Human

Abstract

Institutional Affiliation 19th April 2021 What does it mean to be human? In the book “Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus” by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, what it means to be human is demonstrated by the beliefs that humans have a natural origin as opposed to artificial origin. They are characterised with universal physical appearance, same genetic features, feelings and ideas comparable to a standard human being. The main character, Victor illustrates many of the universal features of human that enable the society to distinguish between what is human or not. The author demonstrates scenarios where the creature shows human behaviour while humans do something that contradict human behaviour. In the quotes, “My person was hideous and my stature gigantic. What did this mean? Who was I? What was I? Whence did I Come? What was my destination? (Chapter, 15), the creature is able to inquire about serious issues such as his origin, life and death. This means he has some of the human traits such as emotional and internal thinking but the physical appearance distinguishes it from human beings. It is human nature to create affiliations with other humans for the purpose of sharing internal ideas. The creature struggles to establish these connections; however, the society dehumanizes and rejects it because of physical abnormality. Victor illustrates human intelligence by conducting artificial creation. His goal is driven by self-righteousness, and intellectual thoughts to determine the type of human being that he desires to be in his existence. He is confident that his creation will make society admire and respect him for being the sole individual responsible for such creation. However, his artificial creation proves to be different from humans. He states, “Accursed creator! Why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in disgust?...