Showcase Essays: Frankenstein and Critical Approach

Showcasing...#1
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The roles of a typical master and slave switch back and forth between Victor and his monster throughout Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, as well as the characteristics associated with each role. It seems that we do not and will not ever really know who is the true commander and who is the true slave; perhaps all of us are both master and slave to something or someone, possibly at the same time.
Near the beginning of the book, Victor is clearly creating this monster so that he will be master over it. He says, "A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me" (Shelley 40). Not only do we see evidence of Victor's hubris in thinking that his creation(s) would be immediately submissive to him, but he obviously deems himself as a great master to whom a species would thank for their existence.
The monster, does indeed, play the role Victor had wanted him to: a slave. The monster tells Victor, "I am thy creature, and I will be even mild and docile to my natural lord and king if thou wilt also perform thy part, the which thou owest me" (Shelley 87). the obedience he claims he will show towards Victor, his "natural lord and king" is, indeed, a trait we would expect to see in a servant. The monster also calls victor his "natural lord and king", which means he must hold Victor in pretty high regard, as well as knowing his role from the time of his "birth". He knows Victor is his creator, and he submits to him, even though Victor has called him ugly and a monster on several occasions. Just in the way that the monster talks to Victor shows who is in power. He begs, "Will no entreaties cause thee to turn a favorable eye upon thy creature, who implores thy goodness and compassion" (Shelley 87). The monster, once again, calls himself Victor's creature, and simpers and snivels for his benevolent master to find favor with him, which is (again) something a slave would do. He also says Victor has "goodness and compassion", which is what you'd expect of a master. The monster is also trying to flatter Victor by talking about his wonderful qualities, which is also something a slave would be expected to do to his master.
The power shifts later on in the book, for Frankenstein becomes the slave, and the monster is the one holding the reins. The monster tells him, "Slave, I before reasoned with you, but you have proved yourself unworthy of my condescension. Remember that I have power; you believe yourself miserable, but I can make you so wretched that the light of day will be hateful to you. You are my Creator, but I am your master; obey" (Shelley 157). When Victor tears apart the monster-bride he is making, the monster goes ballistic and tells him that he is the master of Victor, which is true. He holds Victor in his power; if Victor does not obey him, he will just keep killing the people that Victor loves, so Victor is forced to comply to his command of creating a she-devil. When Victor, the slave, revolts, the monster-master punishes him for doing so, which is very typical for a master-slave relationship.
The monster may hold power over Victor, but at the same time, he is a slave to something else. At Victor's "funeral", he tells Robert, "I know that I was preparing myself for a deadly torture, but I was the slave, not the master, of an impulse which I detested yet could not disobey" (Shelley 210). Although he was the master of Victor, his emotions of hatred and vengeance had a tight grip on him. He allowed himself to be controlled by his emotions, which led to his violent acts. Being a slave to his uncontrollable feelings was even worse than being a physical slave to Victor. When he was slave to Victor, he was able to overcome his physical master, but when he was (is?) a slave to his emotions, he was a complete puppet and could never handle them completely.
The labels of master and slave are quite fragile, for someone can claim they hold power over another, but the other person could also hold power over the original "master". Are we, then, both masters? Are we both slaves? Are we all not slaves to a master, whether spiritual, physical, or emotional? If we really think about it, is it a bad thing to be mild, docile, submissive, obedient, compliant, etc.? The Romantics may have hated this institution of this master-slave relationship, and one can see why: the monster's slavery to his emotions cause him a great deal of pain, and Victor was also quite wretched when he was slave to the monster, but being a gentle and obedient person to someone else is not necessarily something frowned upon.

Showcasing...#2
Again consider: What makes this a good essay? What is this peer doing well?

In her novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley used Victor's "Creature" to represent a lower class in society and how it can partake in an unstoppable revolt against upper classes (represented by Victor) when mistreated by them . Due to excessive hubris, Victor decided to, "make the being of a gigantic stature, that is to say, about eight feet in height and proportionably large," (Shelley 90). Little did Victor know that his creature would turn out to be a "miserable monster" (Shelley 44) that "a mummy endued with animation could not be so hideous as," (Shelley 44).
Victor beheld his creation, only to discover he had created a hideous wretch. Because o his horrific appearance the monster, despite having a good heart (at first), couldn't make any friends. Eery time the beast attempted to initiate a conversation with someone, he was greeted by a shriek of terror. After months of miserable loneliness, the wretch finally decided to plot, "a deep and deadly revenge, such as would alone compensate for the outrages and anguish [he] had endured," to avenge Victor, his creator, for making him so hideous (Shelley 130). Though Victor was his creator, the monster "exceeded that of a man" and no human on Earth would compensate for his physical stature (Shelley 85). Instead of ending Victor's life, however, the creature ended the lives of Victor's friends and loved ones, so he would suffer. As Frankenstein later miserably remarked, "I was the slave of my creature,"(Shelley 143). Frankenstein had learned Shelley's lesson of the story: never allow your ambitions to create uneasiness in those you control (creature), because a rebellion from them is dismal against just a few powerful rulers.
A similar occurrence took place during the French Revolution. King Louis XVI established an overpowering monarchy, and a man known as Robespierre established what is known as the "Reign of Terror". Since the government had made radical social and political reforms, many oppressed people complained. Robespierre shut up complainers for good by cutting their heads off with the guillotine. Additionally, the lower class in France known as the Third Estate was harshly taxed by the government and received little food. After the lower class had taken enough abuse by thos in power, they revolted just like "the Creature" revolted against his ruler, Victor. This proved to be fatal to those in power because there were tens of thousands of people from the lower class angry and ready to fight just a select few who ran the governmental show- the rulers were severely outnumbered and stood no chance. Victor's monster's incredible strength was similar to the Third Estate's man power- it greatly outnumbered anyone of higher status and making him seek revenge was not a smart choice on Victor's behalf.
In all forms of society, one always rises to the top and takes power. What Mary Shelley warns through Frankenstein is to not let your ambitions as a ruler overpower those you rule. Victor's eagerness caused him to amass body parts and create an inhumanly strong monster. The wretch was hideous, and miserable, so he plotted revenge on his creator/ruler. Radical French rulers were, like Victor, obsessed with power. They let their obsession excalate too high, and the oppressed lowe class revolted strongly. The rebellion of those one rules against their ruler will always be fatal to the one in charge. the oppressed have more manpower and are not afraid to make their oppressors pay the hefty price of happiness in exchange for miserable, bloody death.