Rejection In Mary Shelley's Novel

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Mary Shelley produced such an impactful work as a teenager that her novel, which started as an entry into a ghost story contest, turned into a successful novel that is still read 100 years later. She tells the story of how a creator abandons its creation leading to murder, hatred, and the quest for revenge. People often reject those who are different and do not fit into society. The novel, Frankenstein, greatly conveys the theme of rejection while communicating through the literary element of characterization using dialogue and genre.
Frankenstein integrates the theme of rejection through the literary element of dialogue in order to create character. Victor creates a creature and brings it to life, but soon after abandons it. This creature …show more content…

The monster is rejected by society and has no one to go to for help or company. He identifies the position he is in as an unaccepted, hideous wretch: “…but I knew that I possessed no money, no friends, no kind of property. I was, besides, endued with a figure hideously deformed and loathsome; I was not even of the same nature as man” (Shelley 85). Characterization is defined as how the author represents a character. This quote shows the monster as a hideous figure with no friends or belongings, but also a being who is intelligent enough to recognize that. At the end of the novel, Victor passes his heartfelt responsibility of seeking revenge on the monster onto Robert Walton before he dies. He warns Walton about the monster and his abilities by sharing, “He is eloquent and persuasive; and once his words had even power over my heart: but trust him not. His soul is as hellish as his form, full of treachery and fiendlike malice” (Shelley 155). Characterization includes how a character views someone else. This shows that Victor thinks of the monster as persuasive but distrustful, and rejects it because of the destruction it has created, particularly within his own family. His wish for the monster to be killed must have been important to him because it is one of the last things Victor says before dying. Characterization was one of the most useful literary elements in expressing the theme of

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