I lied! (unintentionally) by telling you there wasn't a "rush the monster" scene, when technically there is, as evidenced by the Creature's reception by a small rural village in Chapter 11. Tell me, what do you think about the Creature's initial days of life? What reactions did you have as you read about him? What influences do you see leading him to later become a murderer of a child? And does this make you condemn Victor for his abandonment of the Creature? Oh, and how about that line about the "barbarity of man"??? Who's the REAL monster?
8 Comments
Jared Fogarty
11/8/2014 01:46:53 am
At first, it is apparent that the creature is bewildered and confused by the rush of emotions and senses that he experiences. When the creature finally becomes accustomed to his surroundings, he has no memory and is almost childlike; unable to survive in the wilderness on his own. After Victor then, the creature first seeks help from other humans. His rejection has almost the same outcome as when a child is rejected. Starting off in life with a fear or misunderstanding of others quickly leads the monster to anger. He wants to become a part of accepted society, but realizes that he cannot because he was created differently.
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Alison Von Haden
11/14/2014 12:50:25 am
My initial response to the creatures first few days of life along makes me connect Phil’s personality to a child’s! When Phil learns to open his eyes he realizes that he sees light only when his eyes are open. Also with the fire, he learns that it is very hot and should not be touched. It does surprise me of how fast his learning is.
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Cassie Quinn
11/14/2014 02:18:09 am
I agree with you Alison that Victor's abandonment has an influence on his murderous side, but I think something else triggers it. Although Victor created him and caused him so much pain, he does not deserve that credit. He left the creature, but the creature learns and lives all on his own without Victor's influence. I think that another encounter with humans, besides the loving family and the one scared village, will turn his innocent, naive behavior around. Something or someone must give him the desire to learn more about Victor and his family, and I doubt that it will be Victor himself who is living out his happy life without the creature.
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Natalie Carlberg
11/16/2014 01:39:51 am
I definitely feel bad for the creature when he first comes out into the world because he is left alone and he later expresses about how he has no father figure to lead him into life. I think that he definitely holds a grudge against Victor for this because he has to learn on his own. When he is rejected from people time after time especially by his own creator he just loses it and starts to hate humanity and wants to destroy everything in his path. He does not even know who he is himself and where he has come from. He says that "in the bitterness of my heart, I cursed him" (112). The creature starts to show more hatred towards Victor because he created him and his life but his life has been miserable and no one will accept him. I think that Victor asked for what he received. He created a creature that even scares himself, lets him go into the world on his own, and does not even think about him and how he is getting by or accepted by others.
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Faith Anderson
11/16/2014 02:23:14 am
In the creature's first days of life, he is just trying to get his bearings. As I read on, I was interested in how Mary Shelley portrayed his discoveries. Although his reactions were very childlike, the creature still displays advanced intellect and observation skills (e.g. using the fire to warm up and to cook his food.)
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Taylor Leach
11/18/2014 06:35:24 am
I agree with you Faith in that it was Victor's duty to teach the creature human skills. After all it is his reason that the creature is alive in the first place. Much like parents have to take full responsibility for the actions of their children when they are young, Victor should take the blame for the creatures recent shortcomings. The creature does all he can to learn and succeeds in acquiring a large amount of knowledge. However, I agree that the emotional skills and human qualities the creature is lacking will cause him to eventually kill William.
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Nate Day
11/18/2014 05:08:03 am
I really enjoyed the creature's first days of life. In my opinion, the creature was definitely portrayed as being innately good. It has no intention of harm or even survival in his early stages. He intends to explore and discover new things. He is entranced by the sky, moon and stars. He enjoys the warmth of fire and the songs of birds. These simple, yet empathetic qualities allowed me to relate with the creature on an emotional level. However, as Shelley moves forward, we see that the creature's innocence is tainted by the cruelness of man.
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Cole Snyder
12/3/2014 05:01:26 am
My initial reaction to the creature is that he is very childlike. He doesn't know not to touch fire, and at first doesn't even know how to react to the pain of hunger. I think he should be held accountable for his actions in killing William, but his consequences should be lessened. On the topic of Victor, I don't believe he should take much, if any responsibility. All he was doing was experimenting for science. There was no way he could have known what was going to happen.
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