Knowledge
Nick Paone
Modern Knowledge
Today knowledge is mainly book smarts, like knowing math, science, and history. Though many people back in Victors day would agree with, knowledge was also just knowing how to cultivate a garden or raise a family, as many people back then couldn't get access to advanced education. Today if you don't have book smarts you have a much harder time trying to survive.
Victor ignores the monster and lets it learn everything itself.
Victor wanted to teach and raise the creature himself until he realizes how horrible the creature is. "Oh! No mortal could support the horror of that countenance." (Shelly, Chapter 5) Because of this the monster is now forced to learn every on his own.He will mostly do this through experience. He learns how to forge for food, use a fire to his benefit, and teaches himself to talk and read by listening to people.
The creatures knowledge
The creature has about the same amount of knowledge as a child when he is first created. He cant quit walk, talk, or use common sense. He realizes this when he touches the fire and makes the connection that the fire can help and hurt.
He teaches himself to read and talk.
The monster keeps Victors log that he used when creating the monster. He learns how to speak by observing a family interact with each other, through this he learns different emotions. You can see this in the quote by the creature "This reading had puzzled me at first, but by degrees I discovered he uttered many of the same sounds." (Shelly, 94) In this quote the creature is referring to Felix the young man in the family he is observing.
The creature obtains more knowledge than Victor expected.
The creature educates himself enough to realize Victor thinks he gross and doesn't want anything to do with him. So the creature gets revenge on Victor by killing family members and making his life a living hell. It also doesn't help when the family he observed sees him and beat him when they see him. "Who can describe their horror and consternation on beholding me?" This is the creature referring to the rest of the family seeing them when they entered the house.