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Ethical moral problems in frankenstein
Thesis statement for frankenstein moral ambiguity
Thesis statement for frankenstein moral ambiguity
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In many works of literature, authors place morally ambiguous characters in their work to allow the readers to decide on the character’s true morality. In Mary Shelley’s, Frankenstein, Shelley inputs a morally ambiguous character, which takes on an extreme significance to the work, allowing the reader to understand the emotional journey that occurs throughout the novel. The morally ambiguous character in Frankenstein is Victor Frankenstein, which is displayed through the way he treats his creation, his arrogant personality, and his obsession with natural philosophy.
Moral ambiguity allows a character to escape responsibility. Victor’s moral ambiguousness is first shown when he decides to create the monster, due to his obsession with the science of natural philosophy. Victor decides that he’s going to try to cheat life and create a man, but he becomes overly obsessed with his
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In the novel, Victor’s constantly told that he’s unable to follow through with his creation of life. Victor’s arrogance and determination drives him to prove the people wrong, For example, Victor says, “Who shall conceive the horrors of my secret toil as I dabble among the unhallowed damps of the grave, or tortured the living animal to animate the lifeless clay?” (55) This quote shows Victor’s willingness to follow through with his experiment, to a great extent. Victor’s arrogance pushes him through these times, because he knows that he’s capable of completing his creation. In Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, the use of moral ambiguity allows the reader to accept the novel as a story about of a genius named Victor Frankenstein and his evil creation. The reflection on the story allows the reader to see that both Victor and the creature are responsible for the problems they created, because even though Victor did not commit the crimes, Victor created the creature. The moral ambiguity helps to create the plot of good versus
As a result of Victor’s secrecy, he becomes completely fixed on the creation of his creature, he does not inform anyone of the danger posed by the monster, and he is unable to tell anyone about the creature for fear of not being taken seriously. Victor’s secrecy during and after the creation of his monster indirectly causes several deaths. While the monster is primarily responsible for the deaths of his victims, Victor’s concealment allows the monster to commit and get away with his murders easily.
In conclusion, having empathy for the monster has proven that the monster was good and was not created to be evil. The people he encountered and his creator has influenced him to change his behavior to do evil intentions. The outcome would have been different if Victor created the monster in the image of a better person that is acceptable and can easily blend in with
If Victor had stayed around and showed the monster the real world, he might have not have went on to perform violent actions. This portrays Victor as a selfish character and gives more of an insight on his personal life. As a child, Victor is only interested in furthering his own knowledge and not worried about anyone else. He spent much of his time “drawing the picture of [his] early days... when [he] would account to [himself] for the birth of that passion which afterwards ruled [his] destiny” (Shelley 34), or otherwise a magnificent creation that would change his future. When constructing the Monster, he put all of his relatives in the back of his mind, and only focused on his own success and victory. This further explains the theme of being selfless and only doing certain things that will benefit
Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein in 1818 about the scientist Victor Frankenstein who committed sin-filled crimes of pride for his own personal benefit, but redeems himself by confession. Shelley wrote this novel for the sole purpose to warn “all men make mistakes, But a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong, and repair the evil; the only crime is pride” Man should not play God and should apologize for his mistakes committed. In the work, Frankenstein, Mary Shelley drives Dr. Victor Frankenstein to pursue morally wrong, selfish, and prideful crimes that eventually lead to his redemption; however, not without compromising his life, the lives of others, and his immortal soul.
Furthermore, Victor had a vision to create life out of death but didn’t fully comprehend his outcome then when the results came in then it was too late to destroy the atrocity he has made, he ran away from his creation and hid under his blanket as a victim instead of the criminal. In fact, Victor should’ve made it his main duty to take the responsibility as the creator of a benevolent being, but he ostracized his own creation and ran away like he had done to many of his problems throughout the story. Instead, Victor claimed himself a victim and personified the creature as a manipulative, murderous monster that was in evil entity and had a soul black as the vast night. For example, Victor mentioned to Captain Walton near the end of the story that the monster needed to be stopped and his actions will cause chaos in the world of man if Walton were to step down from Victor’s request to eliminate the monster before he were to murder again. Yet, the monster was in a constant circle of injustice from his own creator, Victor Frankenstein, from being abandoned to being characterized as a villain without being given the voice and care he needed to in order to change his path of violence into the generosity of a cordial
Upon first discovering how to make life, Victor is overwhelmed with excitement and pride, feeling as though he has unlocked the greatest power on earth. His imagination is “too much exalted” by this newfound ability, and thus determines there is no “animal as complex and wonderful as man” for him to attempt as his first creation (Shelley 43). Frankenstein does not contemplate how he will react to or interact with the human he gives life to, or that he has created an extremely twisted parent-child relationship by creating a human from dead bodies. His general lack of concern regarding the consequences of his remarkable yet dangerous power is the root of the rest of the conflict between him and his monster throughout the rest of the novel, and it exemplifies Shelley’s underlying theme that science should not be pushed past morally and psychologically safe boundaries.
Mary Shelley expresses various ethical issues by creating a mythical monster called Frankenstein. There is some controversy on how Mary Shelley defines human nature in the novel, there are many features of the way humans react in situations. Shelley uses a relationship between morality and science, she brings the two subjects together when writing Frankenstein, and she shows the amount of controversy with the advancement of science. There are said to be some limits to the scientific inquiry that could have restrained the quantity of scientific implications that Mary Shelley was able to make, along with the types of scientific restraints. Mary Shelley wrote this classic novel in such a way that it depicted some amount of foreshadowing of the world today.
Victor’s lack of compassion and sympathy towards the monster causes him to become angry instead of guilty. His cruelness to his creation made the monster kill and hurt the people he did but “when [he] reflected on [the monster’s] crimes and malice, [Victor’s] hatred and revenge burst all bounds of moderation,”(Shelley 325). Without compassion Victor thinks that the only way to stop the monster is to get revenge on him, instead of just giving him the empathy and kindness that monster craved. Victor realizes that "if he were vanquished, [he] should be a free man...balanced by those horrors of remorse and guilt which would pursue [him] until death. ”(Shelley 731).
...three different symbolic levels, as a Romantic novel, Archetype novel, or a Gothic novel. On the romantic level, Victor is the villain because he abandons the creature and leaves it to fend for itself. The creature is miserable and just wants a friend, but was abandoned by Victor making it almost impossible. On the Archetype level, Victor is the villain because he tries to play god. He wants to be worshipped like a god, by creating his own species, and creating life from plain matter. But in doing so, Victor disturbed the natural order of things. Finally, Victor is the villain on the Gothic level. There he is the villain, because he and the creature are part of a greater being, and Victor's subconscious wants William and Elizabeth dead, which is why the monster kills them. Despite the fact that Victor didn't physically murder anyone, he was the villain of the novel.
This demonstrates the creatures moral ambiguity because he first saves an innocent girls life, but then he kills an innocent boy just for vengeance. In addition, he threatens to kill Elizabeth if Victor doesn't create female monster for him. This event also shows the creatures moral ambiguity because he wants to a female companion as hideous as he is, so that he won't feel alone if the world but Victor did not create the female companion he became enraged and killed Elizabeth whom was going to be Victors
“I do know that for the sympathy of one living being, I would make peace with all. I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy the one, I will indulge the other.”
...e all the evil things they have done. When he goes to Victor's coffin, the creature does the opposite of what a evil being would do. He grieves over Victor despite all the horrible things the creature has done to Victor. The creature even feels guilt over the innocent people he has killed and the torment he put his creator through. Despite Victor's actions leading the creature to commit evil deeds, the creature finds in himself to feel regret in the end.
Victor has a lack of respect for the natural world that leads him on the path to becoming a monster. In creating the monster Victor is trying to change the natural world. He is trying to play the role of god by creating life.
The fact that Frankenstein’s creation turns on him and murders innocent people is never overlooked; it has been the subject of virtually every popularization of the novel. What is not often acknowledged is the fact that Frankenstein himself embodies some of the worst traits of humankind. He is self-centered, with little real love for those who care about him; he is prejudiced, inflexible and cannot forgive, even in death. While some of these traits could be forgivable, to own and flaunt them all should be enough to remind a careful reader that there are two "monsters" in Frankenstein.
Throughout Frankenstein, one assumes that Frankenstein’s creation is the true monster. While the creation’s actions are indeed monstrous, one must also realize that his creator, Victor Frankenstein, is also a villain. His inconsiderate and selfish acts as well as his passion for science result in the death of his friend and family members and ultimately in his own demise. Throughout the novel, Shelley investigates the idea of monstrosity. She makes the point that a monster does not have to be genuinely evil in order to be considered monstrous.