurting his safeness in the society. Even though the creature exhibits the major qualities required of a human being, his physical appearance makes it different from the people in the society. His creator had involved variety of human body parts and chemicals thereby making the result to be rejected by the community. The society, considers that the difference existing in his physical grotesqueness may be of danger to their living. Consequently, most of the scenes depict rejection from the society through beatings and disgust. From this point, it is notable that the society consider an individual as their own based on the physical appearance and not acts. In conclusion, it is true that comparing the qualities of the creature to that of human beings, without considering its physical grotesqueness, essentially makes the creature one of the human beings. Despite his physical grotesqueness, Robert’s narration proves that the creature is part of human society since he has all the attributes required for harmonious and successful living with others. Work cited Cobley, Jason, Declan Shalvey, and Mary W. Shelley. Frankenstein: The Graphic Novel : Original Text. Towcester: Classical, 2008. Print. Read More