In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, she tells a tale that is not a verdant one, but rather a dreary one about abandonment, creations and relationships. At the exordium of the tale, it may seem that scientist Victor Frankenstein lack of abstaining himself from forbidden knowledge, may be his fault. Yet, once Victors replays his story to Walton it is evident that his hunger for knowledge was just the tip of the iceberg that he fell off of. In Frankenstein, Victor's makes imperious decisions about creation, but his real fault was his inexorable choice to pour all himself into his creation and neglecting his family; only to abandon it as if it were a dross object.
Once Victor gains his thirst for creation, he does not take any respite, not even to
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Nevertheless, he conjectured that when he was finished it would be worth the destination, even if it meant that he would not see his family for six year. Making the death of important people in his life cut deeper, than if he had spent more time with them. Further, in the novel Victor has multiple fluctuations in his physical and mental health . It may seem like a pedantry detail, but it something that comes up on multiple occasions and can be connected to his downfall. Further, it is something that everyone sees in the story, especially the people in his family, his father even said, “ my dear son, that you have resumed your former pleasures and seem to be returning to yourself. And yet you are still unhappy, and still avoid our society” …show more content…
Victor acts as if nothing is wrong and allows his situations to worsen. After, the creature has taken everything that could matter to Victor, he states, “My life, as it passed thus, was indeed hateful to me, and it was during sleep alone that I could taste joy” ( 954 Shelley). This is the point where Shelley shows that Victor has accepted the fact that the reason that he is in this predicament, but he still put the creature over the people in his life, allowing the creature to have power over his
Victor is weak and it is only near the end of the novel that he
At the beginning or the story, Victor lives in ecstasy, reveling in life’s every joy. Desolation and darkness no doubt had minor roles in his life, but these were glanced over in an instant, as Victor was remembering the times as good and perfect. The harsh dichotomy of this perspective and the perspective he maintained for the majority of the novel after the creation of the creature is stunning. After, he saw the world as always filled with darkness and loneliness. He even stated that he almost caught himself feeling happiness at one point and stopped himself. This distortion that the world became a fruitless wasteland is simply untrue, but it sheds light on how totally our feeling twist our perception of the world. By shoeing the polar opposites, the novel further emphasizes how our outlook on life shapes what we see in the world around us, for better or for
Although humans have the tendency to set idealistic goals to better future generations, often the results can prove disastrous, even deadly. The tale of Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, focuses on the outcome of one man's idealistic motives and desires of dabbling with nature, which result in the creation of horrific creature. Victor Frankenstein was not doomed to failure from his initial desire to overstep the natural bounds of human knowledge. Rather, it was his poor parenting of his progeny that lead to his creation's thirst for the vindication of his unjust life. In his idealism, Victor is blinded, and so the creation accuses him for delivering him into a world where he could not ever be entirely received by the people who inhabit it. Not only failing to foresee his faulty idealism, nearing the end of the tale, he embarks upon a final journey, consciously choosing to pursue his creation in vengeance, while admitting he himself that it may result in his own doom. The creation of an unloved being and the quest for the elixir of life holds Victor Frankenstein more accountable for his own death than the creation himself.
Throughout Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, knowledge of the existence of his human creator has a devastating effect on the creature as he struggles to define his own self perception as well as his desire to attain acceptance from this creator. This of course parallels man's relationship to a divine creator in christian mythology. Ironically, however the idea that knowledge must be taught or passed down by a divine creator is deconstructed. In the end, Shelley concludes that moral and spiritual development can be reached without dogmatic belief structures, resulting in the elimination of god as the only vehicle of self realization.
Victor Frankenstein is ultimately successful in his endeavor to create life. This, however, does not stop the underlying theme of obsession. Shelley’s shift from Victor’s never-ending quest for knowledge is replaced with an obsession of secrecy. “I had worked har...
He not only turned away the being he had brought into the world; he also denied the creature companionship, friendship, and happiness while continuing to seek his own. Victor gained new purpose and even on his deathbed holds to the principle that he is justified in desiring the death of his enemy. Moment before his death he turns to Captain Robert Walton and says, “I feel justified in desiring the death of my adversary. During these last days I have been occupied in examining my past conduct; nor do I find it blamable” (156). He even begins to lose the small amount of compassion he had for the creature’s struggle.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus, explores the monstrous and destructive affects of obsession, guilt, fate, and man’s attempt to control nature. Victor Frankenstein, the novel’s protagonist and antihero, attempts to transcend the barriers of scientific knowledge and application in creating a life. His determination in bringing to life a dead body consequently renders him ill, both mentally and physically. His endeavors alone consume all his time and effort until he becomes fixated on his success. The reason for his success is perhaps to be considered the greatest scientist ever known, but in his obsessive toil, he loses sight of the ethical motivation of science. His production would ultimately grieve him throughout his life, and the consequences of his undertaking would prove disastrous and deadly. Frankenstein illustrates the creation of a monster both literally and figuratively, and sheds light on the dangers of man’s desire to play God.
Victor Frankenstein, blinded by pride, remained unaware of how his experiment would affect not only him, but the world around him as he formed his new discovery. His secret to creating life only caused more life to be lost. Because of Victor’s reckless behavior, he caused the depressed and lonely world around his own creation, one who, in the end, Victor did not want to take responsibility for making, no matter how remarkable. The Creation, a being of unfortunate circumstance, exemplifies how knowledge has dangerous and everlasting effects if not used safely or for good intentions. Unfortunately, The Creation leaves his own damage behind as well, again showing how knowledge is harmful, by killing Elizabeth, Victor’s wife, Henry Clerval, his dearest friend, and other members a part of Victor’s family and friends. This demonstrates how knowledge, if not used wisely, can lead to death and suffering. The power of knowledge, in Mary Shelley’s writing, is a gift bestowed on those who can handle the power responsibly, as opposed to using it for selfish boasting. In contrast, she uses these two characters to show the importance of being knowledgeable in both science and responsibility and the unforgivable mutilation that comes if you fail to overcome
The monster from the novel Frankenstein was brought into society without any sense of intelligence causing him to be a social outcast. The monster was a result of a science experiment conducted by Victor Frankenstein who was striving to achieve greater intelligence. As the monster grows intellectually, it develops a desire to gain more knowledge similarly to its creator. It gains more knowledge allowing it to understand and respond to the way society rejects it leading to the destruction caused by the monster. Walton also experiences the same craving for knowledge which puts many people's lives at risk. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley demonstrates that an obsessive thirst for more erudition may ruin one's life through the book's characters.
Your insightful argument statement must “get outside” of the book (it CANNOT mention character names; must apply to life in general, not just the novel). Avoid the obvious -- move beyond the simplicity of Victor being happy the first time and unhappy the second time.
Thereupon, Victor is unaware of how his actions have sparked the feeling of helplessness in a world which to him is “replete with wretchedness”. Further to the point, Victor is seen blaming his creation by letting the Monster “drink of his pain” and feel the “despair that torments him.” Through this, Shelley positons the reader so they can know the implications regarding what a lack of initial responsibility can lead to. Furthermore, this viewpoint outlines Mary Shelley’s dominant message throughout Frankenstein: the obligation to one’s own creation and how one’s downfall can be embarked from a compelling
A predominant theme in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is that of child-rearing and/or parenting techniques. Specifically, the novel presents a theory concerning the negative impact on children from the absence of nurturing and motherly love. To demonstrate this theory, Shelly focuses on Victor Frankenstein’s experimenting with nature, which results in the life of his creature, or “child”. Because Frankenstein is displeased with the appearance of his offspring, he abandons him and disclaims all of his “parental” responsibility. Frankenstein’s poor “mothering” and abandonment of his “child” leads to the creation’s inevitable evilness. Victor was not predestined to failure, nor was his creation innately depraved. Rather, it was Victor’s poor “parenting” of his progeny that lead to his creation’s thirst for vindication of his unjust life, in turn leading to the ruin of Victor’s life.
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, the monster’s creator, is the victim of his own pride. An ego unchecked is a dangerous thing. But in truth, it really just shows Victor’s humanity. He is privileged, educated, talented, loved, adored, but he is not perfect. His flaw is his own ego and pride. Without doubt, this is the result of a childhood where he was overindulged. Overindulged to the extent he was given a little girl “Elizabeth” as a “present”, whom he considered from childhood “mine only” (Shelley 21). Little wonder the twenty year old Victor would think he could create, control and command life. But Victor as with any indulged child did not take the time to learn much from his parents about parenting and fath...
In Frankenstein, Shelley creates two very complex characters. They embody the moral dilemmas that arise from the corruption and disturbance of the natural order of the world. When Victor Frankenstein is attending school, he becomes infatuated with creating a living being and starts stealing body parts from morgues around the university. After many months of hard work, he finishes one stormy night bringing his creation to life. However, “now that [Victor] had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled [his] heart” (Chambers). Right after Victor realizes what he has done, he falls into deep depression and must be nursed back to health by his friend. Victor spends the rest of the story facing consequences and moral problems from creating unnatural life. When he realizes that the ‘monster’ has killed his brother, even though no one believes him, he feels responsible for his brother’s murder because he was responsible for the existence of the ‘monster’. Also feeling responsible, Victor...