6/6 AP English Literature Literary Argument Essay Example #8
This is a real literary argument essay written by an AP student (personal details removed) and scored 6/6 by our AI grader — one of many AP English Literature essay examples in our library.
The Prompt
In his 2004 novelMagic Seeds, V. S. Naipaul writes: “It is wrong to have an ideal view of the world. That’s where themischief starts. That’s where everything starts unravelling.”Select a novel, play, or epic poem in which a character holds an“ideal view of the world.” Then write an essay in which you analyze the character’s idealism and its positive or negativeconsequences. Explain how the author’s portrayal of this idealism illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole.
The Essay
In her novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley creates a compelling narrative regarding humanity's closed-mindedness and the dangers of unchecked ambition, set through frames of idealism. Simply put, the novel begins with Victor Frankenstein -a mad scientist- chasing his monstrous creation through the arctic, and stumbling upon the ship of captain Robert Walton, an ambitious explorer. Victor then tells Walton his -and his monster's- life story, beginning with his childhood, the creation of his monster, and both his subsequent mental unraveling and the monster's violent escapades. The most relevant character's idealism is the monster, who came into life looking monstrous, but holding a naive and optimistic worldview. He then runs from Victor, and settles upon a small town, where he is assaulted upon trying to make contact with a family. This leads him to find a cottage on the outskirts of town owned by the De Lacey family, where he lives, unbeknownst to the family, in a small wood hutch. He watches the family for a while before deciding to introduce himself to the blind old man De Lacey, where he gets caught by the younger son and further outcast from society. This catalyzed a tirade of revenge against Victor, in which he murders the people Victor loved most. In highlighting the Creature's idealized version of society, and Victor's idealized version of science, Mary Shelley successfully creates a compelling commentary on both society's closed-minded nature and the dangers of unchecked ambition. Upon the creature's entry into the world, it dawned a pure and optimistic perspective, enabling to society to corrupt its worldview. Effectively, the monster started as a blank slate, and was receptive to the actions of those around him, which was greatly impacted by the cottagers. Since the monster saw the cottagers as such a beautiful society, he wanted to join them- yet they only saw him as a disgusting monster. This was amongst the first examples of idealism leading to the monster's demise, subtly planting the idea of barbarism into the reader. By choosing this specific moment to introduce the theme, Shelley is enabled to both highlight the cruelty of society and foreshadow the monster's interaction with the De Lacey family. After this event though, the monster still views society as a happy and loving community, leading him to stalk the De Lacey family for months before considering making contact. Further, the creature only decides to talk to them when the blind old man is home alone- for fear that his son, Felix would ostracize him. This hesitancy highlights the dangers of ostracization, further illuminating the fact that humanity is often unwilling to overlook apparent ugliness, regardless of virtues, morals, or intelligence. By framing this event through such a lens, one interprets the entire interaction as extraordinarily barbarous, furthering the societal commentary, and juxtaposing the monster’s naivety with the brutality of the De Lacey’s representation of society. . Moreover, Shelley expands her commentary by proving the monster right, with Felix coming home and assaulting him, before considering kindness. This serves as a necessary turning point in the creature's mind, as he abandons all hope and optimism, deciding to burn down the family's cottage- highlighting the truly barbarous nature of the ‘perfect society’ that he represents. In using the monster as a representation of an idealized virtuous society, Shelley reveals the morally damaging tendencies of society. Further, the contrast of the monster’s idealism with how explosive the cottagers react to minor intrusions serves to further highlight an overarching theme regarding the rudeness and corruptable nature of humanity. Expanding to Victor's frame in the story yields similar commentary on the detriments of idealism- and how it manifests as delusion. Beginning in his childhood, Victor is portrayed to have a halo effect surrounding science, although his scope is limited by his rural background and minimal access to knowledgeable people. This is revealed upon his transition to university, where he is effectively told that his view is wrong by the renowned M. Krempe. Like the monster, Victor perseveres to find M. Waldman, who is more open-minded and holistic in his approach to science, affirming Victor that his outdated knowledge is not useless. Shelley does this intentionally, to create a motivation for Victor to "prove Krempe wrong" and utilize his scope to create a race that will praise him as a god, thus leading to the creation of his monster. Without this persistence in to fulfill his idealistic view of science, Victor would not have created his monster- which was a necessary step in Shelley's commentary on ambition. On the broader scope, this serves as a parallel to the monster, who also worked through the first major setback, the cottagers, to maintain his idealism and attempt to fulfill his dream. In creating the terrifying monster, Victor realizes his mistake, which transforms his idealism into delusions and causes him to fall into a mental spiral towards disrepair. Once again, this serves as a parallel between the commentary on society and ambition, yet Shelley takes a different perspective, contrasting personal turmoil from Victor's idealism to the societal turmoil through the symbolism of society through the monster. This commentary on ambition is prominently highlighted in this moment, where Victor understands that he was wrong, yet tries to compensate by convincing himself it wasn't that bad. Such compensation emphasizes Shelley's message that Victor's perception of science led to his own downfall, similarly to the monster’s persistence to be a part of his idealized society. These parallels ultimately reveal the parallels between the inherent evilness of society and the dangers one faces when faced with their own hubris. On the whole, Shelley's Frankenstein serves as a commentary on ambition and society, as portrayed by the differing results of idealism. These parallels between Victor's downfall from idealism and the monster's downfall from idealism creates a compelling commentary on idealism in society. This commentary through the supernatural highlights the universal applicability of such a danger, emphasizing the connection between the fictional gothic story and real life. In specifically choosing the main characters to have idealized views, Shelley clearly conveys to the reader her necessary messages in society's barbarism and the inherently dangerous nature of ambition.
Score Breakdown
Thesis (1/1)
Evidence & Commentary (4/4)
Sophistication (1/1)
Why This Essay Scored Well
The thesis comes at the end of the introduction and names two kinds of idealism, the Creature's "idealized version of society" and Victor's "idealized version of science." It ties each one to a meaning of the novel, society's closed-mindedness and the danger of unchecked ambition, which answers both halves of the prompt.
The Creature paragraph follows his hopes for the De Lacey family step by step. The writer notes that he waits until the blind father is alone before speaking, and reads that hesitation as proof that he already fears how people judge appearance. Felix's attack becomes the turning point. The writer argues that Shelley ends up "proving the monster right," and that the Creature "abandons all hope and optimism" before burning the cottage. That reading turns the cottagers into a picture of society as a whole.
The Victor paragraph traces his path from a rural childhood to Krempe's dismissal and Waldman's encouragement, and argues that the urge to "prove Krempe wrong" drives the creation. The writer then lines Victor's persistence up against the Creature's, since both push through a first setback to keep their ideal. That parallel runs from the thesis through the conclusion and earns the sophistication point.
For the full point-by-point rubric behind this score, read our AP essay rubric breakdown.
What Could Be Improved
The essay never quotes the novel. Every piece of evidence is a retold event, and the Victor paragraph is the thinnest. Its claim that Victor's view of science "led to his own downfall" rests on a summary of his university years with no moment from the creation scene or its aftermath. The paragraph also says Victor tries to compensate by "convincing himself it wasn't that bad," which does not match the book. Victor flees the room in horror and falls into a long illness.
The introduction spends most of its length retelling the plot, from Walton's ship through the De Lacey cottage, before the thesis appears in its last sentence. Two or three sentences of setup would leave more room for analysis.
Several sentences need proofreading. The Creature paragraph opens with "it dawned a pure and optimistic perspective, enabling to society to corrupt its worldview," and the writer uses "corruptable" and a stray double period in the same paragraph. The Victor paragraph closes on "the inherent evilness of society," a broad claim the paragraph about science never supports.
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