Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Extending Your Response-Chapters 11-16

Now that you have heard the creature's story, do you think he is justified in declaring an "ever-lasting war" against the human species and his creator? Choose ONE to respond to:
1. What have the creature's interactions with humans been like? What acts of revenge does the creature take? Are these acts justified? Is revenge ever justified? Before answering, consider the focus activity.
2. How has the creature grown intellectually and emotionally since his "birth"? How does he justify his actions?
3. Does the creature bear responsiblity for the suffering he causes, or is Frankenstein ultimately responsible?

21 comments:

Julie said...

Frankenstein is ultimately responsible for the creature's suffering. Instead of taking care of his creation, he runs away out of fear and disgust. His actions were completely irresponsible. The creature was exactly like a newborn child, only in much larger proportions. Frankenstein basiclly left a baby to fend for himself. Therefore, the creature had to defend himself from a society that despised him without any aid. Nobody, including his creator loved him. This caused him to hate humans and be dejected from society, causing his suffering. Frankenstein is a horrible, horrible man and should be in misery.

Michael said...

Question 3:

Frankenstein is pretty much entirely at fault. The creature is his monster and it's his fault it's so miserable. The monster is much like the abused child, doesn't no any better than suffering thus it inflicts suffering. The monster also is abused by others so thus it feels the whole world is only suffering.

emalie said...

No, I do not think that the monster is being entirely reasonable. There is no way that all of mankind has wronged him. Only a few people out of the billions of people that inhabit the earth have done anything to upset him. Besides, the monster should learn anger management. Since the birth of the creature he has grown to have many feelings of his own and experience the emotions that all humans do. Intellectually he slowly begins to realize the facts of life and what he must deal with on a daily basis. He justifies his reactions by attributing them to his creator and those who have treated him badly, in his opinion.

emalie said...

Julie I completely agree with you. Frankenstein is the biggest coward imaginable and should get what he deserves.

Chelsea said...

It is most definately not the creatures responsibility for the suffering he is enduring. It is all Frankenstein's fault. Frankenstein created him horrid and even worse he deserted and ran away from him leaving the poor creature not knowing anything or anyone. Frankenstein ultimately abandoned his "child" and thus the creature had to try and survive on its own and people not understanding him and just seeing his horrid complexion rejected him and hurt him. The creature just tried to seek love and compassion, the things he needed for survival and even after humans treated him like dirt he still tried to interact and help them like when he saved the girl even after all the horrid things humans had done to him. And finally he had had enough and started fighting back and seeking revenge. So it is completely Frankenstein's fault and responsibility for the deaths and the suffering the creature is enduring.

Caroline said...

#3:
I think Frankenstein is entirely at fault. He created this monster and he should have thought about the consequences before bringing this creature to life. He's a coward and is too afraid to admit his wrongdoing. The monster would have been kind and friendly, if Frankenstein had just taken the time to teach him, instead of always running away. Frankenstein is truly the monster here and he should forever be haunted by his mistake.

Nathaniel said...

Question 3
The creature is completely responsible for its actions. It is a sentient creature and has complete control over its actions so it is solely responsible for the harm that it has caused. Frankenstein could have prevented the suffering by not running away from his creation because it looked somewhat scary but he is not responsible for the creature’s actions. As its actions this far have been justified, this question is not an overly important one.

Luke said...

On the whole, I must agree with Nathaniel. The creature is potentially intellectually superior to humans. As such its actions can only be attributed to itself. Yes, Frankenstein can be blamed for providing the initial stimulus for the creature's actions and should feel remorse, but he is not directly at fault.

Jessica said...

3. Frankenstein made the creature, so really it is his fault for making the creature and not controlling it. The creature doesn't really know better than to do what it does, because its creator was not there to explain what he should and should not do.

Jessica said...

In response to Luke-

Frankenstein truly isn't all to blame, but with out him none of havoc the creature caused would have happened.

grace said...

The creature is correct in blaming his sufferings on Frankenstein. Frankenstein was too obsessed with his own endeavors in creating a monster that he did not think of anything but science. Stupid Frankenstein…

Alexis said...

Frankenstein is obviously the only one that is responsible for his sufferings. This is because it was he who made the creature in the first place. He had every doing in the creature's action. The creature could not help how ugly he was. He was truly a nice creature but it was his looks that made people hate him. Therefore, this made him suffer and become a horrible creature.

Alexis said...

Emalie,
I agree with your comment. I believe that the creature was not being reasonable. Also i agree that the creature needs to learn anger management just like any other human.

Boyang said...

#3

I would say that Frankenstein and his creature both had the responsibility for all the things had been happen.Bacuse Franksenstein create the creature, and because the face of creature is ugly,therefore Frankenstein hates him and never love him.That's Frankenstein's fault.
Then the creature has responsibility too. Only because he felt lonely,and deserve people's unfair treatment, that doesn't means he should be a murder,or change his mind to became a evil.That's the creature's fault to kill someone.

emily said...

Frankenstein is entirely to blame for the creature's actions. Instead of taking responsibility for his creation, he runs away from him in disgust. Good, responsible parents don't abandon their children just because they're ugly. I don't understand how the creature could be expected to act any differently under the circumstances. He shouldn't be held responsible for the prejudices of the humans showed against him.

emily said...

Julie, that's a perfect analogy about how Frankenstein essentially left a baby to fend for himself in a world that despised him because of his appearence. I really like that example.

emily said...

Luke and Nathaniel, even though I don't agree with you, that's pretty good reasoning. I hadn't thought about that point of view. Good job for coming up with something original :)

Kara said...

1.
The creature's interactions with humans have been hostile. Either he has killed someone, such as William, or the humans have rejected him. The De Lacey family seemed friendly but when the family met him they beat him and ran him out of the house. For revenge, the creature burned down the De Lacey's house. He also took revenge on his creator by killing Victor's brother, William. The fact that the humans were rude gave him the right to be upset but not to do such rash actions. Revenge is never justified, because the consequences are always worse then the actual wrongdoing done in the first place.

Charlotte said...

2. Originally, the monster had been created kind, innocent, and seeking love and affection, much like an infant. From day one, the creature has been abandoned, shunned, and attacked by anyone and everyone he came across. Despite this maltreatment, the creature continued to seek acceptance and compassion. The monster quickly learns how to survive and observes human's capability of sensitivity and love. He watches Felix's family and learns their language, as well as how to read. The creature strives for knowledge in order to find acceptance through his rapidly, increasing understanding of the world and its inner-workings. Despite his capabilities and desires to be loved and do good, the creature feels hatred for himself and mankind who he envies so deeply. He quickly learns his ability to do evil and cause harm to mankind. He must make the decision whether or not he chooses to seek revenge on those around him and continue the cycle of hatred or to strive to be like the people that outcast him.

Jill said...

2. How has the creature grown intellectually and emotionally since his "birth"? How does he justify his actions?

The creature has grown incredibly since his birth. He has learned to read and understand emotions of people. He now tries to make friends, because he understands that losts of humans reqiure these. He also now has alot of anger, hence the killing. He justifies them by saying he doesnt understand what he is doing.

afnester said...

3. The creature is NOT responsible for the suffering he is going through, for it is the Frankenstein, because the creature is unable to take care for himself and is vulnerable. He is dependant of Frankenstein, and he has done nothing in return to help the creature. I agree with Michael on this, creature is like a victim of child abuse.