Answer: After reading Paradise Lost by Milton, the creature in Frankenstein gains a new perspective on himself and his place in the world. He becomes acutely aware of his own isolation and realizes that he is fundamentally different from the humans around him. In particular, he identifies with Satan, who is also an outcast and a rebel against God.
One key passage that illustrates the creature's new perspective comes from his conversation with Victor Frankenstein in Chapter 15. The creature says:
"I am thy creature, and I will be even mild and docile to my natural lord and king if thou wilt also perform thy part, the which thou owest me. Oh, Frankenstein, be not equitable to every other and trample upon me alone, to whom thy justice, and even thy clemency and affection, is most due. Remember that I am thy creature; I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed. Everywhere I see bliss, from which I alone am irrevocably excluded. I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend. Make me happy, and I shall again be virtuous."
Here, the creature is explicitly comparing himself to both Adam and Satan from Paradise Lost. He sees himself as a kind of fallen angel, driven from happiness and benevolence into misery and wickedness by the cruelty of others. He also sees Frankenstein as his creator and rightful ruler, echoing the relationship between God and his creatures in Milton's poem.
Another key passage comes from Chapter 16, when the creature is alone in the mountains and reflects on his own situation. He says:
"I was not even of the same nature as man. I was more agile than they and could subsist upon coarser diet; I bore the extremes of heat and cold with less injury to my frame; my stature far exceeded theirs. When I looked around I saw and heard of none like me. Was I, then, a monster, a blot upon the earth, from which all men fled and whom all men disowned?"
Here, the creature is grappling with his own identity and trying to understand why he is so different from the humans around him. He realizes that he is physically superior in many ways, but also that this only serves to further isolate him. He sees himself as a "monster" and wonders if there is any place for him in the world.
Overall, the creature's perspective on himself after reading Paradise Lost is one of deep alienation and despair. He sees himself as fundamentally different from humans, and identifies more with outcasts and rebels like Satan than with any human character. This perspective contributes to his eventual turn towards violence and revenge, as he feels that he has been unfairly excluded from the happiness and companionship that others enjoy.
Step-by-step explanation: