Selfishness In Frankenstein

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Inherent Selfishness, a theme that you don’t commonly hear of, has shown up in multiple 20th century stories. 20th century stories such as Conrad’s Heart Of Darkness, Greene’s “The Destructors”, and Orwell’s “Shooting An Elephant” all portray this rarely used theme in the characters. Each story has different content, but all of them lead back to the same problem of people being inherently selfish. The characters show their selfishness through their roles in the stories.

In the first story Heart Of Darkness, Conrad implies the theme of inherent selfishness through the main character Kurtz. Kurtz shows his inner selfishness through his brutality toward the natives, and through his greed for his beloved ivory and other possessions. In one case, The Manager told Marlow that he overheard Kurtz talking about his ivory and said, “My intended, my ivory, my station, my river, my ---” (Conrad 48). The Manager went on and said that he was saying those things as if he owned everything that moved. Kurtz was even so selfish that he pretty much worked by himself to keep the hiding …show more content…
The Officer showed his inner selfishness through his thoughts that were included in the short story. An act of greediness occurred when he had the choice to shoot the rampant elephant or let it live. He chose to shoot the elephant to please the natives and to save the image that people saw him as. If he would’ve not been selfish and chose to let the elephant live he would’ve been frowned upon by the people and his peers. He revealed his reason for choosing to shoot in a thought which he had asked himself, “I often wondered whether any of the others grasped that I had done it solely to avoid looking a fool.” (Orwell 1326). The Officer symbolizes a lot of people in today’s society and how they will do things to protect their self image and how other people see them and think of

Do The Right Thing In Frankenstein

wrong thing to do in another person’s eyes. In the excerpt from Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, the main character has to figure out what’s right and what’s wrong. The main character, Frankenstein, must choose what to do wisely. He learns that although stealing helps him, it takes away from another person’s family. Even though one thing benefits him, other people are essentially suffering because of his selfishness. Frankenstein sees that what he is doing isn’t right and starts to feel guilty…

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The Nature Of The True Monster In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Each and every person has different ideas and opinions on what makes someone a monster. For some it could be the way a person treats another. However, to the majority of the population, it is the way the person looks. In Frankenstein, who the monster is seems to be a very controversial topic given neither the monster nor Victor did very stellar things throughout the story. The monster is an incredibly lonely and bent on revenge against the man who abandoned him, killing those with any ties to his…

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The Real Monster In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Wollstonecraft Shelley’s Frankenstein (1831) has long endured the test of time; however, it is no longer true to the original tale. Most people that think they know Frankenstein have only watched adaptations loosely based on the original Frankenstein. These versions have created many inaccuracies that have altered Shelley’s intended meaning of Frankenstein. One of most common inaccuracies of Shelley’s work is the tendency to believe that the monster’s name is Frankenstein. Yet, the monster is referred…

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Frankenstein Comparison

Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, is a dramatic horror story that takes place in 18th century Europe, in which Victor Frankenstein animates a monster who eventually seeks revenge against Frankenstein after witnessing the faults of mankind – specifically the faults of Frankenstein such as selfishness and abandonment out of fear. As the monster learns more about the world and begins to understand humans and human relationships with one another, he grows more and more depressed and angry. He realizes that…

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Lack Of Self-Awareness In Mary Shelley's Paradise Lost

effort to do so. Self-awareness is vital to self-improvement, and some would argue that it is the key to a better life. In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley introduces Paradise Lost to emphasize the unique creator/ creation relationship that the creature has with Victor. The relationship between Victor and the creature is built on lack of understanding and compassion. Frankenstein and the Epigraph both show that the lack of self-awareness destroys an individual. The creature and Victor are both subservient…

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Frankenstein Character Analysis

In the novel, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, a doom protagonist and narrator of the story studying in Ingolstadt, Germany. Victor Frankenstein is a scientist, a genius, and insane. He has independent resources that allow him to work in secrecy. He is imaginative, individualistic, and daring. Victor Frankenstein is a prototype of many mad scientists who have come after him: Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll, H. G. Wells's Dr. Moreau, and Bruce Banner, who was turning animals into humans on his private…

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Victor Is The Real Monster In Frankenstein

text, mankind (e.g. Victor Frankenstein), not the creature, are revealed to be the true monster in 'Frankenstein' through his collective prejudice against the creature. Discuss. "His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries....his teeth of a pearly whiteness; but this luxuriance's only composed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes and his shrivelled complexion and straight black lips." Victor Frankenstein’s creation, in Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein' is referred to as the "monster"…

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Free Will Frankenstein

chose good or evil. The power of free will is an ability that is often taken for granted and abused. However, without the ability to have free will a person loses the sovereignty of choice. The use of free will in Paradise Lost by John Milton and Frankenstein by Mary Shelly demonstrates the nature of evil. As a creator, there are an endless number of possibilities of things to instill in their creation. In Milton’s Paradise Lost, God is the creator of everything. “God their Creator, and th’ invisible”…

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AP Lang Frankenstein Essay

The Story “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley is about Victor Frankenstein’s creature living in a world where he frightens people because of his appearance. You would think that Frankenstein is the antagonist in this story because he plays God and creates a hideous being. At the same time that I believe that the creature was not meant to be so vile, I also believe that the creature is a monster inside and out. The creature seeks vengeance, goes on a murderous path, and demands a female creature similar…

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Frankenstein Monster Analysis

In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelly, Victor Frankenstein has an idea to make human life out of dead body parts that he collects. Once the monster comes to life, Victor is disgusted and flees from his home, leaving the monster behind. The monster is perceived as evil who’s only intention is to kill anything associated with Victor Frankenstein. Yet, throughout the novel, the monster is only a victim of circumstance, and the real villain is Victor—his creator. Victor has complete apathy towards…

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