Human Nature In Frankenstein Essay

Although Frankenstein sets out to create a human being, throughout the novel he refers to his unnamed creation as “devil,” “creature,” “monster,” and “fiend.” These names imply that Frankenstein does not consider his creature to be a true human being. The question though is: why not? How does the novel distinguish the human from the nonhuman? Since the creature can reason, use language, and feel emotion, why shouldn’t he be considered human? How and why is the category of “monster” applied to the creature? This prompt asks you to carefully consider how Shelley’s novel reflects on the relationship between the human and nonhuman. How does the novel ultimately define (or refuse to define) these two categories, and what’s at stake in this definition?
What role does nature and natural imagery play in Shelley’s novel? You may choose to focus on Victor’s attempts to control natural processes (and the masculinist assumptions that undergird these attempts); the way that natural scenery echoes the characters’ …show more content…
Does Shelley’s novel function as a critique of technological intervention? Is the novel critical of the scientific process? If so, why? What aspect of science or technology does the novel highlight as being particularly problematic?
Pick at least two non-European geographic regions mentioned in the novel and analyze their significance. What role do non-European spaces, or spaces at the very fringes of European society (like Ireland—then a colonial possession of England—or the Orkneys), play in the novel? Why is Shelley interested in representing these geographies? How do these spaces develop or comment on the novel’s themes of otherness, social exclusion, and the non- or sub-human?
How does Shelley’s novel comment on the relative roles that “nature” and “nurture” play in moral development?
Develop your own prompt. Be sure to run it by me first.

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Human vs.