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Simile
Explanation and Analysis—Shining in Mockery:
In Chapter 16, the Monster is rejected by the De Lacey family. The Monster, in a fit of rage and loneliness, personifies the wilderness around it:
The cold stars shone in mockery, and the bare trees waved their branches above me; now and then the sweet voice of a bird burst forth amidst the universal stillness. All, save I, were at rest or in enjoyment; I, like the arch-fiend, bore a hell within me, and finding myself unsympathized with, wished to tear up the trees, spread havoc and destruction around me, and then to have sat down and enjoyed the ruin.
The Monster’s psychological state is mirrored in the surrounding landscape, all through vivid and precise visual and auditory details. The stars, despite their brightness, lack warmth. The trees appear to make fun of the Monster, as does the bird, taunting with its “sweet voice.” The Monster’s attribution of human qualities to the stars, trees, and bird reflects a profound sense of abandonment and a desire for human companionship and acceptance. To him, the surrounding elements are not lifeless. In fact, they are not unlike the De Laceys and Victor, humans who reject him out of prejudice and fear.
The Monster also uses a simile, comparing itself to an arch-fiend, an allusion to the Devil in Milton’s Paradise Lost. The heightened language that follows conveys just how tormented the Monster feels. All in all, the passage generates a feeling of sympathy for the Monster.
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