Fantastic Victor Frankenstein of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

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Victor Frankenstein - Man of the Century

Human life has been lengthened because of the successes of scientists in the region of medical science. Extending human life was also the goal of a 19th Century scientist named Victor Frankenstein in Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein written in 1817. Following Frankenstein, scientists at MIT are researching ways to advance human life. Frankenstein's main pursuit for progressing human life is to prevent future deaths of countless innocent people and to diminish the concept of death itself, and the following quote justifies that belief. "I thought, that I could bestow animation upon lifeless matter, I might in process of time . . . renew life where death had apparently devoted the body to corruption" (Shelley 166). It is amazing that still after almost two hundred years, Frankenstein's goals and ambitions of extending human life continue, as scientists conduct research on cloning and regenerating body parts to help mankind live longer.

Dr. Victor Frankenstein is a scientist and, as a scientist, he knows it is his responsibility to help mankind; however, if he is unable to discover something that will, at least his research should lay a base for other scientists. "My operations might be incessantly baffled, and at last my work be imperfect; yet, when I considered the improvement which every day takes place in science and mechanics, I was encouraged to hope my present attempts would at least lay the foundations of future successes" (Shelly 165). By that quote, the reader can see that Frankenstein can not be blamed for wanting to interfere with nature, because it is his job as a scientist to guarantee the survival of humankind. His commitment and ambition should be praised as he explains that "In other studies you go as far as others have gone before you, and there is nothing more to

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know, but in a scientific pursuit there is continual food for discovery and wonder" (163). He understands there are many possibilities in the field of science and he knows all he has to do is experiment with those possibilities. To him, if Christopher Columbus had not set out for India, "America would have been discovered more gradually" (167).

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