Good versus Evil
Good versus evil has been the basis for stories since the beginning of mankind. As man's evolution grew and stories became more and more elaborate, the simplicity of evil became more and more difficult to understand. Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein asks the question are all monsters evil? Good versus evil is no longer black and white, but grey and cloudy. The reader gets to feel and understand the monster's feelings and emotions, something that alters the reader’s initial reaction towards the monster. Personally, I am not a fan of horror films and novels. Ever since I first watched Birds directed by Alfred Hitchcock, I tried to stand clear of horror pieces because I preferred my piece of mind and my sleep. However, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is by no means the typical horror novel. It is much more than the story of a monster. Frankenstein is more than a good versus evil, man verse monster novel; it uses emotion to asks questions and get the reader thinking in great depth about humanity, which is why readers such as myself are fascinated by Mary Shelley's work.
One of man's greatest strengths is also one of his greatest weaknesses. Curiosity has led to marvelous vaccines and, at the same time, poisoned the world with nuclear weapons. Science is capable of plaguing the world with modern inventions. The obsession with pushing the boundaries has given man the ability to play god. Victor Frankenstein acts as god when he realizes the key to bringing man back from the cold darkness of death. Victor Frankenstein's obsession with his work is the bane of his existence. Ironically, the one object that he works so hard to create turns out to be the one object that he continuously tries to destroy. The monster, however, learned his cruelty from the world. The monster’s hideous figure caused the public to shun him and avoid him at all costs by throwing rocks and beating him until he fled from their sight. The cruelty of the public is what filled him with range and envy, the monster was taught to be corrupt by man. The monster describes man's cruelty to Victor during the monster’s heroic rescue attempt of a young girl who slipped and fell into a rapid stream. The monster jumped into the stream grabbed the girl and pulled her to shore, but a rustic made the assumption that the creature was trying to harm the girl and so the rustic fired a shot into the monster’s arm, hurting him emotionally and physically. The monster said, "Inflamed by pain, I vowed eternal hatred and vengeance to all mankind." (p. 143) Just as the young learn from their parents, the monster learned cruelty from the man that stood with him. Man is the true monster.
The creature that rose from the soil cold and dead soon evolved into a living man with feelings, while the scientist, Victor Frankenstein, who was so fond of life that he decided to bring it back to the dead soon found himself without the will to live. The dead soon was given life, while the soul of the living died. Victor says, "I shunned the face of man; all sound of joy or complacency was torture to me; solitude was my only consolation- deep, dark, deathlike solitude." (p. 93) Life is no longer in Victor. It pains him to see his creation breathing and living as if he were stealing Victor's air from him.
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