In the 17th and early 18th century, many philosophers were in the pursuit of the mythical, but enchanting items such as the Philosopher’s Stone, the Fountain of Youth, and the Elixir of Youth. This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel is a superb example of a balanced mixture between history and fiction as three children try to find the ingredients for the perplexing Elixir of Youth to save one of the young Frankenstein twins. Throughout the book there are many historically accurate details such as the books mentioned and the authors who wrote them, the medical advances and procedures, and most importantly the places and events in which the book takes place. To start off, the alchemy books that are located are not only important throughout the book, but also historically accurate. When the Frankenstein children climb into the depths of the house to the Biblioteka Obscura, or the dark library, the main character, Victor, “‘caught sight of a book titled Occulta …show more content…
When the main characters brother becomes sick the doctor believes that he has a “Disturbance of blood. Therefore he needed to be bled. The physician places slimy leeches all over my brother’s body and let them such his blood”(Oppel 49). This was a very common medical practice in the 17th and 18th century, so much that “there was a shortage of leeches in certain European countries due to its rigorous use.” (Leeching in the History--a Review). Throughout the book the parents of the sick child find doctor after doctor to help their child become better, but none of them know what is happening. They finally find a doctor under the name Dr. Murnau. Even though his name is made up, what he discovered and how he identifies the sickness is accurate. In 1665 Robert Hooke discovered the existence of cells using a microscope, which is exactly how Dr. Murnau discovered his
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was published in 1818 during the Romanticism era. Romanticism describes the period of time from the late 18th century to the mid 19th century. This period was seen as a response to the Enlightenment; overall there was an increase in the desire to understand the world in an objective matter (lecture). Though Romanticism is commonly viewed as a literary and artistic movement, Mary Shelley gives evidence on the development of Europe in a historical sense through her novel, Frankenstein. Through the motifs and personal experiences of her characters, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein gives insight on scientific development, emerging roles of women, and how the individual is viewed the
These chapters focus mainly on Victor Frankenstein's back-story as he was growing up. He describes his cousin Elizabeth, who he later becomes married to, and about how they came about finding her. Later we are introduced to Victors best friend, Henry Clerval. We also learn that Frankenstein became fascinated with the sciences by the 16th century author Cornelius Agrippa. This along with many of the other philosophers of that time inspired him to become a scientist. Later he also witnesses the power of electricity when a bolt of lightning strikes a tree nearby where he is staying. At the start of chapter three we learn that Victor is in the process of leaving for college when Elizabeth gets sick. In an effort to save her Victors mother nurses Elizabeth back to health yet manages to contract her disease. As she dies she continues her dream about Victor and Elizabeth getting married and passes that on to Victor just before she dies. Victor then goes about leaving to his college and after spending his last days hanging out with his friends finally departs. In his first days there however he meets the teacher of Natural Philosophy at the school M. Krempe, who informs him that all that Frankenstein had learned from his 16th century hero's was rubbish and should be thrown out the window. Although saddened by this information he attends a lecture of chemistry and decides to become a scientist. Yet throughout these chapters we see the seeds of Victors downfall. His unwillingness to take others opinion and experience into account becomes evident when he call Mr. Krempe a "little squat man with a gruff voice and a repulsive countenance; the teacher, therefore, did not prepossess me in favour of his pursuits." (...
Mary Shelley is the original playwright of 'Frankenstein' and it has been adapted since then by Phillip Pullman. Mary wrote it in 1818 and it was first performed in 1988, at the Polka Children's theatre in Wimbledon. In the play, a doctor called Victor Frankenstein created life from an experiment, a monster, and although Frankenstein had intended the monster (who wasn't to be called 'the monster') to be a kind, caring and loving creature, the way the villagers treated him and turned away in disgust when they saw the monster, was the reason that the monster became evil.
Victor Frankenstein creates a creature that he considers to be treacherous. Since the creature was created it obtains no knowledge of what it is or what is happening. Victor abandons the creature and the creature becomes filled with hate as it is constantly rejected by humans. The creature uses nature to survive. The creature also self teaches himself and becomes aware that he is a monster. He then swears to get revenge on Victor for leaving him alone. He gets his revenge by killing Victor's family. Victor then swears to get revenge on the creature, and decides that the best way to do so is by bringing the creature as far away from human civilization as possible. Thesis?!
because of the way he is just abandoned by Victor and the way in which
obtain love from something , it is easy and very possible to have love for
The wise Uncle Ben once told Peter Parker, “remember, with great power. Comes great responsibility.” There is no greater power than that acquired by the infamous Victor Frankenstein in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein when he discovers the secret to creating life. Shelley’s Frankenstein is a tale of creation that depicts acts of human conception and discovery. The Oxford English Dictionary defines creation as “the action or process of bringing something into existence from nothing by divine or natural agency; the fact of being so created.” It defies the natural order of things and creates a world of its own. The multiple acts of creation and discovery bring upon a certain set of responsibilities and implications as depicted by David Collings who analyzes the responsibilities that come as a result of these acts in his essay “The Monster and the Maternal Thing: Mary Shelley’s Critique of Ideology”. The main act of creation is evident through Victor Frankenstein’s creation of the Being which is depicted most prominently in the novel. However, there are multiple other acts of creation and discovery that may not be apparent at first sight. One of the most important being, Victor’s discovery of the knowledge required to create life. Apart from initially creating the Being, Victor also plays a critical role in the Being’s evolution into a raging and vengeful creature. Perhaps above all other acts of creation and discovery is Victor’s personal creation of himself into a monster. As stated by Collings most of these acts of creation on Victor’s part are subconsciously brought upon because of their lack of a maternal figure but also in part because of his desire for fame and glory. However, he is blinded by his motives and forgets that with his...
Since a boy, Frankenstein’s passion is to explore science and that which cannot be seen or understood in the field. He spent the later part of his childhood reading the works of commonly outdated scientists whose lofty goals included fantastic, imaginative desires to “penetrate the secrets of nature” (Vol. 1, Ch. 2). While he was told that these authors predated more real and practical scientists, he became intrigued by their ambitions, and devoted himself to succeeding where they had failed. When Victor is criticized at college for his previous studies in obsolete research, he takes after one of his professors, M. Waldman, in studying chemistry. In a lecture, Waldman tells of ancient teachers in chemistry who promised miracles and sought after “unlimited powers” (Vol. 1...
In today’s world of genetically engineered hearts and genetically altered glowing rats, the story of Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, seems as if it could be seen in the newspapers in our near future. The discoveries seen in modern science, as well as in the novel, often have controversy and negative consequences that follow them, the biggest of which being the responsibility the creator of life has to what has been created. Victor Frankenstein suffers from a variety of internal and external conflicts stemming from the creation of his monster, which in return also experiences similar problems. Shelley uses these tumultuous issues to portray the discrepancies between right and wrong, particularly through romanticism and the knowledge of science.
Frankenstein speaks fondly of his youth because his parents were “indulgent” and his companions were “amiable” (21). His parents’ policy in the education of their children is that there should neither be punishment nor “the voice of command” (26). Instead, they encourage their children to pursue their studies with vigor by “having the end placed in view”(21) and by having them discover the process by which to reach the end and not by making them learn tedious lessons. Frankenstein’s testimony to this is that he learnt better and retained his knowledge well. The approach to Frankenstein’s education in the home is strongly influenced by Rousseau, one of the most eloquent writers of the Age of Enlightenment. In his influential novel Emile, Rousseau expounded a new theory of education that emphasises the importance of expression rather than repression to produce a well-balanced and free-thinking child.
As the story begins, the unnamed doctor is introduced as one who appears to be strictly professional. “Aas often, in such cases, they weren’t telling me more than they had to, it was up to me to tell them; that’s why they were spending three dollars on me.” (par. 3) The doctor leaves the first impression that he is one that keeps his attention about the job and nothing out of the ordinary besides stating his impressions on the mother, father and the patient, Mathilda. Though he does manage to note that Mathilda has a fever. The doctor takes what he considers a “trial shot” and “point of departure” by inquiring what he suspects is a sore throat (par. 6). This point in the story, nothing remains out of the ordinary or questionable about the doctor’s methods, until the story further develops.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein: A Norton Critical Edition. Ed. J. Paul Hunter. New York: W. W.
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 finds himself exploring the world of science against his fathers wishes but he has an impulse to go forward in his education through university. During this time any form of science was little in knowledge especially the chemistry which was Victors area if study. Victor pursues to go farther than the normal human limits of society. “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 allow” (Chapter 4). He soon finds the answer he was looking for, the answer of life. He becomes obsessed with creating a human being. With his knowledge he believes it should be a perfe...
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are two horrific tales of science gone terribly wrong. Shelley?s novel eloquently tells the story of a scientist, Victor Frankenstein, who creates a living monster out of decomposed body parts, while Stevenson?s novel describes the account of one, Henry Jekyll, who creates a potion to bring out the pure evil side to himself. Although the two scientists differ in their initial response and action to their creations, there are strong similarities between their raging curiosity to surpass human limitation, as well as their lack of responsibility concerning their actions. These similarities raise an awareness of human limitation in the realm of science: the further the two scientists go in their experiments, the more trouble and pain they cause to themselves and to others.