Last Man On Earth

If I was Frankenstein I think I definitely would have just completed the female monster and moved on. In that situation you would have a lot on your mind. What if they produce offspring and take over the world? What if the female monster doesn’t like his original creature? What if the female monster is worse and goes on a rampage killing everybody? I understand where Frankenstein’s thoughts are coming from. My first thought would’ve been worrying about the monster’s reaction. This was obviously what pushed the monster to kill everything Frankenstein knew and loved.

Frankenstein constantly wanted himself or the monster to die so there would be peace. I think he feels that this will put an end to his failed project. I thought his speech to the members of the ship was very interesting.

“What do you mean? What do you demand of your captain? Are you then so easily turned from your design? Did you not call this a glorious expedition? And wherefore was it glorious? …”

Frankenstein tells the shipmates to see their journey through because they were the ones that wanted to go on the trip. I felt like he was almost talking to himself about finishing the project of the monster he had created. Even if the project was a failure, he feels he needs to see it through to the very end.

I also can see where the monster is coming from at the end. Everywhere he goes everyone’s afraid of him because he looks terrible. He grows tired of seeing everyone around him have the ability to receive love. On page 164 the monster states:

“But when I discovered that he, the author at once of my existence and of its unspeakable torments, dared to hope for happiness; that while he accumulated wretchedness and despair upon me, he sought his own enjoyment in feelings and passions from the indulgence of which I was ever barred, then impotent envy and bitter indignation filled me with an insatiable thirst for vengeance.”

He kills everything Frankenstein loved because he wanted to make Frankenstein understand how he feels. The monster has to observe the humans emotions of love and happiness, but never gets to fully experience them himself. No human being has ever not had another human being around them. I can’t imagine being the only human on earth. I would feel extremely lonely if I didn’t have anyone to talk or love. Then you would just die and have nothing to look forward to.

This got me thinking. Why do we live(“enjoy”) our lives? Why don’t we just do enough to survive and die? If you were the only human on Earth, you could just live your life and die. You wouldn’t know any better. There’s emotions deep down that want us to pursue happiness. From the first time you experience pleasure as an infant, you constantly want to repeat that feeling. As you grow up, you look to build friendships. Later, you look for someone to marry and start a family with.