"I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed. Everywhere I see bliss, from which I alone am irrevocably excluded. I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend." -the Creature (pg. 69)
I take many things from this quote from the Creature (I've found the book easier to read by calling him Sasquatch). The first thing is that Sasquatch is nothing like Victor believed. The presumably bloodthirsty and inherently evil monster is actually gentle and inherently good, despite everyone else's initial beliefs, creating the irony that the monster is in many ways the opposite of what he seems.
Besides contradicting the view that the monster is evil, this quote also debunks the idea that the monster, made by human will, would be inferior to humans intellectually. The monster is actually shown as an intellectual equal through his fast learning and eloquent speech. Another example of the monster's intelligence is the allusion he makes- while his creator, Victor, should love his creation, like God loved Adam, Victor punishes him and calls him names like "devil" and "demon." This creates sympathy for the Sasquatch's character, I think, because it shows he was and is judged merely by appearance, not his "gentle demeanor" or urge to be accepted in society. It sort of assigns blame or a demeaning side to Victor, basically making him a hypocrite.
First, Victor created Sasquatch, so whatever it does reflects Victor. In addition to that is the fact that from the moment of life, Victor was terrified of the monster and, while he didn't abandon the monster, he didn't go out to search for it. This brings to my mind the analogy of, per say, a parent who is out late every night and pays little to no attention to their child. How is the monster guilty of the crimes he commits (if he even commits a crime, which I don't think he did) if his only family dismisses him, calls his names, and tries to kill him? Because he is really inherently good, and is nurtured to behave badly, I am rooting for Team Sasquatch.
I take many things from this quote from the Creature (I've found the book easier to read by calling him Sasquatch). The first thing is that Sasquatch is nothing like Victor believed. The presumably bloodthirsty and inherently evil monster is actually gentle and inherently good, despite everyone else's initial beliefs, creating the irony that the monster is in many ways the opposite of what he seems.
Besides contradicting the view that the monster is evil, this quote also debunks the idea that the monster, made by human will, would be inferior to humans intellectually. The monster is actually shown as an intellectual equal through his fast learning and eloquent speech. Another example of the monster's intelligence is the allusion he makes- while his creator, Victor, should love his creation, like God loved Adam, Victor punishes him and calls him names like "devil" and "demon." This creates sympathy for the Sasquatch's character, I think, because it shows he was and is judged merely by appearance, not his "gentle demeanor" or urge to be accepted in society. It sort of assigns blame or a demeaning side to Victor, basically making him a hypocrite.
First, Victor created Sasquatch, so whatever it does reflects Victor. In addition to that is the fact that from the moment of life, Victor was terrified of the monster and, while he didn't abandon the monster, he didn't go out to search for it. This brings to my mind the analogy of, per say, a parent who is out late every night and pays little to no attention to their child. How is the monster guilty of the crimes he commits (if he even commits a crime, which I don't think he did) if his only family dismisses him, calls his names, and tries to kill him? Because he is really inherently good, and is nurtured to behave badly, I am rooting for Team Sasquatch.
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