Foreshadowing In Frankenstein

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Frankenstein is a novel written by Mary Shelley published in 1818. Frankenstein had many themes in it such as the great emphasis placed on appearance and acceptance in this society and distinguishing right from wrong. However, the theme that stood out the most to me was the pursuit of knowledge and its consequences. The author, Mary Shelley, develops this theme by presenting her character's actions and thoughts and also uses many literary devices such as foreshadowing.
The majority of the novel Frankenstein revolves around the pursuit of knowledge and is the most prevalent theme in the novel. As a matter of fact every narrator in this novel had a pursuit of knowledge in their mind. Robert Walton endeavors to reach the North Pole and to find the effects of magnetism on the compass needle, only to have his ship trapped between sheets of ice. Victor Frankenstein strived to make a living human being out of lifeless material and achieve ultimate greatness but the monster he created led him to the destruction of everyone he cared about and eventually himself. Even the monster wanted to learn how to communicate to the DeLacey's and show them that he wasn’t a monster. But to his disappointment his knowledge of the language didn’t make the DeLacey's accept him for what he knew because they only …show more content…

Foreshadowing is a literary device in which the writer gives an advanced hint to the reader of what is going to come later. For instance in Chapter 4 Victor mentions the danger of seeking knowledge and foreshadows why it is dangerous, "…Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will

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