Answers for 'Frankenstein' passage-based test

Monster:
Ah, yes. I went down into the town, and they called out their dogs. Creatures full of beauty, with soft fur and bright eyes – I wanted to kneel down and pet them and play with them, but they tore at me with their teeth, and then I knew fear for the first time. I ran to the forest where it was quiet, where there was cool water to bathe my flesh. The moon came up – oh, Frankenstein, to see the moon for the first time! And I found out what sadness was, and loneliness. Those other beings like myself – they stood upright, like me – they’d thrown stones and shouted harsh words at me, but they had companions, fellows and friends. Couldn’t I find a friend? So I began to look…

Frankenstein:
Where? Where did you look? And how did you learn to speak?

Monster:
By listening. By hiding, and listening, and practising by myself. I found a cottage in the forest where a girl and her brother were living – a blind girl, the only piece of luck I ever had. She couldn’t see me. We spoke together; oh, I would have been her slave, I would have helped them and worked for them, I would have done anything if only they would have accepted me – but her brother shot me with his musket as if I were a wild beast. It broke my arm. The bullet’s still in my shoulder. That was when I found out what pain was really like. All alone in the icy
mountains, weeping, crying with rage and loneliness - Frankenstein, you can’t imagine how I suffered. If you could imagine it, you’d be on your knees praying to your God for forgiveness.

Frankenstein:
My God?

Monster:
Your God has nothing to do with me. You are my God. You made me, and you owe me happiness. Listen, and I’ll tell you the last part of my story. When my wound healed, the bitterness and hatred ebbed away a little; I was still ready to love, still ready to
trust ….you see what you’d made Frankenstein? A creature better than yourself, perhaps? A nature more noble? Who knows what might have happened if …..well, I was more cunning by then. More cautious. I thought – it’s only grown men and women who hate me; they’ve learned to be suspicious and to think the
worst of people. But if I could find a child, a little innocent creature with no hatred in its heart, then I could take it with me to the wilderness and bring it up as my companion – and we should love each other and live in peace and goodwill with all living creatures…

Questions
(a) Referring closely to the above passage, discuss how the passage draws the reader’s attention to the following two themes. Remember to provide evidence from the extract.
- Society’s treatment of the Ugly, and
- Loneliness and isolation

· Society’s treatment of the Ugly
- The passage shows us that the monster is so hideous looking that everyone who sees him is immediately repulsed by his ugliness.
- They reject him, refuse to accept him into society out of fear and insecurity
- The extract shows that the only friend he has is a blind girl, and that too because she is blind. This is the reason why she can see the real him.
- The passage also draws the reader’s attention to this theme by showing us how the rest of society abuses him - both physically and emotionally à e.g. “they’d throw stones and shouted harsh words at me”, the blind girl’s brother shoots him; they also make him feel pain, fear, and loneliness.
- Even dogs “tore at (him) with their teeth” because he was ugly.
- In these ways, the passage reveals the theme of society’s treatment of the Ugly to us.

· Loneliness and isolation
- The passage shows that the monster, like all other human beings, has a desire to be with people, to love and to be loved.
- He craves acceptance and companionship – basic human needs of which he is deprived
- But because of his ugliness, he is rejected and alienated from society
- As a result, he faces intense frustration, despair, rage and loneliness à All alone in the icy mountains, weeping, crying with rage and loneliness – Frankenstein, you can’t imagine how I suffered.”
- The passage also shows the extent to which he yearns for companionship by showing us how happy he was to have befriended the blind girl. He refers to her as “the only piece of luck” he ever had, and would “have been her slave”. He says that he “would have done anything if only they would have accepted (him)”. This shows how greatly he is isolated and lonely.
- In these ways, the passage reveals the theme of society’s treatment of the Ugly to us.

(b) The Monster refers to the blind girl as “the only piece of luck” he ever had. Using your knowledge of Frankenstein, why do you think the Monster can be considered unlucky?

- Because his own Creator has rejected him, without teaching him how to survive in the world.
- Because everyone who has come across him has reacted violently to him, driving him away to live in isolation à this is due to his looks, which he has no choice over.
- Because he is born in such a grotesque manner – a conglomeration of dead human parts put together by a scientist who is only interested in power and ambition, and not about caring for his creation and ensuring that he can survive in society
- Because he is supposed to be superhuman, and we would expect such a being to command respect and admiration, but he is alienated because people cannot look beyond the surface (superficial)
- Because all he wanted to do was to offer love and friendship (desperately) but the more he stretched out his hand, the greater the rejection (from adults to children to animals) à “Couldn’t I find a friend?” he cries out pitifully
- Because he is deprived of basic needs such as the need for love, acceptance, and companionship, though he wants it dearly. He is left with only pain and suffering à “I found out what sadness was, and loneliness”.
- Due to these reasons, I believe that the monster can be considered unlucky.