Examples Of Prejudice In Frankenstein

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A main theme in Frankenstein is prejudice and it is very prominent throughout the book. Prejudice means to pre judge someone and unfortunately the monster is always pre judged negatively. The monster realises this himself and says to the audience, “unfortunately, they are are prejudiced against me.” (Shelley 179). This shows me that he understands that he is not accepted into society but doesn’t necessarily know why. Victor, who created the monster, says, “How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe… I had selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful! - Great God!…His yellow skin…his hair a lustrous black…dun white sockets…shriveled complexion and straight black lips…the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust …show more content…
He makes the audience listen to him alone. For example, when Justine was accused for the murder of William, Victor thinks he is the worst off and says, “the tortures of the accused did not equal mine.” (Shelley 105). Victor also wins the reader onto his side, creating hatred for the monster without getting to know him; this means that we have pre judged the monster as an ogre. We then realise the truth when we hear the monster’s story. We feel sympathy and sorrow towards the monster because the monster has been deprived of his life because of prejudice from the first impression. It is also more effective because we were prejudiced towards the monster so we feel …show more content…
In chapter fifteen, the monster says: “Many times I considered Satan as the fitter emblem of my condition”. The character and appearance of the monster creates sympathy for him. Victor describes the monster as, “most hideous and abhorred” (Shelley 272). The monster is so ugly that man has never seen such a horrible sight before and runs away for it. The monster is disliked because “Everyone is blinded by prejudice.” This quotation was said by Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen and published in 1813, shortly before Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein, and she probably read it. However, this quotation portrays the truth and therefore the
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