The Positivity of Family

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Recommended: Frankenstein thematic essay

An anchor can be referred to as an object that holds a ship in place or an idea that a person clings to for personal stability. In this case, the figurative sense of an anchor can be used to describe the importance of relationships in keeping Victor Frankenstein grounded. His family acts as a reality check when he allows his task at the moment to consume him too much. Throughout the novel, the presence of Victor’s family has led him to be a better person, as seen when he goes off to university, comes back home, and when his loved ones die.
In the beginning of the novel, while Victor is surrounded by his family, he is shown as a man with innocent dreams of attending a university, and broadening his intellectual horizons. In a sense, he lived a sheltered life, always surrounded by his family or good friend, Henry Clerval, who is practically a family member to him. Victor abandons his safe haven and companions for an isolated life at the University of Ingolstadt. Victor immerses himself in his work and slowly but surely, his studies become his only occupation (Shelley 35). Eventually,...

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