Reader Response

Angel Green

Week 6-Reader Response-Assignment #3

February 21, 2016

I thought it was interesting how the senses of smell and vision were implicated into both stories; Grenouille is spurned for lack of smell and Frankenstein’s monster is rejected for being hideous. After reading theses two stories, you would think if the characters had changed would the circumstances if it was more supportive rather than the hasty approach to their environment.

Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” has had an influence on society; basically it has to do with revolving around how we as a society make our own monsters.  Were these monsters that we created or where they already monsters? Mary Shelley explores into Victor's possessed and uncontrollable nature to finish his work at any rate. Shelley portrays Victor as an overconfident, insecure man immersing himself into something that is unsafe and unknown. Shelley displayed Victor’s moodiness, uncertainty and how selfish he is.  Now despite the fact that Victor created life from death, the methods and his purposes were not clean and ethical. The work ends up not getting done for the better, however Victor’s individual desires and wants overtake his research. Victor does not take into thought as to the implications of accomplishment, which is if he should achieve it. I think the Mary Shelley’s story of Frankenstein can be a lesson, because of how science and medicine can affect an individual and their work.

The lack of education and knowledge of the morals and ethics of society, the monster in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was able to shape his own code of behavior based the behavior he noticed from others. The monster was able to know the difference between right and wrong, “My food is not that of man; I do not destroy the lamb and the kid to glut my appetite; acorns and berries afford me sufficient nourishment”. (Shelley, 2012). The monster displayed desire to imitate the integrities of mankind. This was shown by his observation of the cottagers. “I admired virtue and good feelings and loved the gentle manners and amiable qualities of my cottagers, but I was shut out from intercourse with them, except through means which I obtained by stealth, when I was unseen and unknown, and which rather increased than satisfied the desire I had of becoming one among my fellows”. (Shelley, 2012).   The monster overemphasized the feelings and connections of the cottagers, however he was uncertain of his place amongst them. The monster used his thoughts of the cottagers to make his own stereotypes of humankind.