A Comparison Of Frankenstein And Mary Shelley's The Birthmark

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Imagine a world where discoveries in science appear to have one of two outcomes: either they are beneficial or catastrophic for human beings. This is the world described by Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein as well as Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel “The Birthmark”. In Shelley’s novel, Victor Frankenstein strives to gain knowledge about physiology, the causes of life, and the purpose of death to be able to give life to inanimate objects. Victor decides that he must make the perfect creation to join human beings on earth after discovering how to do this, but he realizes that his creation is imperfect after it is completed and tries to abandon it. Victor’s creation eventually finds him and becomes his tormentor since the creation, as an act of revenge …show more content…

Furthermore, because some of the fountains have “such rich medicinal virtues,” Hawthorne is explaining that an understanding of nature can be used by humans to support their daily lives and well-being. The use of the word “satisfied” to explain Aylmer’s happiness with gaining knowledge shows that he appears to have done all the research and experiments to be able to understand nature instead of trying to become famous and gain power. If Hawthorne wanted to show that the reason Aylmer pursued all this knowledge was for fame, then he would not have stated that Aylmer was “satisfied” with his understanding of nature. The use of the word “calmly” also proves this point as it describes Aylmer as someone who was not rushed by a desire for power and fame and instead made sure that he understood what was going on. The power gained from an understanding of science through scientific discovery can lead to the ability to comprehend nature and create inventions that are beneficial to human beings. However, just because there are some examples why discovery in the sciences is beneficial to human beings does not mean that exploration into science cannot be

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