2002. Morally ambiguous characters -- characters whose behavior discourages readers from identifying them as purely evil or purely good -- are at the heart of many works of literature. Choose a novel or play in which a morally ambiguous character plays a pivotal role. Then write an essay in which you explain how the character can be viewed as morally ambiguous and why his or her moral ambiguity is significant to the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary.
Love is the center of so many human conflicts, but maybe it isn’t just humans who desire love enough to kill for it. We see this in Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein. Frankenstein’s monster is very morally ambiguous because he does good and bad things, and often times his bad deeds are justifiable. The monster’s moral ambiguity is significant to the work as a whole because it helps show us the meaning of the novel.
Frankenstein’s monster is actually sensitive and caring, despite how he is so often portrayed. All he wants is love and acceptance. If he was human we would call him a good guy, not morally ambiguous, but straight up good. He’d also be a pitiful character, and we tend to side with those we sympathize for. However, he isn’t a human, he is a “monster” and because of that he is never accepted by society. After being rejected time and again by society the monster gives up on trying to get what he wants the “good” way. Instead he decides to fight to get love, and kill people close to Dr. Frankenstein to try to get back at him. After that point he becomes viewed as the bad guy, he really becomes a monster in the readers’ mind.
Frankenstein’s monster manages to stay morally ambiguous because when he starts killing people he gains more pity from the reader. His killings are an act of desperation, and humans tend to have more compassion for the underdogs, and the people acting out of desperation. The monster had asked Dr. Frankenstein to make him a wife, and when he was denied his one dream he resorted to the only other thing he knew. Violence. The only reason he is familiar with violence is because it’s what he’s gotten from society. He’s been mistreated and hurt, denied companionship, and denied understanding. So because it isn’t his fault he is the way he is, the reader doesn’t see him as evil, but they also can’t overlook the fact that he is killing people, and as such the monster is still viewed as morally ambiguous.
The monster’s moral ambiguity is very significant to the work because it makes the reader ask questions. What is ok in real life? Do circumstances justify crimes? Is it ok to kill for love? Shelley uses the monster to show the world how ambiguous crimes can be. She asks the reader to ask the world why. Why do we discriminate against those who appear different from us? Shelley is questioning not only crimes and the moral compass, but the world as a whole. She questions value systems of her culture, racism, and the line between good and evil.
All in all Frankenstein teaches us that we should question morals, see the gray areas, and decide for ourselves the truth of the matter. It also tells us to keep an open mind and to give everyone a chance, they might not be as different from you as they seem.
Your introduction is fabulous up until you say, "The monster's moral ambiguity is significant to the work as a whole because it helps show us the meaning of the novel." Okay, but WHAT is the meaning of the novel!?! Try something like, "because it shows us (insert Shelly's point here)."
ReplyDeleteWhat does your first paragraph tell us Shelly is trying to say? That monsters aren't accepted by society? That ambiguity is not accepted by society?
You made great points about why Frankenstein is the way that he is! Just clarify this in your intro-thesis.
Your thesis is much too broad you have to tell what the meaning is and how it is displayed, the thesis is your essay's blueprint.
ReplyDeleteOther than the thesis issue this is a very good essay, you could reduce some of the plot summary but you back everything up with evidence and make very clear points.