Reality Check

"... the strange system of human life was explained to me... Of my creation and creator I was absolutely ignorant, but I knew that I possessed no money, no friends, no kind of property. I was, besides, endued with a figure hideously deformed and loathsome; I was not even of the same nature as man." (pgs. 114 & 115)

Through out the monster's point of view, I think Shelley tries to convey a very important theme. This theme focuses on the way of human life and how ridiculous it actually is. Every person is born into this life so it is all they know and they take it for what it is, but we are given a reality check when an outsider sees the way we live and then proceeds to tell us how insane it appears. In the first half of the book, the monster learns about the world and hears about war and how awful it is. The monster sees how wrong it is, but since it has always been a part of life for everyone, it seems acceptable. Also, in the quote above, the monster takes another hard hit to the way of life. This new born creature realizes that humans only care about money, popularity, and property. Again, all the people see nothing wrong with it because that is just the way life works. I do think this is a very good message because it shows how our world is focused on the WRONG things. Also, it shows how we measure a human but what he/she has, not who he/she is. I love how Shelley put this hidden theme in here because sadly, she is conveying the truth about humanity.