Mary Shelley
After the creature's expulsion from the De Lacey residence, its desire to seek companionship confronts several obstacles. Specifically, the situational irony surrounding the creature's unappreciated saving of the drowning girl effects a fatal shift in the its attitude toward humanity.
Even though the creature's months of selfless sacrifice in collecting the De Lacey's wood resulted only in violent rejection, the creature still sought relationships with children. For instance, when the girl in the woods almost drowned, the creature rescued her from nature's hazards despite its familiarity with violent misunderstandings by humans who should thank him. Instead of thanks, the creature receives only an ironic bullet from the father of the drowning girl. The creature relates his change of attitude towards humans by recounting to Victor: "Inflamed by pain, I vowed eternal hatred and vengeance to all mankind," (Shelley, 101). The creature's shift brought on by its situational irony suggests that evil results from surroundings instead of inherent nature.
Furthermore, Shelley utilizes imagery and setting to support the claim that the creature's reception by humanity effected its malevolence. Prior to the creature's rescue of the drowning girl, fall had turned to winter. The decay of nature seen in the freezing of the rivers and earth paralleled the decay of the nature of the creature. Whereas the creature's desire to cooperate with humans shown in his collecting of logs for the De Laceys was natural, the decay of the creature's environment seen in the De Lacey's expulsion of the creature and the father's shooting it destroyed the creature's benevolent nature and gave rise to its retribution.
Even though the creature's months of selfless sacrifice in collecting the De Lacey's wood resulted only in violent rejection, the creature still sought relationships with children. For instance, when the girl in the woods almost drowned, the creature rescued her from nature's hazards despite its familiarity with violent misunderstandings by humans who should thank him. Instead of thanks, the creature receives only an ironic bullet from the father of the drowning girl. The creature relates his change of attitude towards humans by recounting to Victor: "Inflamed by pain, I vowed eternal hatred and vengeance to all mankind," (Shelley, 101). The creature's shift brought on by its situational irony suggests that evil results from surroundings instead of inherent nature.
Furthermore, Shelley utilizes imagery and setting to support the claim that the creature's reception by humanity effected its malevolence. Prior to the creature's rescue of the drowning girl, fall had turned to winter. The decay of nature seen in the freezing of the rivers and earth paralleled the decay of the nature of the creature. Whereas the creature's desire to cooperate with humans shown in his collecting of logs for the De Laceys was natural, the decay of the creature's environment seen in the De Lacey's expulsion of the creature and the father's shooting it destroyed the creature's benevolent nature and gave rise to its retribution.
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