gothic essay one

8/8/2019 Gothic Essay One

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Caitlin SimsENG 232M. HutchisonOctober 22, 2010

An Unnatural Creatures Search for a Natural Identity

Throughout our lives, we search for our own self identity. Our parents lay the foundation of

our identity for us when we are born. The name we are given, our home, ancestry, morals, and

lessons that are instilled in us are the basis of our overall identity. Our parents provide us with

an adequate amount of knowledge in all areas of life while we are growing up in order to allow

us to truly embark on the search for ourselves when we reach early adulthood. In Mary ShelleysFrankenstein, we see Frankensteins monster struggle to find his self identity. I think the fact

that the monster is never given a name is symbolically significant. The monster lies in direct

contrast to the majority of humans. Humans have parental guidance that provides them with a

foundation that prepares them to undertake the journey to find out who they are. The monster on

the other hand was abandoned by his parent and never given a name. The lack of a name and a

parent to guide him reflects the monsters difficulties in establishing himself as a being and the

struggles he faces while he tries to find his own self identity. Although the monster lacks the

parental guidance that most humans have, he does relate himself to both Adam and Satan at

some point in the story, just as most humans find themselves in situations that they could relate

back to Adam and Satan at some point in their life. People fluctuate between feeling innocence

in situations, like Adam, and then feel completely rejected, provoking anger and the desire for

revenge, like Satan, in other situations.

When Victor Frankenstein first creates the monster, breathless horror and disgust filled [his]

heart (58). Frankensteins reaction is based solely on the appearance of his creation, but we see


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sheer innocence and curiosity displayed by the actions of the monster. This innocence is shown

when Frankenstein is sleeping and he awakens to the sight of the monster, his jaws opened, and

he muttered some inarticulate words, while a grin wrinkled his cheeksone hand was stretched

out (59). The image that Shelley paints of the monster reminds me of a child. Children are

curious beings because they are being freshly introduced to everything around them and then are

inquisitive in order to find their way in such a mysterious place. Similar to the actions of the

monster, children often reach out to touch unknown objects, they smile because they are

overjoyed at a new discovery, and murmur sounds out of curiosity since they are unable to speak words. The initial establishment of the monsters being is similar to that of a child. The monster

has just been brought to life, and is immediately showing his curiosity. When Frankenstein sees

his monster like this, he should be glad at the natural tendency of curiosity that is being displayed

by his unnatural creation. Instead, he runs away from what he views as a demoniacal corpse.

Frankenstein leaves his creation to fend for himself and in a sense tries to run from the reality

of the situation that he himself has created. It is not until Frankenstein is on vacation and

ventures out into nature that we see the creator and monster come face to face once again.

Frankenstein is horrified again at the appearance of his monster, but we see nothing other than

appearance that leads to the belief that the monster is indeed horrible. The meeting between

Frankenstein and the monster gives us insight into the actual character of the monster and

enables us to have the opportunity to make judgment of the monster based on more than his

appearance. The monster tells his story to Frankenstein and we see him portray very humanistic

characteristics. The monster is eloquent in his telling of his story, he shows emotions, and

intelligence. It even becomes evident that the monster may actually have a clear understanding


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of his place in the world and Frankenstein begins to see the human side of his creation when the

monster talks about his needs and desires. The monster begins to relate himself to Adam when

he vocalizes his desire for a female companion. The monster says at one point, But it was all a

dream; no Eve soothed my sorrows nor shared my thought; I was alone. The monster also sees

his similarities to Adam when he says, I was apparently united by no link to any other being in

existence. The monster finds many similarities between himself and Adam. Although he

becomes discouraged at times, the monster does place value on his life when he says, Life,

although it may only be an accumulation of anguish, is dear to me, and I will defend it. (102).The value that the monster is placing on his existence shows that he is actually accepting his

position in the world and he subconsciously has found his sense of self. Although he sees his

similarities to Adam, the monster does not define himself as an innocent and inquisitive being.

Throughout the monsters tale of what has occurred since the last time he saw his creator, it

becomes evident that the monster, without parental guidance, has taken it upon himself to

become educated in the ways of the world. He discovers things such as light and dark, he

experiences hunger, differences in temperature, and even pain. The monster experiences pain

when he burns himself with fire, but he also experiences emotional pain as a result of rejection

when people recoil at the sight of him. This rejection by humans shows a similarity between the

monster and Satan. The comparison to Satan is shown by this statement: Many times I

considered Satan as the fitter emblem of my condition; for often, like him, when I viewed the

bliss of my protectors, the bitter gall of envy rose within me. The monster says this when the

DeLaceys reject him. These reactions by humans when they encounter the monster push him to


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decide to confine himself away from the human eye. Although the monster continues in his

search of self, up until this point, he has solidified himself and established who he is in my eyes.

He was developed a keen sense of understanding of the world. He recognizes that he is unlike

other people and takes it upon himself to stay away from humans so as not to repetitively

experience rejection. He teaches himself to speak by listening to and observing the DeLacey

family, to read, to communicate his needs effectively, and he also shows a compassionate and

sensitive side. To me, the view that Frankenstein has of his creation and what his creation truly

is are in direct opposition. Frankenstein views the monster as what he is based on his outwardappearance, yet the monster truly has become a wise, gentle, intellectual being. His only flaw is

that he has committed murder, but I think that this can be contributed back to his lack of

guidance. He was never taught good and bad and right from wrong. Overall, the monster has

molded himself into a rather civilized being, but he just does not recognize himself based on the

identity that he has formed.

We see this identity slowly transgress when the monster, lacking the knowledge to truly face

adversity, defines himself by changing his outlook from innocence and curiosity to that of

vengeance and anger after he discovers how he was created. Walter Anderson, a famous artist,

once said, Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of

my life. I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can

choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have - life itself. The monster

has faced bad things and been able to deal with them, but when he begins to understand the

manner in which he was created and fully understand how his creator feels towards him, it is too

much for the monster to handle. I think when he grasps the fact that his creator wants absolutely


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nothing to do with him, he becomes desperate for companionship, and when he faces rejection

from the DeLaceys and when Frankenstein fails to provide a female companion for the monster,

he becomes desperate. The monster throws his previous value of his life out the window. He

sees no reason to be satisfied with his life because there are no other beings like him, and he

knows that no humans will accept him as he is, leading to his vow to seek revenge against all

humans, namely Frankenstein.

I think that if the monster had accepted himself for what he was when he was initially

brought to life and recognized his own sense of self then, when he was in the phases of educatinghimself and establishing himself in the world, and having a sense of innocence like Adam, he

would have been much less likely to let his despair take the best of him. If the monster had

recognized himself as an intellectual being instead of letting rejection affect him so greatly, he

would have never sought revenge like Satan. The monster never truly discovers himself and

even after his death, the question of his self identity persists.

gothic essay one

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