Nonconsensual and Consensual Human Testing and Experimentations

2594 Words6 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Frankenstein themes analysis

The dangerous nature of human experimentations is a frequently recurring theme in fiction stories and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is one of such stories. The central character, Dr. Frankenstein, is obsessed with knowledge and in his pursuit of knowing all the secrets of life he creates a monster. The monster is a hideous creature, lonely and incapable of love. The creature laments the day of his creation and eventually resolves to destroy Dr. Frankenstein’s life by killing Dr. Frankenstein’s whole family. Dr.Frankenstein’s thirst for knowledge drives his whole life to destruction where his loses his family as well as his sanity dying alone in an explicable grief. Reckless and unnecessary manipulation with nature produced a desired result (the creation of a monster gave all the answers to the secrets of life), but the consequences that Dr.Frankenstein fails to foresee lead to a tragedy. The message Mary Shelley hoped to deliver to her contemporaries as well as to the future generations was a warning against taking extreme steps in experimentations towards promising, but radical scientific advancement. Many of was would agree that by manipulating natural world we often cross the borders of ethically acceptable conduct where the potential benefits seem to justify the evil nature of the experiment. Experimentations on humans, even though essential for scientific progress, pose many ethical questions where we ask ourselves if we should continue disposing human bodies in the name of medicine. We hold the same old concern about a man’s obsession with knowledge where a discovery for the good of the majority might become a justifiable reason for exploiting one human being for the good of all. Science has long being using human bodies... ... middle of paper ... .... “Human Sacrifice and Human Experimentation: Reflections at Nuremberg.” Yale Journal of International Law 18.9(1997):401 - 419. Print McElligott, Anthony. Useful bodies: Humans in the Service of Medical Science in the Twentieth Century. Washington: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008. Print. Pasternak, Alfred. Inhuman Research: Medical Experiments in German Concentration Camps. Budapest: Akademial Kiado, 2006. Simmon, Diane. “Enhancing the culture of patient contribution to learning in health care.” Center for Information and Study on Clinical Research Participation. (2010). Web. 28 February, 2011. Strathern, Paul. A Brief History of Medicine: from Hippocrates to Gene Therapy. New York: Carroll and Graf Publishers, 2005. Straus, Alex. Medical Marvels: The 100 Greatest Advances in Medicine. New York: Prometheus Books, 2006.

Show More
Related

  • Accountability of Victor Frankenstein in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    1514 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Playing God in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    1250 Words  | 3 Pages

    Over two centuries ago, Mary Shelley created a gruesome tale of the horrific ramifications that result when man over steps his bounds and manipulates nature. In her classic tale, Frankenstein, Shelley weaves together the terrifying implications of a young scientist playing God and creating life, only to be haunted for the duration of his life by the monster of his own sordid creation. Reading Shelley in the context of present technologically advanced times, her tale of monstrous creation provides a very gruesome caution. For today, it is not merely a human being the sciences are lusting blindly to bring to life, as was the deranged quest of Victor Frankenstein, but rather to generate something potentially even more dangerous and horrifying with implications that could endanger the entire world and human population.

    Read More

  • The Characteristics Of Sympathy In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    1571 Words  | 4 Pages

    Never in my life would I justify sympathizing with an evil being or a monster, or so I thought, until I read Frankenstein. I have never stepped into the shoes of a monster until I read this book. I also have never taken into consideration the changes a human can make to essentially fall from grace and become the monster himself. This story forces the reader to sympathize with all characters involved from the creator, Victor Frankenstein, to the monster he creates and all of the people who are affected. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is about a man, a scientist, named Victor Frankenstein. Victor was obsessed with the science of natural philosophy alchemy and chemistry. He was obsessed with how life is created and how life is ended. After attending school in

    Read More

  • Essay Comparing Frankenstein And Blade Runner

    916 Words  | 2 Pages

    Shelley’s “Frankenstein” was written in early 19th century England at a time when Romanticism was challenging aspects of scientific discovery and rationalism uncovered during the Enlightenment. In particular, through the depiction of the protagonist’s rampant thirst for knowledge, Shelley warns us of the exploitations of technology, as Victor the protagonist warns Walton that he should; “Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge…”. Not only does this foreshadow Victor’s downfall, it also ironic, as Victor was only looking to benefit mankind by breaking, what he thought, was the imaginary boundary between life and death. Instead, he ends up performing the exact opposite by creating an abomination. Frankenstein’s aversion to his creation is obvious, as it is highlighted in a conversation between Frankenstein’s brother and himself, in which Frankenstein states, “often did my human nature turn with loathing from my occupation.” “It was a most beautiful season…but my eyes were insensible to the charms of nature.” Frankenstein seems to represent an amalgamation of both passion and reason, Rationalism and Romanticism, and Shelley shows how someone gripped by both genius and passion can become intoxicated with a thirst for power and emotion that will

    Read More

  • Ethical Issues in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    1228 Words  | 3 Pages

    With the advancement of technology and science, we are now able to genetically modify animals. Mary Shelley found a way to make science an epitome, and confirms what could happen if science is taken too far. In conclusion, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is considered to be a historical novel, based on scientific advancements. In this novel Shelley depicts her own definition of human nature, by showing the creature and the ways that humans react to him. The novel also showed the differences between morality and science.

    Read More

  • Victor Frankenstein Ethical Research

    700 Words  | 2 Pages

    Victor Frankenstein shows that a world where science is performed without precaution can be a world of danger and chaos. This may serve as a lesson to take responsibility for one’s own actions. The results of his unruly behavior only proves that his methods and beliefs were corrupt and immoral. The novel of Frankenstein displays itself as a cautionary tale to perhaps prevent something similar, something so unethical and incorrect, from ever happening at all.

    Read More

  • Ethical Perspectives on Human Experimentation

    851 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout history humans have been experimenting on each other in order to gather more information on our species. Countles studies have been carried out on human subjects usually without even consent from the patient. Although these experiments are questioned ethically and morally many have argued that these experiments are justified because they were done for the greater good. I will be discussing the ethical issues behind human experimentation and applying it to many theroies including utilitarianism and deontology; while also discussing how these issues apply to an individual living in a culturally diverse world.

    Read More

  • Who Is the Real Monster in Frankenstein?

    1708 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Destructive Desire for Knowledge: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

    1118 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...Frankenstein and the creature. The situations that each character experience are lessons about how seeking prohibited intelligence comes with extreme consequences. Frankenstein is a Gothic novel which means it involves the supernatural; however, because it contains religious qualities it is more appealing to the common people’s idea of knowledge. Mary Shelley achieves her goal of informing the audience that man should not seek or possess the level of knowledge that God acquires. One should learn from the situations present in the novel because life comes with an enormous amount of knowledge; going after the unknown is an act of rebellion against God.

    Read More

  • What Happened To Mary Shelley's Frankenstein?

    257 Words  | 1 Pages

    Antoine de Saint-Exupéry once said, “Only the unknown frightens men. But once a man has faced the unknown that terror becomes the known.” The Frankenstein is a story of a scientist who creates a monster and is responsible for the dangers that happens. The tragic events that happen in this novel, lets the reader understand how pursuing to advance your knowledge can cause danger to the world and make you abuse your powers.

    Read More

  • Analisis of Mary Shelley´s Frankenstein

    1643 Words  | 4 Pages

    Victor Frankenstein’s early life made visible how interactions with nature influenced his idea for the creature. At the age of fifteen years old he had an encounter with the highest power of electricity. He witnessed how lighting turned a tree into a stump in a matter of blink of an eye. Victor Frankenstein’s reaction to this was “It was not splintered by shock, but entirely reduced to thin ribbons of wood. I never beheld anything so utterly destroyed” (Shelley 22). Another significant interaction with nature is found when the scientist is in the process of healing due to the murder of his friend Justine Mortiz and his baby brother William Frankenstein by his creation. Finding himself stressed and falling into depression, he goes on a trip to clear his mind. The depressed Creator then finds himself looking at life from a different perspective. As he is on his trip he begins to see how wonderful life and the beaut...

    Read More

  • Impact Of Childhood In Frankenstein

    860 Words  | 2 Pages

    Frankenstein, a novel first published in 1818 and revised in 1831 by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, tells the story of a young scientist named Victor Frankenstein who creates a grotesque yet sagacious creature. Not only does Frankenstein raise questions about medical and scientific ethics, it is an exemplary representation of moral idealism versus reality and how actions can have unintended consequences, particularly those that took place during childhood. In the novel, Victor Frankenstein’s childhood is portrayed by himself as joyous and pleasant, compared to the alienated formative years of the Creature. Nonetheless, these characters’ childhoods share a certain similarity – both

    Read More

  • Scientific Knowledge In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    1303 Words  | 3 Pages

    When one attempts to use their power of science to portray God, it often includes the death of humans even if one's intentions are to bring change to the science community. Although Frankenstein successfully brought his creation to life, and the creature considered him as God, Shelley warns her readers of the consequences that one has to face for abusing science and playing God`s role. Frankenstein`s intentions were not to misuse his power of science but, the results of his attempt to re-define nature was harmful to society, himself and the

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Frankenstein And God In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    1160 Words  | 3 Pages

    Recent critics, such as Philips, use the example of the conflation of the name “Frankenstein” as belonging to both scientist and monster, to show that popular culture has been left with the impression of the novel as a byword for the dangers of scientific ambition (188). Mellor points out that Frankenstein, as a cautionary tale, is ‘so profoundly resonant’ that is has become a ‘trope of everyday life’ (9), from so-called genetically modified “Frankenfoods” to criticisms of nuclear and chemical warfare as ‘Frankenstein syndrome’ (Rollin 1). The latest production of Frankenstein at the National Theatre focused on creature’s perspective, playing on audience’s empathy for the character (Billington). However, the first reviewers of the novel tended to be far more favourable in their appraisal of Frankenstein; they did not treat him as a dangerously transgressive scientist, but instead as a heroic and even inspirational figure. In January 1818, for example, The Quarterly Review called Frankenstein ‘a kind-hearted parent’ who suffers trying ‘to defeat the procreative propensities of his ungracious child [the monster]’ (379). Therefore, although the first readers of the text noted the paternal relationship, between creator and experiment, they saw this in terms of a ‘hero’

    Read More

  • A Comparison of Vistor Frankenstein and Henry Jekyll

    1161 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

More about Nonconsensual and Consensual Human Testing and Experimentations

Open Document