Bischler 1

Devin Bischler
Ms. Albrecht
Advanced Composition
11-5-14
Who's to blame?
Mary Shelley was the author of the gothic novel Frankenstein. In this novel, there is a major
question that arises. Does the nature of a person decide who we will become? Or is our character
decided by the environment we are brought up in? This is the main point of emphasis when
madman scientist Victor Frankenstein creates a hideous monster. He does not care for the
monster at all, he just runs away from the problem. This causes the monster to be alone in
discovering his feelings and emotions. The creature does not know how to deal with his emotions
at the time. He eventually learns how to control himself though, and is a very intelligent being. In
just a short time the creature has mastered the language of the people just by watching them. He
knows love and compassion for he feels it for his new family. However, he is eventually found
by them and is chased away. In a fit of anger, he kills William and frames Justine for the murder
(who later gets hanged as punishment). This is why the monster is completely to blame for the
deaths of these people. He is the one who directly did it to them. He even acknowledges knowing
what he did was wrong, "My enemy is not invulnerable; this death will carry despair to him, and
a thousand other miseries shall torment and destroy him". (Shelley 136) In this the monster is
saying that he purposely killed him just so his creator could experience pain.

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Even though the monster was angry, his actions are not justified. Victor cannot be blamed
for these murders. If a mother does not care for her child, it would be the child to be charged for
murder. After all, he would be the one who is killing people. The monster shows his intent to kill
William when he says Frankenstein! You belong then to my enemy- to him towards whom I
have sworn eternal revenge; you shall be my first victim. (Shelley 136) He even feels guilt for
doing this. He knew it was wrong. His guilty conscience shows when he says The child
struggled and loaded me with epithets which carried despair to my heart. (Shelley 136) He is
guilty for the death of Justine also since she died due to being framed by the monster.
Justine was minding her own business when the terrible monster planted the picture on
her when she sleeping. He was smart enough to know that she was going to get in trouble for the
murder. This is the reason he gives her the picture. This effectively is the cause of Justines death
as she would later be charged with the murder of William and hanged for it. The death of Justine
cannot be traced back to Victor because the monster did it on purpose knowing what he was
doing all along. If a teenager frames somebody else for murder it would not be the parents who
get in trouble. This could still be the case even though he is a monster. As a result of these first
two deaths, Victor finally decides to try and confront the creature. When the creature wants a
mate to walk the earth with (Shelley 156) Shelley Frankenstein reluctantly agrees. He finally
decides that he does not want another lunatic killer roaming the world. This decision shows how
responsible Frankenstein is. But this decision would prove fatal for many due to the terrible
monster.
The monster swears to get revenge. He does this and much more, killing everyone that
Victor holds dear to him. Is this supposedly his fault that the monster does this too? Henry
Clerval, his closet companion since childhood (Shelley 201) his new wife, and his own father

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are all victims of the monsters terrible crimes. In the death of Elizabeth and Henry, the monster
is directly responsible. After all, it was the blood-stained hands of the monster that closed around
their throats. Also in the case of Alphonse I think it is indirectly the monsters fault for his death,
Even though he dies of epileptic fit, it is through his misery of the death of Elizabeth that causes
him to have this fit. The monster in turn is responsible for this.
This makes me the monster directly or indirectly involved with all of the deaths in the
novel. This means that Victor is not the one to blame. The monster did not receive the proper
care when he was created, but he learned the rights and the wrongs of society by watching people
live. He was very intelligent and it is apparent that the monster wasnt nurtured. However,
despite all of this, this did not shape who the monster truly was. He was a brute, an animal. It
was in his DNA and nobody could change that if they tried.

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Works Cited
Shelley , Mary. Frankenstein New York: New American Library, 2000. Print.