As previously stated, Shelley wrote her famous novel near the end of the Industrial Revolution when scientific exploration and invention were plentiful. Shelley tries to show her readers that there are serious ramifications that come with the ability to create and become more like god. Not once in Frankenstein does Shelley show Victor 's inventions in a positive light. The Doctor 's scientific exploration and drive does not contribute to the progression of science nor does it make the world a better place in general. Instead, Victor harms his friends, his family, and himself by playing God. Through her novel, Shelley is able to express her view about how technology affects humans and the power technology gives humans without really writing …show more content…
The narrator quickly catches onto this and describes the curate as being driving “to the very verge of his reason.” (70) The curate then takes on the position of being the narrators loathed companion in the fight survive, a choice made by Wells to show the curate’s weakness and obnoxiousness. Confronted with the Martian invasion, the curate consistently wonders what humans have done to cause God make Martians invade Earth. His theory is that they are "God 's ministers" (137), and they have been sent to punish humans for their wrong doings. He starts off the novel as nonsensical but eventually goes insane. The reader can deduce from the text that the curate was driven mad by opposition of his views, the Christian ideology, and his reality, more powerful life outside Earth that has, as he sees it, come to punish humanity for its sins. These thoughts consume him, and he thinks little of how to survive the attack, unfairly leaving that burden on the …show more content…
He is also a writer who frequently writes on scientific issues and has a good friend, Ogilvy, who is astronomer in the scientific field. These facts all together help the reader deduce that the narrator represents science in War of the Worlds. When juxtaposed to the narrator and other characters, the curate is viewed as useless and weak, therefore voicing that religion is a weaker belief system than science and reason, largely resembling Wells’ negative views of religion. These views are even more heavily displayed in his subsequent novel, God the Invisible King (1917). In it’s preface he states, “This book sets out as forcibly and exactly as possible the religious belief of the writer. That belief is not orthodox Christianity; it is not, indeed, Christianity at all”(5). In another commentary of the religion he writes “All these religions are true for me as Canterbury Cathedral is a true thing and as a Swiss chalet is a true thing. There they are, and they have served a purpose, they have worked. Only they are not true for me to live in them. ... They do not work for me.” From this text it is easy to see that while Wells respects religion and the good it does for society, he is overall not a proponent of it. This view is express in this novel has well. While the curate is shown in a very negative light, Wells never states that the curate is wrong. He could very
By attempting to create life and messing with the natural order of the world, Victor loses his connection to the earth and eventually ends up as a shell of what he once was. No matter how hard he tried to redeem himself, he could no longer be one with nature. The creature that Victor creates by using the malicious techniques of science actually starts out to nature than Victor himself. The Creature recognizes the wonders of nature and finds temporary happiness in his closeness to the world. He turns away the peace given to him by nature just to satisfy his desire for revenge, and becomes a broken being. Mary Shelley demonstrates in Frankenstein what happens if someone strays too far from nature. Shelley purposely shows the destructive nature of science in her novel to highlight the strife that her society was going through. Her society, disillusioned by war and the devastation that new technologies caused, wanted to go back to their roots in nature, and her novel pushes at that idea. Shelley’s example of Victor’s and the Creature’s downfall warns us of the dangers and temptations of science. Even now, people are constantly enraptured by the possibilities that science and technology offer, while neglecting their duties towards nature and the
The setting for Mary Shelly's Frankenstein plays a very important role on both the significance and realism of the story. By the end of the 18th century, smallpox and cholera epidemics throughout Europe had claimed millions of lives and brought about a crisis of faith within both the Catholic and Protestant churches. The formerly profane practices of medicinal healing were only beginning to gain acceptance in major universities as hundreds of cities were put under quarantine for their diseases and high mortality rates. Interdisciplinary learning within the scientific community was unheard of. Had Victor Frankenstein been alive during this period, his practices would have been considered blasphemous. Much more so than Edward Jenner's research on smallpox during the same time, which would eventually save millions of lives in 1796. Frankenstein's intentions were good, but even during this modern age of genetic engineering and cloning, the story of his creation remains entirely evil. Contemporary thought has allowed for tremendous growth in genetic engineering in recent years; the evolution of science from the analytical engine to the modern PC has occurred thousands of times faster than the evolution of our own species, from ape to human.
In my opinion, Victor should note also that knowledge itself does not hurt, however the application of the knowledge is where it will hurt, when someone will act and use the knowledge in some way, such as in the example of nuclear energy. Used beneficially, it provides great benefits, such as in power generation. But the bad side, nuclear weapons, is one example of a "Frankenstein monster" unleashed upon the world due to man's uncontrolled passions. So Shelley's message to the reader is that knowledge without morality will lead to suffering. Sadly, man has not yet learned this and it will take much time for this message of Frankenstein to settle in.
He toils endlessly in alchemy, spending years alone, tinkering. However, once the Creature is brought to life, Frankenstein is no longer proud of his creation. In fact, he’s appalled by what he’s made and as a result, Frankenstein lives in a perpetual state of unease as the Creature kills those that he loves and terrorizes him. Victor has realized the consequences of playing god. There is irony in Frankenstein’s development, as realized in Victor’s desire to destroy his creation. Frankenstein had spent so much effort to be above human, but his efforts caused him immediate regret and a lifetime of suffering. Victor, if he had known the consequences of what he’s done, would have likely not been driven by his desire to become better than
The all loving, all powerful God. However victor is the creator of the creature and this breaks the basis of Christian belief and crossed scientific boundaries even in the mind. It raised questions such as, can it be done? Has it already been done?. These questions helped to fuel atheistic literature of the 1810's fronted by the likes of Percy Bysse Shelley and Lord Byron both intensely involved in the penning of this great novel of Mary Shelley formerly Mary Wollstonecraft - "Frankenstein", written in Geneva in the Summer of 1816.
Frankenstein is a book written by Mary Shelley in 1818, that is revolved around a under privileged scientist named Victor Frankenstein who manages to create a unnatural human-like being. The story was written when Shelley was in her late teen age years, and was published when she was just twenty years old. Frankenstein is filled with several different elements of the Gothic and Romantic Movement of British literature, and is considered to be one of the earliest forms of science fiction. Frankenstein is a very complicated and complex story that challenges different ethics and morals on the apparent theme of dangerous knowledge. With the mysterious experiment that Dr. Victor Frankenstein conducted, Shelly causes her reader to ultimately ask themselves what price is too high to pay to gain knowledge. It is evident that Shelly allows the reader to sort of “wonder” about the reaction they would take when dealing with a situation such as the one implemented throughout the book.
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
Shelley addresses Victor’s nature, first. He writes being born “a Genevese” with a family that is “one of the most distinguished of that republic” (Shelly) Victor describes his family with very powerful words including, honor and integrity. Shelly writes more about their place in society and the ability to lead. The Frankenstein family had a very rich history background. Victor could not help but become of his nature. Being in a family such as his, he must uphold a certain standard. Victor had much envy for power. However, the power that he received was too much for him to handle. “I had worked…for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body… I had desired it with ardor that far exceeded moderation,”(Shelly) Victor states. Shelley portrays the idea that Victor is overwhelmed by his newly gained power. The creature woke up something in him that was from is influenc...
Upon first discovering how to make life, Victor is overwhelmed with excitement and pride, feeling as though he has unlocked the greatest power on earth. His imagination is “too much exalted” by this newfound ability, and thus determines there is no “animal as complex and wonderful as man” for him to attempt as his first creation (Shelley 43). Frankenstein does not contemplate how he will react to or interact with the human he gives life to, or that he has created an extremely twisted parent-child relationship by creating a human from dead bodies. His general lack of concern regarding the consequences of his remarkable yet dangerous power is the root of the rest of the conflict between him and his monster throughout the rest of the novel, and it exemplifies Shelley’s underlying theme that science should not be pushed past morally and psychologically safe boundaries.
Victor Frankenstein, the main character in Mary Shelley’s novel, is the creator of the monster. When Victor created the monster, he believed he created the monster for the betterment of humankind, but he actually created the monster because he desired to prove to the world that an average human can do Godly acts. The desire to create the monster goes back to Victor’s childhood. As a young kid, Victor’s passions always lied in science and chemistry and in college; he became obsessed with the idea of creating life out of inanimate objects. He then decided to specialize in Alchemy. Within Shelley’s book Frankenstein, Victor said:
In the novel Frankenstein written by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelly, Knowledge is power for Victor Frankenstein. Mary Shelly explains that Dr. Frankenstein’s hunger for the knowledge to create life out of death only leads to Victor’s unfortunate monster. The consequences that Victor Frankenstein experiences from creating a creature from his own madness leads to his death as well as the creature. Mary Shelly explains in her novel Frankenstein that Victor’s need to study life and how it is created is dangerous; furthermore, the abomination that the doctor creates should have never been created; however, the monster that Victor creates is his own monstrosity.
In Lisa Nocks article appropriately titled “Frankenstein, in a better light,” she takes us through a view of the characters in the eyes of the author Mary Shelly. The name Frankenstein conjures up feeling of monsters and horror however, the monster could be a metaphor for the time period of which the book was written according to Nocks. The article implies that the book was geared more towards science because scientific treatises were popular readings among the educated classes, of which Shelley was a member of. Shelley, whose father was wealthy and had an extensive library, was encouraged to self-educate, which gave her knowledge of contemporary science and philosophy, which also influenced Frankenstein as well as circumstances of her life.
In the original text Victor Frankenstein, whose name in the movie was changed to Henry, was never guilty of abusing technology to become god. He tired to revive life, in which he party succeeded. From the speech in his deathbed, Victor tells Walton that his intentions were only to help life, and he hoped that others would succeed where he has failed. Hollywood has disregarded this crucial part of the story and turned Victor into a mad scientist.
Victor Frankenstein: The Real Monster. & nbsp; Science is a broad field that covers many aspects of everyday life and existence. Some areas of science include the study of the universe, the environment, dinosaurs, animals, and insects. Another popular science is the study of people and how they function. In Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Dr. Victor Frankenstein is an inspiring scientist who studies the dead. He wants to be the first person to give life to a dead human being. He spends all of his Frankenstein is to blame for the tragedy, not the monster he has created, because he is the mastermind behind the whole operation, and he is supposed to have everything under control, working properly as a good scientist should. & nbsp; Although some critics say that the monster Victor has created is to blame for the destruction and violence that followed the experiment, it is Victor who is the responsible party. First, Victor, being the scientist, should have known how to do research on the subject a lot more than he had done. He obviously has not thought of the consequences that may result from it such as the monster going crazy, how the monster reacts to people and things, and especially the time it will take him to turn the monster into the perfect normal human being.  something that would take a really long time and a lot of patience which Victor lacks. All Victor really wants is to be the first to bring life to a dead person and therefore be famous. The greed got to his head and that is all he could think about, while isolating himself from his friends and family. In the play of Frankenstein, when Victor comes home and sets up his lab in the house, he is very paranoid about people coming in there and & nbsp; I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body. For this I deprived myself of rest and health. I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart. (156) & nbsp; Victor is saying that he has isolated himself for two years and in the end, he is not at all happy because of the bad outcome. He also adds, "Winter, spring and summer passed.so deeply was I engrossed in my occupation" (156). By spending most of his time inside on his experiment, never going out, but mostly worrying about his success, he has got himself crazier. This has made him lose sight of his surroundings and judgment & nbsp; Moreover, the monster should not be held responsible for killing Victor's family members and friends as shown in the book and movie, because it is Victor who has brought a dead creature back to life. He expects the monster to know everything when he wakes up cool, calm, and collected. But when the monster is awakened, he does not know anything. He sees a world different from what he is used to, which makes him get nervous and scared, so he&nb has removed him from dead. With the dawning of life, the monster has to learn about his new environment. In the play of Frankenstein, the monster starts to gradually get used to things. The problems he encounters are with Victor's assistant, Peter Krempe, Victor's friend, Henry, and other family members, including Elizabeth, and these are reactions to how these people treat him. These reactions are clearly shown in the movie of Young Frankenstein, where Victor tries to teach the monster how to live like to show off the monster to an audience in a dance routine of sorts. But then people start to scream, panic and throw things at the monster, so he reacts by attacking them to defend himself. In this case, it is clear that Victor tries to push the monster too hard because he wants to be famous.
...e that his creation may be, in fact, a monster, not just a creation. Frankenstein, throughout the entire novel, has free will and it was his foreseeable decision to go through with his efforts. Although his creation goes rogue, Frankenstein’s retribution far exceeds his “crime” committed. He did not deserve to lose so many family members and friends as well as his own life. Frankenstein portrays human beings as both ambitious and fallible. Victor’s dream of altering society through his creation of a new life form is tainted by his desire for glory, making his ambitions fallible by ignoring the consequences, exemplifying the characteristics of a tragic hero. Victor so badly desires to become “a creator,” but disappoints his own monster when he is unable to fulfill his responsibilities as a creator, ultimately, leading to his own death and the death of his creation.