Essay Topic:

The revelation of the truth about who is the “real monster” of Mary W. Shelley’s “Frankenstein”.

Essay Questions:

Why does Viktor Frankenstein consider his creation to be a brutal monster?

Can the creature be honestly evaluated like a monster despite its physical appearance?

Why is Viktor Frankenstein the real monster of the tragic novel?

Thesis Statement:

Mary Shelley throughout her novel and characters tells a story of the monster who is a victim and the creator who is a monster.

Introduction:  Mary Shelley analyzes vital issues in her novel in terms of being able to use science and knowledge for the good of people and not for the satisfaction of personal ambitions without even being able to take responsibility for that. It is also the novel of social rejection based on external looks and inability to accept. The real monster in the novel is not the creature but the creator himself who dared to undermine the laws of nature and “play God”.

As the novel goes, the reader realizes that the real monstrous actions are made by Viktor Frankenstein: first he rejects his own creation, then he simply fees to forget what has happened, than he brother dies as the revenge of the monster and he lets an innocent girl die taking responsibility for this death. Eventually, he loses his best friend and his wife and dies himself. Viktor realizes the moral side of his actions only when he starts working to create a female companion for the monster. At the same time a female companion is the only chance for the monster to be happy. The loss of this hope makes the creature revengeful. Though the creature looks likea monter in the outside, inside he simply wants to be happy just like everybody else and have somebody to share everything with. One the other hand Viktor Frankenstein looks like a man in his external but his internal being is a real selfish monster.

Conclusion: Mary Shelley seems to call the reader not to forget about the spiritual development in the thirst for scientific discoveries.  In between the lines she tells the reader that moral values should never be forgotten and the dead should remain dead. Mary Shelley implies that fact that every action has a consequence and a true man must be ready to take full responsibility for his actions and their possible consequences not only for him but for his family and the society. The creature is simply a victim of Viktor’s scientific ambitions and these ambitions have converted Viktor himself into the “real monster”.