Mr. Davenport
Honors British Literature
February 11, 2016
A.M.D.G.
THE BLANK STATE
The Latin phrase Tabula Rasa, also known as the "Blank Slate" was a epistemological theory—which explores the nature and complexity of knowledge—that was expanded on by John Locke. Locke's modernized idea involved the belief that, at birth, the human mind is essentially untouched. Humans are neither inherently good nor inherently evil during infancy. A child's mind is molded through experience and the dogma of the most influential people in their lives. The creature—in the book Frankenstein by Mary Shelley—like a child, was a "Blank Slate", but through the influence of his creator Frankenstein and its experiences in the real world, the creature became corrupt. The intimacy of a person can be measured by the amount of influence they have on people. In this case, the …show more content…
This relationship, however, depressed when the creature was first seen by Victor. Victor rejects the creature's existence and abandons it all together. "I beheld the wretch—the miserable monster whom I had created. He held