Prejudice in Frankenstein
Prejudice is an unfortunate characteristic that plagues the human race. The word literally means to judge something beforehand, and it occurs when a wrong opinion is formed about something based on irrelevant characteristics and not on the important things that matter. Shelley opened up this issue by expressing it through the creature in her novel Frankenstein. Throughout the entire novel, the creature is bombarded with undeserved prejudice. Shelley used the creature in her novel to raise awareness to the issue of prejudice and its harmful effects by showing events of prejudice against the creature and the damaging results of those events.The prejudice starts from the very beginning of the creature's life when its own creator unfairly rejects it. In chapter five, Victor, the creator, despises it from moment he laid eyes on it: "But now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and the breathless horror and disgust filled my heart. Unable to endure the aspect of the being I had created, I rushed out of the roo
This led the family to the false assumption that it was trying to hurt the blind man, as if height or looks had anything to do with a person's desire to hurt others. (Shelley 121)" After rejection by the De Lacey family, the creature had had enough and was filled with anger at the entire human race. The creature explained, "Who can describe their horror and consternation on beholding me? Agatha fainted. Throughout the novel, the creature is attacked by prejudice, and it eventually leads to many tragic events. All of these events would have been prevented if people would have seen the creature for who it is and not for its physical appearance. The only thing that frightened the family by the fact that the creature was talking to the blind man is that it was huge and hideous looking. The acts of prejudice throughout the novel result in many tragic events that take place. By this time, it was already aware of human's disgust for its physical appearance, so it attempted to talk to a blind man in the family first. I quitted the cottage, and in general tumult escaped. Because of prejudice, the creature is seen transforming from a gentle, loving creature to a vicious creature that hates the human race and goes on to perform many evil deeds. Unfortunately, the family discovered it talking to the blind man and viciously attacked it, sending it away from them.
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