The Effects of Negative Societal Norms in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley - Essay Example

The debate of leaders are born versus leaders are made can also be placed in the context of evil. Are evil men made or they are born that way? Mary Shelley’s famous 1918 horror novel ‘Frankenstein' largely describes the battle between a scientist, Victor Frankenstein, and a separate muster/creature he created using science. the novel explores different themes including the negative social norms that have been normalized or shunned yet common and their impacts on individuals and the society at large.

This article explores how negative norms are harmful to society as they can be seen in the novel. One negative social norm that drives the majority of the evil that Frankenstein's monster is judged by appearance rather than by merit/actions. For one when Frankenstein realizes the creature he has created is ugly to look at, he flees in panic. The creature also helps a family living in the woods by fetching their firewood and manages to befriend the father who happens to be blind. However, when the other family members see him (the creature) fleeing in fear (Shelley 79).

This makes the creature bitter and lonely, which is escalated when Frankenstein refuses to create a female companion for it. A society based its judgment on looks, shunning people as ugly and praising others as beautiful. This creates people with low self-esteem, self-hate, and confidence. This can result in higher crime and criminal profiling for the so-called ugly people, depression, and the likelihood to commit suicide due to societal standards that pile pressure on them (Oakes 67). ‘Frankenstein’ explores secrecy as a negative societal norm that is common yet causes so much harm to individuals and the society at large.

In the novel, Frankenstein keeps the secret of monster's secret only to himself hence is not able to seek alternatives advice about how to handle the situation nor warn his family of the mortal threat they are under (Shelley 58). In the world, people have normalized keeping secrets that are harmful to their mental health and also lead to mistakes in one's life/disasters. In society, secrets lead to late diagnosis of medical issues and wrong convictions as witnesses fail to confess the truth. Cowardice is explored as a social vice in the book, as Frankenstein shows cowardice by failing to acknowledge his creation leading to poor and wrong decisions such as abandoning the creature.

This leads to the creature becoming rogue and kills Frankenstein's family (Haynes 188). Cowardice in modern society leads to child neglecting, poor decisions leading to loss of opportunities such as making peace with Frankenstein. The novel explores the theme of revenge and vengeance as Victor and his monster each seek to either hurt or kill the other for the large part of their feud. This makes them miserable and leads to their deaths due to the pursuits. Revenge harms all parties involved as it may lead to regret, psychological problems, and endless revenge actions that may ensue (Shelley 159).