Victor's Optimism In Frankenstein

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Is there a point of suffering too extreme to recover from? In Frankenstein, the creatures goal is acceptance in society. Victor’s goal is to protect his loved ones, but when the creature kills them all, Victor seeks revenge. Mary Shelley uses characterization, allusions, and metaphors of eternal hell to show escaping suffering becomes impossible once one’s optimism about life is shattered. Is there a purpose in life once all optimism is lost? Characters throughout the book all deal with their own misfortunes and difficulties, but it is what they make of their situation which makes all the difference. From the beginning of the creatures life, his goal was acceptance. When his goal isn't achieved, evil sparks inside of him. His goal towards …show more content…

The creature takes the souls of the ones Victor loves the most. Victors main purpose in life is to protect his loved ones and family, once they had been taken, all optimism is lost. His soul purpose now is to destroy the one being who took it all away from him. Loving nature and all his surroundings, Victor Frankenstein, is a young, eager man earlier on in his life. Eager for knowledge and understanding difficult topics. Near the ending of the book, Victor even states, “if you had known me as I once was, you would not recognize me in this state of degration”(229).Victor wants to bring back the life of a human, and so he does. The creature, however is far from what he expected. Victor believes the monster is an evil, wretched creature. Slowly ones Victor loves dearly, die before him. All of these horrifying deaths were because of Victor, done by his own two hands. And so he says, “I murdered [them]. William, Justine, and Henry—they all died by my hands”(201). Victor knows if he hadn't created such a monster, none of this would be happening. His life would be filled with joy, he would appreciate nature and the things that surround him. With all his loved ones gone, he begins to feel lonely. Victor said he would die trying before letting the monster win. “[I] prayed for death. But revenge kept me alive; I dared not die and leave my adversary in being”(219). Victor wanted to die, but didn't …show more content…

Throughout his journey, he writes letters to his sister informing her of his trip. He is very isolated the whole trip, along with isolation comes depression. He informs his sister of how he is feeling lonesome. He is in desperate need of a friend. Walton stays positive throughout his whole journey and is optimist. Once Victor comes aboard his ship, he is accepting and generous. Even though Victors story sounded farfetched, Walton believed him, and agreed to help him. When Walton comes face to face with the creature, he listens to him. Something the creature is not used to. Just by talking to Walton, the creature lets all his emotions loose. Saying he will “seek the most northern extremity of the globe”(240), in an attempt to leave all his misery behind. Having contact with even just the creature and Victor, he is has peace. What he wants he has achieved. Though it might have been for a short amount of time it had still impacts Walton in a positive way. Walton makes sure to never loose hope, he stays positive through it all. Loosing optimism shatters all chance at being happy. Pessimism towards life, is the root of all evil. Once you have reached that point in your life there is no recovering from it. The creature didn’t just lose acceptance and control, he lost hope. Mary Shelley's constant themes of metaphors and allusions are a constant reminder of the affects of loosing

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