The Growth and Development of the Creature in Frankenstein
The novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is a thrilling story of the making and development of a being that was created by Victor Frankenstein through his scientific experiments. This paper focuses on the actions and behavior of the creature and how it turned into a monster. The monster is physically deformed and it is abandoned by people around him including the society, its maker, and the DeLacey family which forces it to turn into a destructive role as a retaliation to lack of a secure relationship with the society.
Failures to Conform to Society's Norms
The creature does not conform to the society’s norms. It fails to attain a positive response from the society and tries to attract more attention towards itself. The being assumes an active-destructive role as an attempt to draw the attention of its creator. “My heart was fashioned to be susceptible of love and sympathy, and when wrenched by misery to vice and hatred, it did not endure the violence of the change without torture such as you cannot even imagine” (Shelley, p.211-212). The creature had safety and physiological needs as well as a need for love, esteem, and belongingness. However, its needs were thwarted by the society which made it assume a destructive and vengeful behavior as retaliation to the barriers in reaching its needs. The system had rejected it and the monster points that, "I, the miserable and the abandoned, am an abortion, to be spurned at, and kicked, and trampled on” (Shelley, p.213). The creature’s visible biological deformity influenced people’s perceptions of it despite what motor or cognitive behavior it showed. Therefore, the society plays part in shaping the monster's behavior. Bann (1994, p.132) argues that it assumes an aggressive behavior as a defense mechanism against the people who had negative views about him and to reduce the frustration that had been introduced by the apathetic society.
The Influence of the Environment
The interaction of the being with its environment is an explanation of its development and growth. People had placed the creature as a physically deformed child and they rejected it. Tropp (1976, p.79) notes that the socialization and development of an individual are influenced by the environment where one has an active inter-relation. After the alien was formed by Frankenstein, he was rejected which caused great anguish. The being develops revenge and grudges towards its maker Victor for abandoning it in an environment that was relentlessly hostile. The excerpt places responsibility on its maker, Victor, for the creature’s unattractive appearance and its eventual evil.
Inability to Accept Cultural Goals
The monster's deviant behavior can also be linked to its inability to accept cultural goals. In the society, a youngster was expected by his or her cultural goals to love and respect its parents. They also learn new things and try to adapt to its immediate surroundings. In achieving these goals, the parents, as well as the immediate environment, provide help, support, and nourishment. In Frankenstein, the creature did not receive this parental care, “No father had watched my infant days, no mother had blessed me with smiles and caresses; or if they had, all my past life was now a blot, a blind vacancy in which I distinguished nothing” (Shelley, p.112). Mankind refused to reconcile with the creature which made it reject the cultural goals and means. The monster opted to find a female counterpart who will be there to share its horrible state. He wanted the maker to comply with his wishes. However, Victor refused to fulfill these requests which made the creature vengeful and determined to make the creator suffer. Therefore, the inability of Victor to meet the needs of the creature played part in igniting deviant behavior.
The Injustice of Society
The humans had justified their actions of killing and injuring the monster regardless of its innocence. Their actions were directed to the being because of its physical deformity which they found to be disgusting. The treatment and actions of the humans were an injustice to the being as they stigmatized and labeled it with tags such as demon, monster, demonical corpse, wretch, and fiend. The creature internalized these traits and assured that people lack a sense of compassion which made it develop monstrous activities and a justification for its deeds to hurt human beings, “Am I to be thought the only criminal when all humankind sinned against me? Why do you not hate Felix, who drove his friend from his door with contumely? Why do you not execrate the rustic who sought to destroy the savior of his child? Nay, these are virtuous and immaculate beings! I, the miserable and the abandoned, am an abortion, to be spurned at, and kicked, and trampled on” (Shelley, p.213).
Influence of Social Background
Criminologists explain how an individual’s brutalization during childhood by peers and parents can result in violent actions and behaviors in adulthood (Brown, Esbensen, and Geis, p.68). According to Bann (1994, p.52), the creature had the desire to be accepted into the society and have a companion. However, this desire was denied by the society as he was disqualified from having any personal friend. The engagements with the society made it adopt antisocial behaviors which led to the manifestation of the ultimate deviant behaviors when the monster committed suicide. Therefore, the antisocial behavior disrupted relations, and poor social background shaped the creature's behaviors.
The Role of the DeLacey Family
The DeLacey family have an interaction with the monster and they play an important part in the development of the creature’s behavior. The monster escapes from the wrath of society and builds a dwelling near a peasant family. The monster observes the character of different members of the family such as Agatha, DeLacey, Felix, and Safie. The monster learns new things through the interactions of the family members. He begins to admire the story-telling and music-playing among them. Also, he identifies the family’s love for one another. The creature witnesses the reunion of Safie and Felix and starts to self-educate himself through observation of Felix’s teaching lessons for Safie and the books he finds in the woods. The monster also meets with DeLacey who was a blind man and they have a successful conversation. However, their conversation is halted when the man’s family enter the cottage. They attack the creature out of fear which fuels the monster’s anger for his maker, Frankenstein.
Conclusion
The growth and development of the creature in the novel Frankenstein are affected by numerous factors and individuals around him. The monster is brought to life by a scientist, Victor Frankenstein, but it lives in painful isolation its entire life. It is alienated by the society, its creator, and the DeLacey family because of its weird appearances. They play different roles in shaping the deviant behavior of the being. Initially, the creature did not reveal any signs of violence until he was rejected by its creator, stoned and shot by the villagers, and after meeting the DeLacey family. The insularity and vindictiveness of the human world impact the behavior and character of the creature.
Works Cited
Bann, Stephen. Frankenstein, Creation, and Monstrosity. London: Reaktion Books, 1994. Print.
Brown, Stephen E., Finn-Aage Esbensen, and Gilbert Geis. Criminology: Explaining crime and its context. Routledge, 2012. Print.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein: Webster's Chinese-Simplified Thesaurus Edition. ICON Group, 2006. Print.
Tropp, Martin. Mary Shelley's Monster: The Story of Frankenstein. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1976. Print.
