The question What makes us who we are? has perplexed many scholars, scientists, and theorists over the years. This is a question that we still may have not found an answer to. There are theories that people are born good, evil, and as blank slates, but it is hard to prove any of these theories consistently. There have been countless cases of people who have grown up in good homes with loving parents, yet their destiny was to inflict destruction on others. On the other hand, there have been just as many cases of people who grew up on the streets without the guidance of a parental figure, but they chose to make a bad situation into a good one by growing up to do something worthwhile for mankind. For this reason, it is nearly impossible to determine what makes a human being choose the way he/she behaves. Mary Shelley (1797-1851) published a novel in 1818 to voice her opinions about determining personality and the consequences and repercussions of alienation. Shelley uses the ideas of Jean-Jacques Rousseau to make her point. Rousseau proposed the idea that man is essentially "good" in the beginning of life, but civilization and education can corrupt and warp a human mind and soul. In Mary Shelleys Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (hereafter referred to as Frankenstein), Victor Frankensteins creature with human characteristics shows us that people are born with loving, caring, and moral feelings, but the creature demonstrates how the influence of society can change ones outlook of others and life itself by his reactions to adversity at birth, and his actions after being alienated and rejected by humans several times. In the first chapters of the book, Shelley describes a scientist who was obsessed with "doing something great" for mankind. Victor Frankenstein, an educated man of science, was completely involved with his work, which happened to be the creation of another living being with human qualities. Once Victors work wa...
