Smith #3

              Victor Frankenstein created a monster out of his own longing to be known and accepted by the outside world he created a creature of hideous design and an unsatisfied soul. A creature who dealt with all the extremes of human rejection and isolation. “I also am unfortunate; I and my family have been condemned, although innocent; judge, therefore, if I do not feel for your misfortunes.” (96). This is said by the monster, he has been through an incredibly harsh and painful journey and in this sentence is where his fascination with helping those who he desires affection from turns into sulking in his own hideousness. After sometime the monster craves what every human being craves at one point or another: companionship, to have someone of his physique to love and care for him. This thirst for company gilts Victor into attempting to build another monster and this is where the eternal questions lay and Victor begins to wonder if he has a right to play God in a world that will not accept his creations. “…A race of devils would be propagated upon the earth, who might make the very existence of the species of man a condition precarious and full of terror. Had I a right, for my own benefit, to inflict this curse upon everlasting generations? I had before been moved by the sophisms of the being I had created; I had been struck senseless by his fiendish threats: but now, for the first time, the wickedness of my promise burst upon me; I shuddered to think that future ages might curse me as their pest, whose selfishness had not hesitated to buy its own peace at the price, perhaps, of the existence of the whole human race.” (121). This passage gives one of the first peeks into any wavering in Victor’s conscience. He eventually destroys this nearly finished new creation and the monster is left even more lonesome then before.

            There is a running question in this book; are humans good or evil and do we have the right to tamper with nature? I see no black and white answers to either of these questions but they are interesting to contemplate. Does it make a human evil because he thrives to create something that has never before been created? This is what Victor developed but I do not think the question is whether the act is good or evil but is it handled well? Is it thought through? And is it selfish or not?  Victor’s execution was careless as well as heartless and he left his knowledge-less yet capable creation to fend for himself in what resulted in the ruin of lives and the possibility for love. The universe is too cruel to not have a polite entry to it. There is no inherent good or evil to it, its all about the intentions and the execution, human beings have the potential to be generous, loving, and accepting but we also have the capacity to create mass genocide, destroy cultures and customs and kill the lives of thousands of young, dream filled men, for the benefit of a little more land with our countries name on it. We are a species with thousands of miles worth of potential.