Thursday, April 14, 2011

Allusion

As alluded to in John Milton's Paradise Lost, the monster entreats Victor to “remember, that I am thy creature: I ought to be thy Adam; but I am rather the fallen angel.”

This chapter is absolutely crucial to the reader's viewpoint of the monster. Formerly a grotesque, uneducated, and frightening being, he now becomes a sensitive being with intellect whom one can relate to. He shares his story with his creator and evokes a sense of guilt for how he abandoned him when he gave him life. This insight allows the reader to identify with him and sympathize for Victor's cruel and undeserved behavior he exerts towards him. One way that the monster demonstrates his recently acquired intelligence is through his allusion towards the book Paradise Lost. By making connections, it shows that he has reached a level of higher order thinking and is now truly a human being almost. He compares Victor to God for granting him life, but also places responsibility for his evil actions in Victor's hands. His argument is that because he failed to nurture and nourish him, Victor's neglect transformed him into a monster who did not know the difference between the two. This creates another elemental aspect of guilt, because the monster basically tells Victor that he is accountable for all of the bad things he has done. If he had been cared for, he argues that he would not have reacted that way.

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