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Acts of evil are seen in many different ways from different points of view: some people judge the evil acts by how they where influenced others judge the acts for what they are. Evil is defined in the dictionary as 'morally objectionable behaviour' For the purposes of this essay I will be focusing on the novel Frankenstein. The question that I will work on is "who more evil Frankenstein or his creation. " Throughout the novel of "Frankenstein," neither Victor Frankenstein nor his monster acts more irresponsibly than the other does.
Sometimes the circumstances of their actions contradict their intentions, but neither of them is more morally at fault for their actions.
The question, who is more evil Frankenstein or his creation, I believe can only be answered as neither of them are more evil then the other. This can be proven by the stages that both of them grow morally. The stages of moral growth in Frankenstein, his monster, and most characters in the book are ignorance to the evils of men, aspirations for glory and virtue, desire for fellowship, subsequent in failure, and then the only wish for death.
It is true that Frankenstein and his monster both perform acts of evil.
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Frankenstein creates the being that eventually murders his entire family, leaving Victor in sorrow. The monster commits the despicable acts. However, neither of these men is responsible for their actions. Both Frankenstein and his monster are born innocent to the wrongdoings of mankind this can be proven by how the creation acted around the D'lacey family, his passion to be apart of them causes him to confront the blind D'lacey member, but subsequence's in rejection.
Victor even though he gave life to the creation, was obsessed with the idea that he can stop humans from dieing this idea was influenced by his mothers tragic death.
The ones that cause the change from innocence to selfishness are to blame. The naive and subsequent change of Frankenstein and his monster are proven when Victor tells Walton, "I feel exquisite pleasure in dwelling on the recollections of childhood, before misfortune had tainted my mind.
" Also, it is proven when the monster says, "I could not conceive how one man could go forth to murder his fellow, or even why there were laws and governments" Being that both characters were of an innocent spirit, neither of them is more to blame than the other. The change from innocence was fuelled the greatness and the desire for human companionship. Victor's aspirations of greatness are to go down in the history of natural science by creating a man. This demonstrates Frankenstein's irrational feelings and break from innocence:
"Winter, spring, and summer passed away during my labours; but I did not watch the blossom or the expanding leaves-sights which before always yielded me supreme delight-so deeply was I engrossed in my occupation. " Also, humans corrupted the mind of Victor. Before Victor becomes familiar with human beings, his only interest is natural science. "My temper was sometimes violent, and my passions vehement; but by some law in my temperature they were turned, not towards childish pursuits, but to an eager desire to learn"
This "eager desire to learn" is changed when Frankenstein begins to make friends, and from then on, his only desire is to benefit mankind and profit from it. The monster's aspirations and desires for fellowship show more rapidly, because he doesn't have a childhood to slowly adapt to the world of man. "I learned that the possessions most esteemed by your fellow creatures were high and unsullied descent united with riches... I knew that I possessed no money, no friends, no kind of property. I was, besides, endued with a figure hideously deformed and loathsome...
I cannot describe to you the agony that these reflections inflicted upon me. " This proves that as the monster adapted more to the world of man, he wants riches and power; he wishes for companionship. He only suffers more for his knowledge and his departure from the innocence that he once held. Therefore, Frankenstein and the monster's moral irresponsibility can both be blamed on society's concern with power and glory. Since their movement away from ignorance can be blamed on the same thing, neither of them is more reprehensible for their actions.
Furthermore, since Frankenstein and his monster both share the same fate, they are equally wrongful in their actions. Victor's creation of a man is a hideous failure, and the monster's desire to benefit society is also a failure. Their guilty consciences, the greatest compass of morality in "Frankenstein", both lead them to their own self-destruction. The fates deal their judgment in equal quantities, because both men are equal in their moral responsibility. In conclusion, the circumstances present themselves differently to Frankenstein and the monster, giving the illusion that one of them is more wrongful.
But since their moral growth is parallel, the consequences of their moral irresponsibility are therefore parallel. The tragic flaws of Victor and his creation, aspirations to power and desire for fellowship among men, bring about the same fate and moral repercussions, so that none of them can be blamed more so than the other. Joseph Maher Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Mary Shelley section.
Who more evil Frankenstein or his creation?. (2017, Oct 30). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/who-more-evil-frankenstein-or-his-creation-essay
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