Frankenstein Essay

In most fiction stories, there are always two characters that do or do not represent different sides of the same character. Frankenstein is a short gothic horror story written by Mary Shelley. Shelley writes about a scientist who created a being from dead body parts. Victor Frankenstein as the protagonist of the story created a monstrous character that was a reflection of himself. In Frankenstein, Shelley presents two characters who represent the different sides of the same character. The monster was a clear reflection of his creator because; they had the same development, the same pain, and suffering and were recluses. Victor and the monster did not physically resemble each other, but they had the same personality and traits. Therefore, the two characters are alike.
Victor Frankenstein and his creature are alike, at the same time; they are different. However, despite the fact that they have slight differences, when comparing their experiences and characterization, it is apparent that they are more similar than they are different. They are similar because, they both lived in isolation, were abandoned, and lived as outcasts in the modern society. They both lived in isolation because other people thought that they were different. For instance, Victor Frankenstein was left all alone at a tender age after the death of his mother, and he never got a feeling of having a family. In addition, Victor was obsessed with dead bodies and creating a being. Due to this, he was isolated from the society, and he started creating his creature. His isolation persisted after he created a hideous being that brought destruction and pain to the people. Similarly, just like Victor, the creature lived in isolation because he was left alone by his creator after he created him. The monster never got a chance to experience a mother or fatherly love just like his creator. Moreover, he also lived in isolation because of his monstrous appearance that made people reject him. Victor created a monstrous and deformed being that was feared and rejected by the society; this made the society shun away from the creature leaving him all alone. Both the creature and his creator were outcasts and lived in isolation from the rest of the world.
In addition, they were alike because, they had a great animosity for each other. After Frankenstein created the monster and left him all alone without any guidance. In fact, he ran away from the creature immediately after creating it. Furthermore, animosity between Victor Frankenstein can be seen when he says “Scoffing devil! Again do I vow vengeance; again do I devote thee miserable fiend, to torture and death. Never will I give up my search until he or I perish; and then with what ecstasy shall I join my Elizabeth and my pilgrimage” (198). This was after the monster had killed everyone Victor loved, and all he yearned for was to find the monster and kill it himself. Likewise, the monster hated his creator Victor Frankenstein. After Victor had abandoned him, the monster vowed and declared a war against Frankenstein for creating him with a hideous appearance and deserting him (Shelley 138). Although at some point the monster tried to be friendly to the people around him, they all ran away from him. Due to this, the creature looked for Victor and the people he loved to destroy them, for instance, Henry, Justine, and William. Therefore, both the creature and Victor had vengeance towards each other, and, this is evident with the animosity they display against each other.
Both Victor and the monster were yearning for knowledge. After the monster had been abandoned by his creator, he craved to learn about human life. He looked for books to study despite the fact that “he did not even understand the sounds for which they stood as signs” (Shelley 98). Victor’s creature was so fascinated with the human race, and he did all he could just to learn about the humans because he felt very different because of his appearance. Similarly, Victor was obsessed with science, and that is why he spent most of his time studying dead bodies and ended up creating a creature he detested. In his hunger for knowledge, Victor spent "days and nights of incredible labor and fatigue" studying and finding more knowledge to make his creation (Shelley, 31). Victor left his family and forgot his love for Elizabeth just to go study in the University and gain more knowledge in science. Both Victor and his creature craved for knowledge and during their time of pain and suffering, they looked unto nature and its serenity for consolation.
Apart from their similarities, Victor Frankenstein, and his creature were different from each other. First, their physical appearance was very different; the monster had a hideous appearance while Victor was a normal looking human being. Another difference between Victor and his creature is how they acquired their knowledge. Victor was able to get good education in a University, but the De Lacey family was the only source of knowledge to the Monster. Victor had a loving family compared to the monster, who had no family because even his creator ran away from him. Victor says “No human being could have passed a happier childhood than myself” (31). But for the monster, he had no loving family, and even though he considered the De Lacy family as his family, they also rejected him at some point and he was left all alone again. The monster says, “I, the miserable and the abandoned, am an abortion, to be spurned at, and kicked, and trampled on” (54). He was left immediately he came into existence.  However, when it comes to their personality, and their traits, the monster was Victor Frankenstein’s double.
In conclusion, Frankenstein is a story about two characters that are alike in so many ways. Victor Frankenstein and his monster are two sides of one person because, they were both alone, despised each other and themselves, and at the end of the story, they all ended up alone. Victor Frankenstein and his monster are two characters that notwithstanding their dissimilarities, they still have a strong and dramatic connection. The characters in this story feel the similar loneliness, pain, and remorse. Their similarities are extreme until they are all known as Frankenstein because they are a reflection of each other. They all experienced the same feelings and had the same development, and this makes them quite alike.

Work Cited

Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1998. Print.