“Throughout the Novel the Boundaries Between Good and Evil Are Continuously Blurred, Leaving the Reader with Moral Uncertainty.” How Far Do You Agree with This View of the Novel? (40 Marks)
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- Category: English: Novels
- Date Submitted: 03/11/2014 04:54 PM
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Good versus evil is a very prominent and important theme in the novel, Frankenstein, and Mary Shelley presents good and evil in a way to show the readers that it is not always easy to determine who is good and who is bad. On the surface, it may be that the Monster is evil and Victor is good, however throughout the course of the novel, we discover that this may be reversed for both characters. Also, we see how similar Victor and the Monster really are.
In the beginning of the novel, Victor seems to be a good and loving person and all he wants to do is increase his knowledge and find something new. Even when he wants to create the Monster, his reasoning seems to be justifiable. He says “I thought if I could bestow animation upon lifeless matter, I might in process of time renew life where death had apparently devoted the body to corruption”. However, as we read on we begin to doubt that his intentions are as pure as he made it out to be. His mother dies a week before he goes to university in Ingolstadt, and Victor’s father tells him “I know that while you are pleased with yourself you will think of us with affection, and we shall hear regularly from you. You must pardon me if I regard any interruption in your correspondence as a proof that your other duties are equally neglected.” During the process of creating the Monster, the reader sees a different side to Victor. For instance, the loving and caring person Victor we know isolates himself from his family and immerses himself in the project he has set for himself.
Another example of where the reader sees how Victor’s character has changed is when the Monster kills his brother, William. The blame falls on Justine, who is a pure and innocent girl that lives in the Frankenstein household as Alphonse and Elizabeth’s adopted daughter. Victor knows very well who killed William and knows that Justine is innocent, but he does not speak up and tell the truth. As a result of Victor’s selfishness, Justine suffers because...
In the beginning of the novel, Victor seems to be a good and loving person and all he wants to do is increase his knowledge and find something new. Even when he wants to create the Monster, his reasoning seems to be justifiable. He says “I thought if I could bestow animation upon lifeless matter, I might in process of time renew life where death had apparently devoted the body to corruption”. However, as we read on we begin to doubt that his intentions are as pure as he made it out to be. His mother dies a week before he goes to university in Ingolstadt, and Victor’s father tells him “I know that while you are pleased with yourself you will think of us with affection, and we shall hear regularly from you. You must pardon me if I regard any interruption in your correspondence as a proof that your other duties are equally neglected.” During the process of creating the Monster, the reader sees a different side to Victor. For instance, the loving and caring person Victor we know isolates himself from his family and immerses himself in the project he has set for himself.
Another example of where the reader sees how Victor’s character has changed is when the Monster kills his brother, William. The blame falls on Justine, who is a pure and innocent girl that lives in the Frankenstein household as Alphonse and Elizabeth’s adopted daughter. Victor knows very well who killed William and knows that Justine is innocent, but he does not speak up and tell the truth. As a result of Victor’s selfishness, Justine suffers because...