In the book Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, a common theme we see play throughout the book is striving to be accepted through physical features. Fitting in by looking good appears to improve a great deal of social relationships and acceptances. It seems like looking beautiful can romantically attract someone to you. We see this trend between Elizabeth and Victor and Felix and Saphia who seem to enjoy each others company and find accept with one another. Take for instance, a character like the monster who looks like a deformed human cannot experience the same emotions until it has a significant other whom it resembles. It appears that having good physical features can allow you to be accepted to others and feel more confident.
I’d like to compare one of the protagonists in Frankenstein, the monster to a young girl Tally who is a character in the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld. Tally, who lives in Uglytown in an alternative futuristic world, is waiting to turn 16 to transform herself from ugly to pretty by undergoing a surgery. Following the theme of fitting in, Tally faces the challenge of being known as “ugly” until she finds her best friend Shay who ran away. It seems unreasonable for her to stay the way she is, although she looks completely normal, it terrified Tally that she may not be able to transform into “pretty” if she cannot find her friend. She is discouraged and upset by this matter because she doesn’t want to be viewed as a monster to the people in Prettytown (they are the people who truly fit into society).
In relation to Tally, the monster resembles her in the same matter of not being able to fit in because they appear to look different. Thinking about when the monster saw his reflection in the puddle and realized it was ugly and didn’t fit in. This scene most powerful to me because everyone disowned him and did not want to see him, yet he was smart and did good deeds even when people feared him because of the way he looked and reacted to other people because he was lonely, “monster! Ugly wretch! You wish to eat me, and tear me into pieces—you are an orge” (126, Shelley). The idea of physical features and/or beauty to be a common theme to both of these text, where youth are underestimated by the way they appear. The fear and pressures of not being accepted because of the way you look is a common theme in both of these texts.
Westerfeld, Scott, Devin K. Grayson, and Steven Cummings. Uglies: Shay’s Story. New York: Del Rey, 2012. Print.
