Can a Monster Ever Assimilate Into the Majority? By: Genesses Mena
The novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley highlights an important issue; it highlights the idea of wanting to be accepted by the majority. Whether it is among peers in school, coworkers, or even family members, we hide a part of our true character so that we are not ostracized. However what happens when you’re shut out just because your appearance does not conform to the majority’s standards? The majority in this case being those who fall under what society considers as normal or natural. The monster out of Shelley’s novel, of course does not fall under what members of society would consider natural looking. The monster was seen as unnatural since the beginning. The monster was made out of leftover parts of the deceased that his creator Victor patched together. It was this aspect about his appearance that made him look monstrous. It was pointless for the monster to try to assimilate into the culture of humanity. No matter how hard he tried to change himself; no one would look past his unnatural appearance.
A parent who stands by their infant, waiting as the child slowly begins to take their first steps only to kick them down so they would have to start over, having the child endure this in an endless cycle until they snap, this could be used to describe the monster’s relationship with mankind. Naïve just like a child at the beginning of his life, the monster did all that was in his willpower to pick up on the key points that would allow him to become a functioning member of society. He learned the language, history, the customs, everything that would stop anyone from believing he could not fit in. Why is he doing all of this? Because at the end of the day all we crave is to feel a sense of belonging and attention, anything that would make us feel wanted.
At the beginning of the monster’s life he illustrates that he is filled with blissful illusions. The monster believes that there is a possibility that he may be generally accepted once he learns the customs required to function properly in society. The De Lacey family, cottagers whose home the monster takes refuge in, provides almost a positive reinforcement for the monster to become a productive member of society. “As yet I looked upon crime as a distant evil, benevolence and generosity were ever present before me, inciting within me a desire to become an actor in the busy scene where so many admirable qualities were called forth and displayed” (Shelley 132). The monster developed an intimate connection with the De Lacey family, going as far as calling them his “protectors”. The monster tried his best to learn as much as he could by observing the family’s daily activities with the hopes that one day he would be able to show them the kind creature he was, and as a reward become accepted as one of them. But when he goes about to approach one of them, things go south; he is chased out. It is when he is rejected that the monster becomes angry and vengeful against Victor for creating him the way he is.
The thin rope, holding the monster down to reality, finally snapped. The very moment when the monster had rid himself of his naïve mindset regarding mankind, a transition had occurred. The monster had become suspended between two poles, childhood and adulthood, also known as adolescence. “There was none among the myriads of men that existed who would pity or assist me; and should I feel kindness towards my enemies? No; from that moment I declared everlasting war against the species, and more than all, against him who had formed me and sent me forth to this insupportable misery” (Shelley 142). With the use of the word ‘myriads’, the monster takes into account that it is not only the people that he has come into contact with, but most likely every being that exists who would not look upon him favorably. His appearance is his handicap, forever disabling him from making that connection with the majority race, human kind. So if the majority was unable to accept him for who he was and ridiculed him for what made him different, then why should the monster act civil?
Having been refused to the companionship he strongly desired and ceded to an unbearable solitude, did the monster’s rampage begin. “I am malicious because I am miserable (Shelly 152).” The rejection to having the comfort of acceptance and the ability to build a relationship with another living creature, catapulted not only the monster to his doom but Victor Frankenstein as well.
The monstrosity of the adolescence emerges when a child is not provided with what is necessary for positive development. When they are pushed to withstand circumstances that damage their psyche, these conditions warrants for unwanted outcomes to emerge. This reminds me of the bullying cases that are common today where some kids and teenagers who are teased are pushed to commit heinous crimes. For example the Virginia Tech shooting that occurred in 2007.
Both the monster and shooter Seung Hui Cho shared what it felt like being rejected by members of the majority because they found their appearance/behavior to be unnatural or monstrous. One belonged to another race that deemed it impossible for society to fully accept him and the other due to his quiet, estranged demeanor made it difficult for him to be accepted.
Cho’s unstable mentality led him to be perceived “as a near-silent loner who wrote gruesome poems, stories and plays” (“Seung-Hui Cho”). As it was examined in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, where the monster was ostracized for possessing an appearance that was unnatural to those commonly found among others, Seung Hui Cho was ridiculed for his unnatural behavior. Cho was said to be have been victim to former classmates who “mocked his shyness and the strange way he talked” (Chang, "Las Vegas Shooters Prove Columbine Continues To Influence, 15 Years Later. But Why?"). With a series of events constantly met with negative reactions, there is only so much that a person can physically take before a person snaps. Shelley brings this out in Frankenstein, where the monster eventually snaps after constantly being rejected by people such as Victor, the De Lacey family, and Victor’s younger brother. The fact that Cho was also known to have psychological problems did not help the case either, if anything it may have speeded the unfortunate events that were to come.
With being pushed in a corner with nowhere to go, isolated from finding a confidant, Cho was left with nothing but feelings of despair and misery just as the monster was. Just for the mere fact that he was unable to fit in with those who surrounded him, may have pushed Cho to commit the heinous crime that sadly could have been avoided. Had he gotten the support that he should have from the very get go, the massacre of Virginia Tech could have been avoided and the innocent lives that were lost, spared. Sadly, Cho was pushed beyond the brink and committed a massacre that will remain forever in U.S. history. Just as Shelley displayed in the story of the monster who went on a spree of killings, wanting vengeance against his creator Victor for leaving him alone, the significant pain felt by both the monster and Cho can be traced as being the cause to their monstrous and destructive behavior.
The monstrosity of the adolescence is not something that should be taken lightly. Like a seed that must be brought up with water and sunlight so that it may prosper into a beautiful flower, so should the precautions be taken in raising a child. With providing the nurture and kindness that they crave right from the start it is possible to secure that the child’s adolescent phase be less traumatic, not only that but it is crucial to allow the child to feel as if they belong. The adolescent should not feel the need to change any aspect about themselves in hopes of assimilating into the majority race.
Who did the monster first believe would accept him if he revealed himself? Why?
Is it possible to argue that Victor was an outcast of his own society just like the monster?
Who was the first member of Victor’s family that the monster took out his revenge on?
