Human Attributes and Emotions in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley - Research Paper Example

?Frankenstein What does it mean to be human? Being human is the ability to show emotion. In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley the main characterdoes show emotion, so Frankenstein the monster is really human. He shows a combination of emotions as he learns to survive. He first feels confused and then anger when he realized that he was bound. The human monster works through anger and confusion to work through sadness to learn to be happy. He will learn more about himself then the people around him. He has to learn to act appropriately. Frankenstein is a collection of parts from other people, but as he matures he starts to realize that emotions go along with his instinct for survival. According to Hume, who emphasized “the personal and the unique nature of each individual’s intellectual position by claiming that every opinion and value judgment was based not on reason but upon passion, a mixture of instincts, feelings and emotions.” 1 In the Hume reading Frankenstein is smart and learns what he needs to act appropriately. He learns the value of the people around him. He is a child of nature. Frankenstein is a journey of self-knowledge and what is truth in what it does. He is a man of action. In a portion of ‘Hamlet’ when Hamlet and Rosencrantz Hamlet says “What a piece of work is man! How noble in reason! How infinite in faculty! In form and moving, how express and admirable! In action, how like an angel! In apprehension, how like a god! The beauty of the world! The paragons of animals! And yet to me what is the quintessence of dust? Man delights not me; no nor woman neither, though by your smiling you seem to say so.”2 The story of Frankenstein fits into this in this way he was made of parts of other humans when they were made of the same dust as God made man. He saw the world as a child and the wonder of the world, but Frankenstein still needs still needs to learn that his appearance is strange to others, and when he learns about his uniqueness he is striving for survival and acceptance by the townspeople. This is evident when he is being chased through the town. Frankenstein is a monster in appearance, but is a human with emotions and feelings. He is a person who thinks for has learned. He is a human for he has human attributes. He has learned right from wrong in several different ways. Frankenstein is one character who has actually learned what being human means. Frankenstein is all about humanism in the following ways: 1. He believed in a universal truth –looking for someone to follow and learn 2. He saw the beauty in what he saw 3. He had to experience things as they happened 4. He had to learn how things were done If it is possible to be both a monster and a human the character of Frankenstein is a true Renaissance Man for he is a rebirth on a physical and mental stand. He also showed a strong conviction in his learning of how to learn cooperation and acceptance of self and others. Frankenstein is a book about a human monster who just wants to be accepted by someone. He wants to learn how to work and to survive in society. Frankenstein is also a psychological novel for the major character of Frankenstein has reached many milestones according to Mazlow and Erikson. In Mazlow’s Heirarchy of Needs the character of Frankenstein has the physical needs like food, shelter and clothing. He then needs to feel safe, but he does not feel safe when he sees that he is bound by his creator who only wants to keep him safe. This is when he should move to the next level and what he wants to belong somewhere and then feel good about himself. When he can do that he can begin to know and understand why he was created and to see that what he looks like is not all there is to living. He then can see how he can help the townspeople if at all. According to Erikson the character of Frankenstein has to learn how to trust his creator and the townspeople where he can learn where he may fit in and make friends and learn to deal with what the society has to offer without frightening them away. Kohlberg and his Stages of Moral Development would let the character of Frankenstein learn that one will be punished if he was not obedient to the rules of the community. He would also need to become ethical and become oriented to the social contract and show that he could be a proper citizen. Frankenstein needs to find what he wants so he can make his own decisions and not be like a child. He confronts many obstacles in his travels and in his travels he learns how to solve his own problems sometimes not in a model way and this is why he gets in trouble in the community. Frankenstein is human for he can think of more than just scaring people for he really wants to make friends with whom he meets. Frankenstein throughout the novel could have been a character suffering from Social Anxiety Disorder, since the time of his creation till the time in was chased through town. He could also have several simple phobias like the fear of fire. Here are a few signs of symptoms of Social Anxiety Disorder from the DSM-IV-TR: 1. A marked and persistent fear of one or more social or performance situations in which the person is exposed to unfamiliar people or to possible scrutiny by others. 2. Exposure to the feared social situation almost invariably provokes anxiety, which may take the form of a situationally bound or situationally predisposed Panic. 3. The person recognizes that the fear is excessive or unreasonable. 4. The feared social or performance situations are avoided or else are endured with intense anxiety or distress. 5. The avoidance, anxious anticipation, or distress in the feared social or performance situation(s) interferes significantly with the person’s normal routine, occupational (academic) functioning, or social activities or relationships, or there is marked distress about having the phobia. The character of Frankenstein exhibits the first symptom when he is confronted by any of the townspeople or out of fear and he lashes out at them. He exhibits the second symptom when he out of fear he shrinks back at times at times he thinks is frightening. Frankenstein is human because he can feel and he somewhat knows what he is doing, but as said before he thinks as a child and he does not know for sure how to act around certain situations and people and this is why the third symptom fits the character of Frankenstein. The fourth symptom fits Frankenstein because when he is confronted by the townspeople sometimes he sometimes strikes out or backs away. The final symptom that fits Frankenstein because he finds it hard to understand why the people hate or are afraid of him all the time for he just wants to be accepted. Frankenstein could also be suffering from Attachment Disorder/Separation Anxiety, since even back at the time of his creation by Dr. Frankenstein and he shocked him to life and he noticed that he was bound and he became angry at his ‘father’ and he tried to kill him. That could be why he sees other people and he strikes out at them. According to the DSM-IV-TR these are the symptoms that Frankenstein could be exhibiting through his behaviors: 1. Recurrent excessive distress when separation from home or major attachment figures occurs or is anticipated. 2. Persistently and excessively fearful or reluctant to be alone or without major attachment figures at home or without significant adults in other settings. The character of Frankenstein exhibits these symptoms when he tries to make friends, even though he is looking for someone to make attachments, but afraid to do so for he thinks everyone is trying to hurt him. He tries to understand what is going on around him, but nothing makes sense and he gets confused and angry at his feelings. In conclusion the novel of Frankenstein is about how a human monster exhibits human attributes and emotions. The character also shows how he tries to cope with the human problems of Separation Anxiety/Attachment problems and Social Anxiety Disorder. Frankenstein is a book that describes how one can overreact and still show vulnerability to others. The novel also shows how he learns to cope with his environment and the people in that environment. Frankenstein is a character that will affect many readers in many different ways. Works Cited Cunningham, Lawrence & Reich, John Culture and Values A Survey of the Western Humanities, Volume II , Chapter 14 The 18th Century: From Reason to Revolution, Holt Rinehart Winston 1982 Cunningham, Lawrence & Reich, John Culture and Values A Survey of the Western Humanities, Volume II, Chapter 12 The Renaissance in the North, Holt Rinehart Winston 1982 Cunningham, Lawrence & Reich, John Culture and Values A Survey of the Western Humanities, Volume II, The Early Renaissance, Holt Rinehart Winston 1982 Slavin, Robert E. Educational Psychology Theory Into Practice, Second Edition 1988 American Psychiatric Association, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Text Revision DSM-IV-TR Fourth Edition Cunningham, Lawrence & Reich, John Culture and Values A Survey of the Western Humanities Volume II Chapter 14 The 18th Century: From Reason to Revolution, Holt Rinehart Winston 1982 Cunningham, Lawrence & Reich, John Culture and Values A Survey of the Western Humanities Volume II Chapter 12 The Renaissance in the North, Holt Rinehart Winston 1982 Cunningham, Lawrence & Reich, John Culture and Value A Survey of the Western Humanities Volume II Chapter 10 The Early Renaissance, Holt Rinehart Winston 1982 Slavin, Robert E. Educational Psychology Theory into Practice, 2nd edition Prentice Hall 1988 American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition Text Revision DSM-IV-TR Read More