Victoria Woodard
Miss Sibbach
Honors English IV
11 December 2015
Tampering with the Unknown
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the demented scientist, Victor Frankenstein, drives himself mad after creating a paradox that ultimately destroys his life as well as the lives of those he loved the most. Frankenstein tells his story to a captain he meets by the name of Robert Walton as a warning not to meddle into the unknown. Victor tells him how he wanted this beast to look to him as its God, and how that stimulated his fixation from the very beginning. He allows the power to consume his whole existence.
Growing up, Victor Frankenstein stayed a curious boy. At fifteen, a terrible thunderstorm occurred and Victor witnessed a lightning bolt strike
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“Frankenstein’s creature, in visioned to be a beautiful being with larger features then humans turned out to be a grotesque monster. Once it came to life, Victor Frankenstein himself could not even bear the sight of it, his own creation” (Watkins). Victor hoped the creature would exceed his expectations, but it does the opposite instead. He describes the horrible monster from which he made with his two hands as revolting and an abomination to the Earth. Shelley gives an eerie description of the creature that tells of just how disturbing it looks. “His limbs were in proportion, I had selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful!--Great God! His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost the same colour of the dun white sockets in which they were set, his drivel led complexion and straight black lips” (Shelley 36). When he looks onto the atrocity, he is not only sickened with it, but himself as well for bringing life to it. Victor knew better than to interfere with the unknown. From the beginning, he regrets his selfish intentions and became so carried away with his scientific breakthrough, that he loses sight of his …show more content…
He soon realizes the great mistake he has made when almost a year later, Creature kills Victor’s little brother, William. If Victor had gone home when his family begged him to, he would not have meddled with this dangerous subject and everyone he loved would still live. “His reasoning is overwhelmed by his fear, causing him to choose science over the safety of his friends and family” (Nguyen). Furthermore, he could have saved his family by simply telling them what he had done. Instead, he kept the monster a secret. “His failure to reveal his a secret of the monster leads to the destruction of those he loved. The loss of his family and friends detaches him from the rest of the world, and he remains in his secrecy out of guilt and shame” (Nguyen). Victor became the reason for the downfall of his family, as well as himself. He could have ended the monster from the moment he saw it and gone home to live a normal happy life, but instead he ignored it and let it learn on its own. He remained an accessory to the murders for never warning anyone about the demon he
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein depicts a man’s thirst for knowledge and the consequences of his actions. The main character Victor Frankenstein embraces an act of monstrous proportions and creates his own being, known as the creature. A passage from the text is spoken in the voice of the beast and discusses his distress of being considered an atrocity. It explores the theme of humanity’s natural attraction for monstrosity. The prose alludes to the debate as to whether malicious behaviour is due to a person’s nature, or to how they are nurtured. Using literary devices, the passage conveys human nature’s entwinement with monstrosity through society’s belief of the fiend being abnormal and by Victor Frankenstein’s treatment towards his creation.
Throughout the story, Victor’s life is in peril due to the monster’s extreme vindictiveness. Although the monster is justified in showing anger towards Victor, his killings of Victor’s friends and family is overly brutal. Years of neglect by Victor, which leave the monster fatherless as he grows up, drive him into a vindictive rage, or according to the monster, an "uncontrollable passion". Instead of going after Victor directly and immediately, however, the monster acts to complete what he calls a "demoniacal design". He carries out this plan by methodically killing Victor’s friends and family. This he...
At first glance, Victor Frankenstein’s early life makes it seem as if he will be the perfect husband and family man. During his childhood he is spoiled with love and as a young man he is given all of the resources that he needs to become successful. This is all shown to have
Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, contains the story of young scientist Victor Frankenstein and the monstrous creature he creates as a part of a scientific experiment. Frankenstein spends months tirelessly working to craft the creature out of old body parts; however, when the monster finally comes to life one night, Frankenstein immediately regrets his efforts and feels the act was a disaster. Frankenstein says: “I saw the dull yellow eyes of the creature open. (…) How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe, or delineate the wretch whom with such infinite pains and care I had endeavored to form?” (42). Frankenstein was no longer inspired by his efforts, instead, he was disgusted: “I had worked hard for
Mary Shelley’s nineteenth century classic “Frankenstein” Explores the troubles that came to the monster because of his differences, how he overcomes them, what makes the monster relatable, Victor’s individual tragic flaw, and the tragedy of this book.
Victor Frankenstein and the others who have encountered the creature all recoiled in horror at the mere sight of him. He is described by Victor: “His limbs were in proportion, and I had selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful!—Great God! His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun white sockets in which they were set, his shriveled complexion, and straight black lips” (Shelley, 35). Even his creator shuns him based solely on his looks. Another attribute of the creature that makes him monstrous is his thirst for revenge against Victor and the hateful attitude he develops toward humans throughout the book. While he has not developed the emotional intelligence and experience of other human beings, he has learned to differentiate between right and wrong. Therefore, the murders he has committed are taken into consideration when labeling the creature as a monster. If anything, as I will later demonstrate, the creature is an antihero. He is mostly monstrous in appearance but his thoughts, feelings and circumstances create the ingredients of an antihero, who has doubtlessly committed
Victor’s most fatal decision was not telling anyone about the monster. As a result of his carelessness, none of the monsters victims are prepared for his attack. Victor’s narcissism brings him to not tell anyone out of fear that people will see his mistake. However, Victor’s silence causes his loved ones to be venerable to attacks from the monster. After Victor hides from the monster and leaves the monster he meets his friend Henry Clerval. Victor tells Clerval nothing, even though it puts many people in danger: “I dreaded to behold this monster, but I feared still more that Henry should see him” (54). Victor’s decisions is incredibly irresponsible and puts people’s lives in danger. The monster feels alone and betrayed by his creator and out of anger he kills those that are close to Victor. To fill the void in the monster’s life, he offers the chance to create female companion which would end the loneliness the monster feels and protect his family from anymore danger from the monster. Instead he decides not to create the monster just because of his fear of the monster: “As I looked on him, his countenance expressed the utmost extent of malice and treachery. I thought with a sensation of madness on my promise of creating another like to him, and trembling with passion, tore to pieces the thing on which I was engaged” (148). Victor is so close to ending his suffering and
In the Mary Shelley novel, Frankenstein, she tells a story about a young scientist, Victor Frankenstein, who is set on creating life. To accomplish his hopes, Victor uses dead human and animal body parts.When his creature had finally awoken, Dr. Frankenstein was frightened by its appearance. His creature was not the perfect being that he imagined. The creature was different due to his extremely large stature, vicious red eyes, and sickly yellow-greenish skin, and because of this, he was perceived as scary, which not even Victor could look over. Due to his terror, Dr. Frankenstein abandons the creature and leaves him to figure out the way of the world by his lonesome. Also as a result of the abandonment, the creature never
Over time, the name “Frankenstein” has become a reference to the green-skinned, lumbering monster in Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, rather than his creator Victor Frankenstein. However, this is not necessarily a careless mistake. Infact, if one were to define monstrosity as the voluntary separation of oneself from humanity through unnaturally evil behaviors, then the true monster of Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, would be Victor Frankenstein. Victor best fits this definition because, not only does he engage in malevolent behavior such as attempting to control nature, but the comparisons between him and his creation emphasize that he allowed his obsessions to strip him of his humanity. Also, Frankenstein and his creation had distinctly
The creator of the monster, Victor Frankenstein is a man full of knowledge and has a strong passion for science. He pushes the boundary of science and creates a monster. Knowledge can be a threat when used for evil purposes. Though Victor did not intend for the being to be evil, society’s judgement on the monster greatly affects him. As a result he develops hatred for his creator as well as all man-kind. Victor’s anguish for the loss of his family facilitates his plan for revenge to the monster whom is the murderer. While traveling on Robert Walton’s ship he and Victor continue their pursuit of the monster. As Victor’s death nears he says, “…or must I die, and he yet live? If I do, swear to me Walton, that he shall not escape, that you will seek him and satisfy my vengeance in his death…Yet, when I am dead if he should appear, if the ministers of vengeance should conduct him to you, swear that he shall not live-swear that he shall not triumph over my accumulated woes and survive to add to the list of his dark crimes” (pg.199). Victor grieves the death of William, Justine, Clerval, Elizabeth and his father. Throughout the novel he experiences the five stages of grief, denial/ isolation, anger, bargaining, depression and finally acceptance. Victor denies ...
Victor, after completing his project of making the creature, ran away at the sight of his finished work. With his knowledge, he had created a monster. He regretted what he had done, and he wished he had never done it.
Victor Frankenstein is the protagonist and the narrator of the main story in Frankenstein. Raised by doting parents, Victor confesses: “I was their plaything and their idol, and something better-their child, the innocent and helpless creature bestowed on them by Heaven, whom to bring up to good, and whose future lot it was in their hands to direct to happiness or misery, according as they fulfilled their duties towards me.” (35) This statement condemns his later reckless and arrogant behavior. Victor was obsessed from an early age with natural philosophy and the ultimate knowledge of life. He sought answers to the many questions that puzzled great minds before him. Motivated by ambition and an insatiable quest to be God like and create life, Victor dedicated himself to this one pursuit for nearly two years. The creature, which was made out of old body parts stolen from the cemetery, strange chemicals, and a mysterious spark, convulsed to life. In this moment, Victor becomes a creator of a human life, the “God” to a being that was deserving of the attention and love of its creator.
Frankenstein’s monster was a horrid creature, Frankenstein described him as “His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun-white sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled complexion and straight black lips.” (Shelley, 58) Symbolically, the monster represents evil incarnate, a living representation of
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a nineteenth century literary work that delves into the world of science and the plausible outcomes of morally insensitive technological research. Although the novel brings to the forefront several issues about knowledge and sublime nature, the novel mostly explores the psychological and physical journey of two complex characters. While each character exhibits several interesting traits that range from passive and contemplative to rash and impulsive, their most attractive quality is their monstrosity. Their monstrosities, however, differ in the way each of the character’s act and respond to their environment. 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.
Victor Frankenstein spent months in his laboratory constructing a monstrous figure from discarded human remains. When the crack of lightening on this particular night deemed Victor a father, he proudly accepted his fate. Victor dreamed of producing an offspring but Elizabeth’s infertility posed a problem for biological children. His desire to be a father could have been satisfied through adoption or a surrogate, but Victor’s interest in the creation of life lead him to take matters into his own hands. The months of Victor’s hard work had finally come to a head when the creature calmly sat up from the operating table and stared, with deep-yellow eyes, into the optics of his creator.