FREE ESSAY ON SELFISH AMBITION (FRANKENSTEIN)

SELFISH AMBITION (FRANKENSTEIN)

Selfish Ambition?
The question "What makes us who we are?" has perplexed many scholars, scientists, and
theorists over the years. This is a question that we still may have not found an answer
to. There are theories that people are born "good", "evil", and as "blank slates", but it
is hard to prove any of these theories consistently. There have been countless cases of
people who have grown up in "good" homes with loving parents, yet their destiny was to
inflict destruction on others. On the other hand, there have been just as many cases of
people who grew up on the streets without the guidance of a parental figure, but they
chose to make a bad situation into a good one by growing up to do something worthwhile
for mankind. For this reason, it is nearly impossible to determine what makes a human
being choose the way he/she behaves. Mary Shelley (1797-1851) published a novel in 1818
to voice her opinions about determining personality and the consequences and
repercussions of alienation. Shelley uses the ideas of Jean-Jacques Rousseau to make her
point. Rousseau proposed the idea that man is essentially good in the beginning of life,
but civilization and education can corrupt and warp a human mind and soul. In Mary
Shelley's Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (hereafter referred to as
Frankenstein), Victor Frankenstein's creature with human characteristics shows us that
people are born with loving, caring, and moral feelings, but the creature demonstrates
how the influence of society can change one's outlook of others and life itself by his
reactions to adversity at "birth", and his actions after being alienated and rejected by
humans several times.
In the first chapters of the book, Shelley describes a scientist who was obsessed with
doing something great for mankind. Victor Frankenstein, an educated man of science, was
completely involved with his work, which happened to be the creation of another living
being with human qualities. Once Victor's work was finally completed, he realized that he
had created a "monster", and he was terrified. Mary Shelley, supporting Rousseau's
theory, definitely believed that people are born essentially with good intentions and
feelings, and she shows this from the first few moments of the creature's life. When
Victor was lying terrified in his bed, the creature came in and "One hand was stretched
out" (Shelley 40) towards Victor. Victor, in his petrified state, thought that the
creature was trying to detain him, but in fact, the creature was reaching out to Victor
as to offer friendship. 
Shelley continues to show how the creature was a tender, caring being for quite a while.
After Victor rejected the affection and friendship offered him by his creation,
completely abandoning him, the creature left Victor and went out into the world. He soon
discovered that the world would not be a friendly place. Persecution, alienation, and
affliction would eventually drive the creature into doing terrible things. Sir Walter
Scott, a famous Scottish novelist, said: This monster, who was at first...but a harmless
monster, becomes ferocious and malignant, in consequence of finding all his approaches to
human society repelled with injurious violence and offensive marks of disgust. (Scott
617)
The first person who had seen the creature, other than Victor, "Shrieked loudly" (Shelley
83) when he looked upon his ugly and massive frame. This was a reaction the creature got
used to, and he decided he would be better off to stay out of the paths of humans. When
he found the hovel near the cottage he watched over for many months, the creature still
was a loving, gentile being, despite the few nasty run-ins with humans. His sincitivity
showed when he marveled at nature, and cried at some of the depressing stories from
ancient civilizations. His tender and caring heart showed when he looked over the family,
gathered firewood for them, and cleared snow from the path for them during the winter
months.. He had educated himself through this time, and he was trying to get up the
courage to show himself to the family that he loved. All of the creature's actions
throughout the time watching over the De Lacy's shows his pure heart and good intentions.
We are shown by the creature's actions as a "young" being that he was innately good, thus
confirming the theory posed by Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
Mary Shelley makes it clearly shown that a person is born with a good heart and soul, but
a person's outlook on life can change dramatically by the influence of others and the
pursuance of knowledge. When the creature finally gets the nerve to confront the old De
Lacy, hoping to be accepted by the old man and eventually by his family, he is violently
rejected by the old man's son, sending the creature into an endless rage. The young De
Lacy son was unable to see past the creature's appearance, so he reacted with violence.
Anne K. Mellor, author of, Mary Shelley - Her Life, Her Fiction, Her Monsters, says:
Because the mind is more likely to respond to the unknown with fear and hostility than
with love and acceptance, an unfettered imagination is more likely to construct evil than
good. (136)
The creature was outraged by the rejection, and he cursed his creator, Victor
Frankenstein, for putting him on the earth to endure such misery. The creature says,
"Cursed, cursed creator! Why did I live" (Shelley 110)? This rejection by the De Lacy
family was the final straw for the creature to hold back his rage. He decided that he
hated his creator so passionately, and he would revenge his physical and emotional wounds
by destroying Victor's life. The creature says, "I will revenge my injuries: if I cannot
inspire love, I will cause fear; and chiefly towards you (Victor) my arch-enemy, because
my creator, do I swear inextinguishable hatred" (Shelley 119). The creature was no longer
a loving being towards mankind.
The turning point in the creature's attitude towards life can most definitely be
contributed to the persecution he endured from others. Victor, his creator, had fled with
fear and disgust when the creature first drew breath and tried to offer his hand in
friendship to Victor. The other humans who had seen the creature shrieked in pure terror
because of the outward appearance he had. When he was rejected by the De Lacy family, the
creature's hope of finding love and belonging by mankind was permanently destroyed. If
people would have only given him a chance to speak, he may have dazzled them with his
intellect, or he may have charmed them with his wit. But, the creature calls himself
miserable, because he is alone in the world and hated by all others. He says, "I am
malicious because I am miserable; am I not shunned and hated by all mankind" (Shelley
119)? The creature decides to make Victor pay the price for creating such a "miserable"
being, so he begins by killing Victor's youngest brother. The creature frames a family
friend of the Frankenstein's, and Justine dies, although innocent, for the murder of
William Frankenstein. The creature catches up with Victor to proposition him to create a
female creature to be his partner for life. When Victor eventually decides not to create
the female companion for his first creation, the creature is outraged, and the creature
says to Victor, "I will be with you on your wedding night" (Shelley 141). This terrifies
Victor, but he did not know exactly what the creature meant. The creature's hatred and
murderous rampage was brought on by being socially outcast by others. The creature had
gone through unimaginable anguish, and his heart had turned from one filled with love to
one filled with hatred. The creature killed Victor's best friend, Clerval, and he met
Victor on his wedding night to kill Elisabeth, Victor's bride. 
Shelley makes her point well that one is born essentially good, but can be turned to evil
by society's narrow-minded view of what is normal, and the corruption of the mind through
knowledge and education. The repercussions of Victor's and others alienation of the
creature turned a caring individual to an evil one. Shelley succeeds in bringing
Rousseau's theory to life, that one is born good, but he can be turned to evil through
civilization and education. This story still has a great meaning for us today. Millions
of people are outcast by society, not only because of physical appearance, but also
because of sexual orientation, social status, and religion. Once people quit looking so
narrow-mindedly at one another, the world will be a much better place, and Frankenstein's
monster will rest in peace!
Bibliography
Mellor, Anne K. Mary Shelley - Her Life, Her Fiction, Her Monsters. New York, New 
York: Routledge, Chapman, & Hall, Inc., 1989. p 136.
Scott, Sir Walter. Remarks on Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus; A Novel. 
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine 1 April 1818. 26 April 2001.
.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus - 1818 Text. Ed. Marilyn Butler. 
New York, New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.