The Creation Of Frankensteins Problems And Crimes English Literature Essay

Mary Shelleys Frankenstein examines the repercussions of what happens when man attempts to play God. Victor Frankenstein should be blamed for the crimes the monster commits. In an attempt to attain wisdom and glory, Frankenstein unleashes a terror upon the world. The creature he creates is enormous in size, dreadful in appearance, and surprisingly intelligent. Dr. Frankenstein abandons the monster and becomes an outcast of society. Repeatedly, the creature seeks acceptance for his intelligence and personality, and repeatedly, humankind rejects him because of his appearance. As revenge, the creature attempts to make Dr. Frankenstein as miserable as he is by killing everyone who is close to his creator. Although he commits the crimes as an act of revenge, the creature cannot be accountable for his actions. Victor Frankenstein, and no one else, is entirely responsible for the monster’s actions.

In the novel, life itself fascinates Victor Frankenstein, so much that he attempts to create it himself, and he brings a dreadful creature to life. The creature kills Victor’s loved ones including his best friend, Henry Clerval, his brother, William, and his wife, Elizabeth. He also indirectly causes the death of Victor’s father who is so overcome with grief because of the death of his family members that he dies. Dr. Frankenstein changes throughout the novel from a curious, and ambitious young man, fascinated by science, into a disheartened, remorseful man burdened with his scientific endeavor gone awry. Although Victor Frankenstein calls his creation a monster, and considers it disgusting and repulsive, Frankenstein is the one who behaves like a monster. He claims to have created the monster for an honorable purpose: to overcome death. However, it is clear that his endeavor is largely for selfish purposes, as he states: “I was surprised that among so many men of genius who had directed their enquiries towards the same science, that I alone should be reserved to discover so astonishing a secret” (Shelley 53). Dr. Frankenstein attempts to play God and creates a living being without considering the possible consequences.

Frankenstein’s creation only wants humanity to accept him for what he is. All the monster wants is a companion or a friend. He wants someone he can talk to, someone to love him, and someone to love back. He even asks his creator for a companion when he says, “I am alone and miserable; man will not associate with me; but one as deformed and horrible as myself would not deny herself to me. My companion must be of the same species and have the same defects. This being you must create” (Shelley 146). The monster’s rejection by humanity and his creator compel him to seek revenge. The circumstances that Frankenstein puts him under force him to commit murder. When he realizes that no one will accept him he states, “There was non among the myriads of men that existed who would pity or assist me; and should I feel kindness towards my enemies?  No” (Shelley 138). The monster notes all men reject him, so he has no reason to show kindness toward anyone. Frankenstein is morally wrong to disregard the creature primarily because he is the creator and designer of the entire operation. He should have realized his parent-like errands he owed to the creature. If he wants to purposefully give the breath of life to someone, he must accept his responsibilities as a creator whether it is a successful achievement or not.

The fact that Victor chooses to keep the creation of his monster a secret suggests that he is guilty for the murders. Victor refuses to admit to anyone the truth about what he has created, even as he sees the consequences of his creation spiraling out of control. Frankenstein never admits to his family and friends what he has done; he never takes responsibility for his actions. It is almost as if he kills his brother, his wife, and his best friend himself. When Mary Shelley writes, “My first thought was to discover what I knew of the murderer, and cause instant pursuit to be made. But I paused when I reflected on the story I had to tell.”(Shelley 78), it shows that Victor realizes that he is the reason for William’s death. Justine, a young girl adopted by the Frankenstein family, takes the blame for William’s murder, and dies for Frankenstein’s secret. Elizabeth dies because Victor chooses not to create another monster. The monster did not necessarily want another monster-like companion, he just wanted acceptance. Victor may have admitted to creating the monster, but he denied that he had driven the monster to commit murder. He needed to admit, not only to himself, but also to his family that he is the one responsible for William’s murder. By not admitting this, he allows the creature to murder his friend and his wife as well. Frankenstein’s determination that no one discovers his secret becomes his downfall. Victor is responsible for every action of his own and for the actions of the monster.

There are many flawed arguments that state that the monster is the only one to blame for the murders in the novel. The opposition should not blame the creature or hold him responsible for his actions and misfortune. By rejecting the monster and making him feel like an outcast, Victor causes him to commit murder. He brings the monster into the world without giving him any support or guidance; he completely deserts the creature. When the monster tries to make friends, everyone either runs away from him or tries to kill him. When he saves a young girl from drowning, someone shoots at him. No one gives the creature any choices. The creature is regarding these incidents. His actions do not cause his rejection and misfortune; however, his appearance, a physical trait that he cannot change, does. The creature’s misfortune is that he is hideous and repulsive. He does not choose to be physically deformed; Frankenstein creates him that way. Thus, Victor is ultimately responsible for the being’s rejection. At the end of the novel, as the monster speaks over Victor’s dead body, he says, “I, the miserable and the abandoned, am an abortion, to be spurned at, and kicked, and trampled on” (Shelley 224). By referring to abortion, the monster expresses his thought that he is an unwanted being, shunned by his creator. He commits murder because he is mistreated Victor; the deaths in the novel are Victor’s fault.

Dr. Frankenstein should ultimately be responsible for the murders the creature commits because he creates the monster out of an arrogant pursuit of glory, he rejects the creature as soon as he creates it without giving it a chance, and because he never attempts to stop the creature or take responsibility until it is too late. Victor Frankenstein attempts to accomplish something that no man has done before him: create life using his own knowledge and scientific abilities. He discovers a way to, in a sense, play God by creating his own form of life. However, his selfish scientific goals ultimately destroy him and his loved ones. Victor’s own choices create the war he finds himself struggling with throughout the novel.