Thursday, April 21, 2011

Internal Conflict

"It was, indeed, a filthy process in which I was engaged. During my first experiment, a kind of enthusiastic frenzy had blinded me to the horror of my employment, my mind was intently faced on the consummation of my labor; and my eyes shut to the horror of my proceedings. But now I went to it in cold blood, and my heart often sickened at the work of my hands." (page 120)

I thought that this little snippet did a fantastic job of conveying the internal conflict that Victor is currently feeling involving the monster. He literally feels so physically guilty for doing this that he lets it begin to take over his life and becomes a complete hermit. Aware of his unhealthy reaction the first time, he works harder to protect himself from insanity the second time around. I can truly empathize with him for not wanting to act on this mission due to how long his recovery took, but at the same time I sympathize with the monster. As much as I disagree with the creation and what he is doing, I must admit that I do think he has a point. If he has to be denied any form of companion or friend or acceptance due to his gruesome appearance, then I think that having a friend would really help him out. People by nature are social beings, so I can only imagine how difficult it would be to cease communication with everyone I know. I would probably go nuts too if I was left alone, and if everyone treated me like I had the plague I would probably turn cruel as well.

No comments:

Post a Comment