Social Isolation In Frankenstein

Words: 513
Pages: 3

We as humans are very social creatures, but we don’t realize how vital human interaction actually is to our health and sanity. In the novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley and the article “Hellhole”, by Atul Gawande, they both indicate the importance of the need for intimacy, by signifying the effects of an individual’s social isolation. Whereas Frankenstein creates a story of once kind creature who becomes a vengeful murderer due to his social isolation, “Hellhole” brings forth factual events in the changes to a person due to suffering from isolation, even though one is fictional and one is factual they both are able to accomplish a potent point of the effect of being isolated. Everyone seeks acceptance and needs to be able to feel like they …show more content…
From the time he was created, he was already rejected by Victor. “His jaws opened, and he muttered some inarticulate sounds, while a grin wrinkled his cheeks. He might have spoken, but I did not hear; one hand was stretched out, seemingly to detain me, but I escaped, and rushed down stairs.” In the creatures attempt to reach out for Victor’s acceptance, Victor won’t give him a second look before dashing away from fear of his hideousness. From the rejection of his own creator, the creature looks elsewhere for acceptance, finding a family of cottagers he grows a fondness for from watching from afar. “"This trait of kindness moved me sensibly. I had been accustomed, during the night, to steal a part of their store for my own consumption; but when I found that in doing this I inflicted pain on the cottagers, I abstained, and satisfied myself with berries, nuts, and roots, which I gathered from a neighboring wood.” The creature grows a bond from afar with the cottagers and decides to attempt to woo the cottagers. “You and your family are the friends whom I seek. Do not you desert me in the hour of trial!” he pleads as they too reject