Essay on Frankenstein and the Tyger Comparison - 798 Words

Good Versus Evil Frankenstein , by Mary Shelley, is a novel that tells the story of a mans scientific endeavors and how through his knowledge bestows life into a lifeless matter which comes to be feared and hated by all. The Tyger, by William Blake, is a poem composed of a series of questions about a tiger that depicts the issues of creation, innocence and experience, and ultimately good and evil . Both pieces of literature describe misunderstood creatures who struggle to define themselves as solely good or evil which then leads to the questioning of their very existence. Through Frankenstein Mary Shelley shows the reader that good and evil are not always easily distinguished, and that human beings struggle with both of these†¦show more content†¦He longs for a companion who will understand him and who will not mistreat him. The last moments of compassion dies within the creature when his creator destroys the companion he promised to create, and the revenge continues from there. Even though the creature commits awful crimes, he also commits acts of kindness. The poem, The Tyger, contrasts innocence and experience, and good and evil. The description of the tiger in the poem is as a destructive, horrid creature. The original drawing on the poem shows a smiling, cuddly tiger which is quite the contrast to the tiger described in the poem. This picture might suggest a misunderstanding of the tiger and perhaps the fears that arouse from the poem are unjustified. This poem contrasts the tiger with a lamb which often symbolizes innocence, Jesus, and good. The tiger is perceived as evil or demonic. Blake suggest that the lamb and the tiger have the same creator and in a way states that the tiger might also have the ability to have the benign characteristics of the lamb. The tiger initially appears as a beautiful image but as the poem progresses, it explores a perfectively beautiful yet destructive symbol that represents the presence of evil in the world. I n the poem, Blake writes: What immortal hand or eye, / Could frame thy fearful symmetry (4-5). It is hard to determine if the tiger is solely evil or good. Both of these works do