Frankenstien--Post 4!!!!

Molly Walsh

April 17, 2012

Post 4 for Frankenstein

            I thought of a real world connection from the story to real life.  The treatment of the monster in Frankenstein can sometimes be compared to people with disabilities.  Normal people don’t understand a person who may be disabled or developmentally delayed in some way and they don’t know how to deal with them.  Communication is tough because they don’t perceive the world in the same way or interpret events similarly.  I thought it was really sad how the Monster had to go out on his own and try to survive, learn the language on his own, and live on his own.  As he grew up, he became more intelligent and self-aware.  He stared to grow thoughts, a conscience, and a realization of why he was shunned by the people he tried to interact with.  When the Monster saw that people were burdened by him stealing food, he felt bad and stopped.  Obviously, he had empathy for other people and had emotions.  Even though it looked like it, he wasn’t a monster at all.  He also saved the girl in the water from drowning, but when the towns people saw that, they only flung more insults and ridicule at him.  It was painful to read a story about how the Monster tried to be a good person and fit into society, but he was just rejected.

            I thought it was interesting that the Monster never go a real name.  He was just called a monster since his creation, even though he wasn’t born one.  Even though he eventually chose the dark path of revenge, he was not born a bad person.  Not naming him takes away a part of his identitiy and his humanity.  People thought he was a creepy creature that didn’t deserve to be  alive without even getting to know him.  The thing is, though, the Monster had emotions, thoughts, a desire to learn, self-awareness, and a conscience.  The Monster also had good and evil in him and a choice of which road to take.   He was in most senses a person even though all of society didn’t consider him one.  The Monster’s lack of a real name was just another way to symbolize the fact that he wasn’t treated as a human being.