Ostracizing anyone, including the frightening “creature” in Frankenstein, is the saddest of all human behavior. I believe this to be true! When we ostracize, we completely leave others out, deny them of things, for whatever the reason. Speaking of Frankenstein, even though it was written in 1818, the fear of the unknown still resonates today, which essentially leads to this shunning. The man who created the “monster” on a whim, eventually leads to his as well as his family’s destruction. But who is at fault? The creator of the monster or the monster itself?
Sure, the monster did the actual destroying but he may not have if he was accepted by the one person who should have accepted him: his creator. It then turned into a giant ball of ostracism from everyone else and continued to coil. This spawn of Frankenstein was hideous according to the characters’ reactions in the novel. He was described as “gigantic in stature, yet uncouth and distorted in its proportions.” Not his fault, he was born this way. I stipulate that the prejudice that surrounded him was ONLY because of his appearance. This gave way to ostracism which in turn led him to endure loneliness and to maintain a tortured heart. We can imagine this feeling to be suffocating, and this is when revenge took hold.

Not to be taken lightly, Frankie’s creation deliberately kills someone, accidentally kills someone, frames someone and begins a rampage of revenge. These are indeed evil behaviors! But, can we blame him? His whole living experience was one of first being completely rejected by his only father, of having sticks and rocks thrown on him just for existing, and of trying to extend his heart to an otherwise loving family only to be nearly killed by them.
In my heart of hearts, I believe we all are initially pure and innocent. We want no harm. For those who do not fit the societal norms of “pretty or handsome”, there is still love that resides in them…until they are judged OR even worse, ostracized. We should never judge based on looks. For the creature Frankenstein molded with his own hands, he was just like an infant, with a blank slate, who knew nothing of this world. He tried to learn, to see the changes of the seasons, to read, to become like others. He even grew to love---from afar, and protected others. It was proven that he had the innateness to be good. His first desperation when he finally had the courage to face that small family in the woods for whom he protected from afar, came when they misunderstood him and he was injured severely.

His soul, being rightly full of anguish and loneliness, led him to visit with Dr. Frankenstein, his creator to seek hope. But, his parental unit lost his sanity when he saw the monster and tore up the last shreds of the creature’s self- esteem by denying him any help. He was doomed to be isolated, ostracized and alone forever. An irresistible impulsion arose in him, and why shouldn’t it? He then vowed revenge on his so called father. Although he did awful things in the name of ostracism, the monster still suffered immensely especially he said later that, “I knew that I was preparing for myself a deadly torture, but I was the slave, not the master, of an impulse which I detested yet could not disobey.” This proves his innate want to be good but society’s push for him to be bad.
At last, he fell into a dark abyss. His story reminds me of another character who also had an extremely hideous appearance—Quasimodo. He was turned by the world yet he found hope by just one drop of water offered by Esmeralda. He fought for his own belief, and was eventually lost in the darkness of the night. Quasimodo was ugly, but inside that was a warm heart looking for love and care. Similar to Quasimodo, the ‘monster’s desire was not reached. He found salvation through his own death.

From Frankenstein’s creation, we can find that kindness and evil can exist at the same time inside the same person but that ostracism played a part in his duality. We shall not judge by one’s appearance, even today---not in middle school, not in high school, not in life. One’s natural instincts can be dangerous, I suppose, but I still believe we are born pure but are perverted by the ugliness of the world taken in the form of ostracism. Encouragement and affection are needed under any circumstances. “You throw a torch into a pile of buildings, and when they are consumed, you sit among the ruins and lament the fall.” What do we expect to happen when we turn others away solely based on how they look? We still do this. We all do.

Thus, let us consider the consequences of our shunning. We will not make friends or get to know anyone for who they are authentically, we lead others to destruction for the want of acceptance, and we lose out on all of the beauty of forming relationships. This is no way to live fictionally or realistically. So, let people in, do not push them away.