Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: Nature vs. Nurture. Literary Essay Sample.

Dr. Victor Frankenstein was an obsessed scientist, who created life by using extraordinary means. His fevered drive to rival God caused his isolation from his friends and family. His extreme focus also leads him to withdraw from his emotions and conscience. All of these factors coalesced to his revulsion and abandonment of the creature. The monster survived. However, the monster was left to his own devices and desires. The formation of the creature can be considered brutal and cruel since the creature lives a life devoid of compassion and understanding.

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What would have occurred if the creature had a gentle and welcoming start to his life? The opening episodes of the television series Penny Dreadful address this question, thus helping us to understand the relationship between the novel and the TV series. After his failed experiment with the creature, Victor creates another creation. When assembling the monster, Victor used human body parts and animal parts. With his second creation, he uses a whole male cadaver. He is not looking for perfection. He pursues the key to immortality. It would seem that he is more emotionally involved in the inception his second creature. Parenthood, responsibility, duty, community, education, and the universal human need for love are some of the essential aspects portrayed in the novel, Frankenstein: Nature versus Nurture by Mary Shelley and the TV series, Penny Dreadful.

Nature versus nurture debate, as portrayed in Frankenstein, is at the vanguard debate of the Marry Shelleys work of fiction. The depicted characters, Victor and the monster, have instinctive nature that identifies them into individuality and their approach to life. However, the two characters are subjected to different nurturing styles that make them survive in different environments. Although both nurture and nature are essential throughout the selected work of fiction, the nature disagreement is accountable for the downfall of Victor, and this is the evidence of the theme of responsibility as portrayed in the novel. Natures have been depicted as the key cause of Victors downfall. Shelley makes this ideology to the interested readers through the adoption of prevailing pronunciation when explaining the personalities of the two characters, Victor and the created creature (Shelley).

Also, Shelley makes use of fire and light to symbolize the source of light in the community, yet with physically destructive action, and this is the essential aspect to support the nature versus nurture argument as depicted in the whole novel. At first, Shelley describes Victors family as the most distinguished in the community. Victor describes that his ancestors had been syndics and counselors for many years. Victor carries on describing his family with various nouns and verbs such the family with integrity and honoring (Shelley 18). The powerful selections of words to describe Victors family, and their impressive position in the community, imply the familys inborn capability to lead the community. For example, the power to create a creature is what makes the Victors family believe that they have the power to lead the community. It is also essential to take explanation of Victors development circumstances during his youth period. For example, Victor claimed that his parents had educated him (Shelley 19). Also, Victor argued that there is no being that could have loving parents like his parents since his parents were taking good care of him. The use of words such as tender and devote or dedicate explain the kind of compassionate community Victor was privileged to have since his childhood. For instance, the nurture described by Shelley in the novel makes readers understand the positive influences of the physical well-being and personality. Nurture was working against Victors nature. For example, Victor could not overcome his desire to become a powerful being, and he eventually fell prey to his innate instincts and natural requirements.

Similarly, we can argue that Mary Shellys novel, Frankenstein, is a recap of the Penny Dreadful show, and there is a clear connection between the novel and the Showtimes hit. In her 1818 novel, Frankenstein, Shelley narrates the story of Dr. Victor Frankenstein and the creature he created. Shelley explored the age-old question of how people came to be the way they are. This notion has created mixed reactions among the people to a point of asking if our character were built into our being. Also, reading the novel and viewing the shows will drive us to ask various questions. For example, we will ask a question such as if our lives were formed through birth or through those who guide and teach the created creatures. The creation of the relationship between Victor and the creature he created. The novel and the Showtimes hit portray the main character, Victor, and the creature he created, thus making the novel and the TV shows share common ideology as they will be explained in the paper. Victor is a bright scientist. The character is thrilled by the view of harnessing the life of a creature. In his excitement, Victor provides little thought to the outcome of his acts. His creation draws the first breath of the created creature. Suddenly, Victor appreciates the massive size of the creature he has created, both literally and figurative (Lowry). The character finally understands the unbelievable strength that he has provided to the huge creature, and he recoils at its deformity and ugliness. The character was surprised to see the monster he had created, thus rejecting it. The community in the town drove the created monster into the forest, and this might be the reason why monsters are vengeful. The monster seeks revenge on the creator by targeting the community that had driven it into the forest.

The second episode of the Showtime hit was brilliantly introduced to give the relationship between the Frankenstein novel and the Showtimes Penny Dreadful show, and the evident relationship is brought by the theme of love and romance. According to the Showtime hit, Penny Dreadful, the monster is described as a romantic champion for its grisly facial deformities and bewitching yellow eyes. The same aspect of romance was portrayed in the Frankenstein. Victor created a creature as desolated as monsters outward appearance. The creature created by Victor was described as full of deformity and ugliness, thus making the community in the town to chase the monster into the forest, thus making the novel and the Showtimes hit shares the same ideology. Also, the novel and the TV series have a common connection in relationship to the universal need for love. For example, the monster explained to his creator, Victor, that he wanted a female monster, and this proves some aspects of the need of love by the monster. This proves that the result of the creation was the result of the monster longing for love, tranquility, and companionship with his creator being instead filled with rejection and torment that he was never educated to control or manage the created monster. When the creature requested for a female mate in the Showtime hit, the creator, Victor, complied for a moment before recoiling at the last moment and destructing the female companion before the romantic yellow eyes of the created monster, condemning him to the lifetime of resentment and loneliness.

Much like the popular novel, Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, Penny Dreadful Showtime hit have various features that can be drawn from the Shellys novel. For example, in season one at the end of the first episode, we realize that Victor has finally fulfilled his dream of bringing back to life a creature that is referred to as a monster. The same incident is explained in the Shellys novel that Victor is a powerful man who created a huge creature that eventually turned back to the community for the revenge mission. Victor was at first the character of the Shelleys horror novel and is portrayed in the Showtime hit by Harry Treadaway on the Penny Dreadful, thus telling the readers that there is a clear connection between the Showtime hit, Penny Dreadful, and Shelleys novel, Frankenstein.

Just like the theme of education portrayed in the Shelleys novel when Victors parents loved and dedicated to educating their son Victor, and this was the true parenthood portrayed by the Victors family. The Showtime hit also presents the same theme of education through the monster. The monster explained that he spent most of his time in the community, listening and learning to speak through imitation of the voices he heard from the community. The monster also explained that he got a sack of books that enabled him to learn how to read. However, the monster described that when he tried to befriend with the community, the community ran from him, thus being lonely in the forest (Lesley). This is also depicted in the Shelleys novel when the community chased the monster into the forest, thus making the Penny Dreadful Showtimes hit best related with the Shelleys novel, Frankenstein.

There is also a relationship between Shelleys novel, Frankenstein, and the Showtimes hit, Penny Dreadful, in terms of nurture. The monster created by Victor has naturally loving heart, especially during the first moments after creation. After the creature is driven into the forest by the community, the monster finally comes upon the homestead family of De Lacey. The creature hides from the homestead learning about the need for love. The creature discovered that love is an essential aspect that he must have, and he later recognized that he has the marvelous capacity for kindness and compassion. The monster also presents an accurate cleverness and leans how to communicate while hiding from the homestead. Similarly, when we consider the case of nature, we will understand that the monster had a right to his fury and even to revenge. Also, it was the duty for Victor to create the monster since he was a scientist. It was the duty of scientists to study the body of the creatures, and through the study, Victor had the ability to bring back to life a dead body, thus being his responsibility to control and manage the monster. However, Victor could not manage and control the monster, thus rejecting the monster (Lesley). This led to the rejection of the monster by the community leading to the chasing of the monster into the forest.

In conclusion, it is found that throughout the novel, Frankenstein, By Shelley, and the Showtimes hit, Penny Dreadful, the effects of nurture and nature was contributed to explaining the character traits of the two key characters depicted in the novel and the TV show series. For example, Victor is a key factor that was portrayed to the readers through his methodical delivery of creating a monster. The created monster is also a key character that has contributed to the various themes portrayed in the novel and in the Showtimes hit. For example, the monster depicted the theme of education through his ability to learn and speak. The monster has also contributed to the theme of love through his ability to identify and request for the female companion. Therefore, the novel and the Showtimes hit are recommended for the readers because they tell us the real picture of the origin of the monster and their characterization. The novel and Showtimes hit also shared almost all themes such as Parenthood, responsibility, duty, community, education, and the universal human need for love. The themes have played essential roles, thus making the novel and the Showtimes hit best connected, and there can be no denial over the relationship between the novel, Frankenstein, by Shelley, and the Showtime hit, Penny Dreadful.

Works Cited

Lesley, L. Showtimes Monster Drama Penny Dreadful Will Explore Modern Themes. 2014. http://www....