Is The Monster Morally Responsible For His Own Actions?

The monster is morally responsible for his actions
Throughout the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, there are many factors that influence the monsters motifs which shape him into the kind of monster he is. There could be many different people to blame for his actions but looking closely at the book it is easy to see that the results of the monsters actions are his own responsibilities. The monster kills three different people himself but also indirectly kills two other people and he is morally responsible for his own actions. The monster displays three key characteristics that John Locke associated with being a human being and these are: self-awareness, reason and memory. The monster displays all of these attributes, therefore making him …show more content…
From the beginning of the novel to the end, there are many incidents in which the monster demonstrates the power to think, understand and justify his actions which creates reason. After the monster had killed William and took off the portrait of his mother, he “placed the portrait securely in one of the folds of [Justine’s] dress” (Shelley 101). The monster knows that killing William was wrong and that he is completely responsible so he had to cover up the action in order to save himself. The monster has the power to think of framing Justine and also understands he has to do it in order to protect himself. This is just one of the ways that the monster is able to display reason in order to run away from his responsibilities. When the monster and Victor met on the iceberg and Victor was furious, the monster just “I expected this reception” (Shelley,67), again, this shows that the monster thought about and understood what would happen and knew this would be the consequences for his actions. Victor’s reaction didn’t come as any surprise to him because he already thought about it and knew he was at fault. Victor was furious when he saw the monster and disused the deaths, the monster was able to think and create a response to victor that he wants him to have to suffer after abandoning him when he was created and for not creating a female monster, therefore leaving him all alone with no companions. He wants Victor to understand how his actions hurt him and in order to justify Victor’s actions, the monster wants to make Victor suffer as he did. The monster threatens that Victor’s “hours will pass in dread and misery, and soon the bolt will fall which must ravish from your happiness forever (Shelley 120)”. The monster understands this will hurt Victor but he thinks it is the only way to justify what Victor had done to him. The three parts in relation with reason are three