Henry Clerval Essay

These actions suggest that human nature can change as someone can be nice towards one thing and then they can be disgusted with that same thing at a different time. Victor gets very friendly with Henry Clerval in the time that they are in Ingolstadt. Henry nurses Victor back to health when he is ill. They came to be in the same college because Henry persuaded his father to let him come to Ingolstadt, but he said that it was hard to persuade as Henry’s father thought that all the skills that you need in your life are used and gained when you are a book keeper. It is ironic that Henry sees knowledge as a good thing but Victor uses scientific knowledge and turns it into a tragedy, Frankenstein should of followed in ‘s footsteps as Victor’s creation turned out to kill Henry. The way that Victor treated his family, is completely different to the way that Henry treated Victor. Victor dumped all of his family life behind him, and only spoke to them through short sharp letters, but Henry cared dearly for Victor and even spent useful time looking after Victor when he was seriously ill, Henry also puts his life on hold just to make him better. I think that the readers of the novel will be ashamed of Victor for abandoning his family and his creation, but also for letting Henry put his life on hold just to make him better. This is a selfish act, and Victor should be more grateful towards Henry and his family. Henry is a very caring man and has a lot of time for people, especially Victor who just takes his skills for granted. Henry’s kindness is shown throughout, examples of this kindness are; ‘I did not before remark how very ill you appear; so thin and pale, you look as if you have been watching for many nights. ‘, and ‘I will not mention it, if it agitates you. ‘ These shows that Henry cares greatly for Victor and that he doesn’t want to upset Victor. This caring manner contrasts with that of Victor’s when he rejects the monster because of its looks. Victor’s selfish side is shown throughout the novel, a few examples are; ‘I had deprived myself of rest and health. I had desired it with and ardour that far exceeded moderation, but now that I have finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart’, ‘infinite pains’, and ‘I felt the bitterness of disappointment. ‘ These show that again Victor’s selfish. He doesn’t care about anyone but himself. Victor also uses the personal pronoun, ‘I’, this states that everything is about him, so this is also a selfish action. Victor keeps his creation a secret, he does not want to tell anyone as he is not yet sure of the outcome of the creature, but after the birth of the creation, he is ashamed of it, he believes that it is a product of hell and that the monster is beyond control and just decides to keep it to himself and lie to other people. This influences the readers’ attitude towards Victor in the rest of the novel because the readers may now believe that he can not tell the truth and that the narration of the story may be biased. This relates to the theme of secrecy in the rest of the novel, for example; when he makes a companion for the monster, and also not telling anyone that he knew what killed someone of his family and friends. Mary Shelley suggests that lots of people do keep secrets and do not want to tell anyone. We keep secrets because it will ruin something special, the person is ashamed or embarrassed of it, the person can not confide in anyone, or they just do not want to tell anyone, as it may get someone in trouble. People do keep secrets and usually lie, it may be small lies or it may be a serious lie. People tell lies to put the problem off for as long as they can until they crack, they do this because they think it is an easy option, but in the long run, it is the hardest option as it drags a lot out of your self esteem. The ending of the chapter is a contrast of the rest of the chapter, especially the beginning, the weather and the atmosphere created. In the begging of the chapter the weather is dull, and gloomy. This is shown throughout the opening paragraph. The phrases ‘the rain pattered dismally against the pains,’ and ‘dreary’ suggest that the weather reflects on the dark atmosphere created by the near birth of the creature, it also suggests that something may happen may happen later on in the chapter. In the ending paragraph, the atmosphere created is completely different. The descriptions show that there is change as it is now light. This is a pleasurable sight for Victor as the weather was so uninviting earlier on in the chapter. The phrase ‘young buds were shooting forth from trees that shaded my window. It was a divine spring,’ shows that the darkness has subsided to make way for the light. Also, there was a new beginning for the natural processes, growing of buds etc. There was a non artificial mood in the air as everything that was happening was completely natural, so this is a great contrast to everything that was happening in the first paragraph of the chapter. The word ‘divine’ is connected with heaven, so everything is moving on from Victor’s deed. It is also to do with God, so it is a contrast between the thought of hell earlier on in the chapter. In the following chapter people may think that Victor tries to accept the monster and is not so selfish towards it and also the rest of his family, because the chapter ends with relief for Victor. The reader, at the end of the chapter, may be wondering where the monster has gone and what the monster is really doing. It may be that they think he has gone to commit another deadly murder. To conclude, this chapter is very vital. In it, there is always something going on. The chapter helps you to see how Victor really is and how he treats people in times of struggle. When, the monster is created, we get the impression that Victor was excited, but then he was ashamed of the outcome. Furthermore, when the monster disappears he felt relieved even though it could still come back. At the time when the monster disappeared, it was like Victor started a whole new life, this showed that he was not really bothered about what would happen if the monster was let loosen the world. From this chapter, we find that when Victor gets engrossed in something, he forgets about the whole world around him and abandons people, like his family. Victor is prone to abandoning things and people in this chapter. For example; he abandons the monster just because of the way it looks, and hurts its feelings, making it commit murders on people close to Victor to get its own back. We find that Victor is to blame for the actions of the monster, and that Victor is very selfish. This is shown when he uses the person pronoun ‘I’, which shows that he is completely aware of himself and that he does not care much for other people. The secrecy in the novel is constant. Victor is always keeping secrets from his loved ones, whether large or small. The scientific ideas that Victor has are also important, as they bring together the whole story, as he knows man can create life with the correct theories and equipment. The theories that Victor has are going against God as it is an un-natural process, and that the creation will be forever criticized whether it is handsome or ugly. It also sums up how we treat each other in society today. I don not feel the same way as Victor did towards his creation. I think the actual monsters are Victor Frankenstein and M. Waldman these people both tried to create the creature, but Victor got further. They both created an abominable creature. I think some of the concerns in the novel are relevant today because not many people abandon things like children and pets, but the lucky ones get looked after. People also get abused because of the way they look, I think that this is wrong and should be stopped.   By Samantha Loader Page 1 Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Mary Shelley section.