Victor Frankenstein Theme Essay

985 Words2 Pages

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein has many themes deeply embedded within its rich context. One of its primary themes is that of unrestrained human ambition. Victor Frankenstein is the most ambitious man in the book. He dreamed of transforming society and bringing glory to himself through his scientific achievements. Blinded by dreams of glory, he fails to consider the consequences of his actions. Victor turns himself into a god by breathing life into an inanimate object. This highlights his fallibility when he is completely incapable of fulfilling the responsibilities that a creator has to its creation. Victor thinks he will be like a god, but ends up the father of a monstrosity. Ultimately, it is Frankenstein’s ambitions to surge beyond accepted …show more content…

Victor in this instance is similar to The Mariner’s character from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. The characters are, on the surface, quite dissimilar, in that Victor Frankenstein is a highly cultured and brilliant scientist while the mariner is relatively uneducated, working as an mediocre seaman. Victor's transgressions come from a form of intellectual arrogance in which he uses his intellectual gifts to fashion a monster. The mariner's transgression seems an act of impulsive cruelty, not deliberately thought out at all. Both literary works embody underlying causes of human ambition to surpass natural laws; usurping the role of God. Victor oversteps the bounds of science by becoming the creator of a being that never should have lived much like the ancient mariner, who by killing the albatross, violates the laws of nature.The Albatross was just an innocent bird that flew alongside the traveling ship. It was killed by the careless mariner for no fault of it’s own. The creature was created by no choice of it’s own, helplessly at the mercy of Victor’s will. Injustice was served to both of these creatures, the Albatross in death and the creature in life, both unfruitful recipients of unchecked human ambition. In Frankenstein by the end of the story Victor realizes he was dealing with forces …show more content…

Victor plays God without God's infinite responsibility, and his plan for glory backfires on him. Victor steps over the line of ethics that separates science from madness, and his family and friends pay the price for his foolishness. In his obsession, Victor, does not consider the consequences of his actions, which turn out to be very unfortunate for him. For the modern world, the classic novel of Frankenstein, echoes a harsh reminder that carries an ageless message: unchecked ambition can only lead to tragedy, destruction, and

Frankenstein Romanticism Essay
1864 Words | 4 Pages
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, highlighting the strife that her society is 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.
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Frankenstein: An Analysis Of Irony In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
939 Words | 2 Pages
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
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Frankenstein Motif Essay
946 Words | 2 Pages
Isolation is one of the major motifs that resonates throughout Frankenstein. Tying into the romantic style of the novel, Shelley uses this element all the way through the work to show a repetition of isolation, an aspect that is present in almost every character in the novel and expressed primarily in Victor and the monster. But even some other minor characters such as Justine, Caroline, and Walton deal with isolation in one way or another.
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Victor Frankenstein
1894 Words | 4 Pages
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...
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Monstrosity in Frankenstein
1001 Words | 3 Pages
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.
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Frankenstein Essay
1163 Words | 3 Pages
Many people know that Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, was part of a family of famed Romantic era writers. Her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, was one of the first leaders of the feminist movement, her father, William Godwin, was a famous social philosopher, and her husband, Percy Shelley, was one of the leading Romantic poets of the time ("Frankenstein: Mary Shelley Biography."). What most people do not know, however, is that Mary Shelley dealt with issues of abandonment her whole life and fear of giving birth (Duncan, Greg. "Frankenstein: The Historical Context."). When she wrote Frankenstein, she revealed her hidden fears and desires through the story of Victor Frankenstein’s creation, putting him symbolically in her place (Murfin, Ross. "Psychoanalytic Criticism and Frankenstein.”). Her purpose, though possibly unconsciously, in writing the novel was to resolve both her feelings of abandonment by her parents, and fears of her own childbirth.
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The Values Of Society In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
431 Words | 1 Pages
In Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, values of society are clearly expressed. In this particular society and culture, a great value is placed on ideologies of individuals and their contribution to society. In order to highlight these values, Shelley utilizes the character of Victor Frankenstein. Frankenstein is the main character of the novel, and with his alienation, he plays a significant role that reveals the surrounding society’s assumptions and moral values of individualism and use in society. This is done through Victor’s actions of self-inflicted isolation.
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Victor Frankenstein Goes Beyond The Laws of Nature
1089 Words | 3 Pages
Victor Frankenstein is the protagonist and the narrator of the main story in Frankenstein. Raised by doting parents, Victor confesses: “I was their plaything and their idol, and something better-their child, the innocent and helpless creature bestowed on them by Heaven, whom to bring up to good, and whose future lot it was in their hands to direct to happiness or misery, according as they fulfilled their duties towards me.” (35) This statement condemns his later reckless and arrogant behavior. Victor was obsessed from an early age with natural philosophy and the ultimate knowledge of life. He sought answers to the many questions that puzzled great minds before him. Motivated by ambition and an insatiable quest to be God like and create life, Victor dedicated himself to this one pursuit for nearly two years. The creature, which was made out of old body parts stolen from the cemetery, strange chemicals, and a mysterious spark, convulsed to life. In this moment, Victor becomes a creator of a human life, the “God” to a being that was deserving of the attention and love of its creator.
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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.
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Blind Ambition in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
770 Words | 2 Pages
After Frankenstein discovered the source of human life, he became wholly absorbed in his experimental creation of a human being. Victor's unlimited ambition, his desire to succeed in his efforts to create life, led him to find devastation and misery. "...now that I have finished, the beauty of the dream had vanished..." (Shelley 51). Victor's ambition blinded him to see the real dangers of his project. This is because ambition is like a madness, which blinds one self to see the dangers of his actions. The monster after realizing what a horror he was demanded that victor create him a partner. "I now also began to collect the materials necessary for my new creation, and this was like torture..." (Shelley 169). Victor's raw ambition, his search for glory, has left him. His eyes have been opened to see his horrible actions, and what have and could become of his creations. As a result, Victor has realized that he is creating a monster, which could lead to the downfall of mankind. His choice is simple, save his own life or save man.
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The Role Of Science And Creation In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
1374 Words | 3 Pages
The pop culture version of the novel Frankenstein depicts Victor Frankenstein’s need for science and creation, a need that results in him creating a monster. An ingenious and inventive scientist, Victor mastered everything he learned from his professors. Unfortunately, he ultimately created something he regrets and pays for until the day he dies. Victor Frankenstein takes his interest in science and creation to an unhealthy and extreme level, and plays God. In playing this God figure over his creation, he creates this being with no intentions of giving it love or happiness. He is selfish and creates it for himself, and he brings the unliving to life out of old used parts.
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Victor Frankenstein Knowledge Essay
668 Words | 2 Pages
The theme in a piece of literature is the main idea or insight on characters. Most pieces of literature do not limit itself to one but many other themes all collected into one. This is just like in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. This horrifying story was produced in 1818 and has several themes that she portrays throughout. The theme of dangerous knowledge is unmistakably seen theme in Frankenstein. In Frankenstein we see this theme through three of the main characters, Victor Frankenstein, Robert Walton and the creature. We can see how their desire for knowledge can take them places and show them eventually what they are looking for. Sooner or later it will take them to dangerous and unwanted places. The desire for knowledge can eventually lead one to its grave. Victor Frankenstein’s scientific endeavor, Robert Walton’s search for the North Pole, and the creature’s kind heart but scary features creates this theme of dangerous knowledge.
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Victor Frankenstein Personality Disorder Essay
1029 Words | 3 Pages
The abnormal behavior of Victor Frankenstein simply could not be explained by anyone. He was obsessed with building his monster, no matter what the morality or the outcome of his actions were. Consequences wreaked havoc on the creator when the monster turned on him and took his anger out on Victor’s family. He was so focused on building his perfection that he overlooked some factors. After further research, it is concluded that Victor suffered from Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder during the creation of his monster, which resulted in a rigid following of the ethics and morals of science and technology.
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Dangers of Technology Exposed in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
1592 Words | 4 Pages
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...
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The Effects Of Cloning In Frankenstein
1050 Words | 3 Pages
In Frankenstein, Victor is very intelligent and responsible leading up to the birth of his creation and obtains all the information he can absorb into his mind, yet he finds himself struggling to take care of this monster. Victor puts everything he has into his creation because he must obtain his vision, “I had worked hard for nearly 2 years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body. For this I had deprived myself of rest and health. I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation” (Shelley). Victor’s desire to obtain the role of God parallels the scientists working in labs throughout the world, trying to obtain the unimaginable, creating life from a single human cell. The outcome of Victor’s work and efforts of the cloning scientists share similarities as both creations will never be perfect. In every experiment of cloning, many mistakes have occurred. Before the first mammal was ever cloned it took 277 attempts before Wilmut and Campbell finally succeeded, and the animal was still not perfect and lived to only half its expected lifespan. Frankenstein’s creation took over 2 years of experimentation and preparation and many years of studying before that, yet his masterpiece became a monster and was terrifyingly ugly.
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Victor Frankenstein Theme Essay

Frankenstein Romanticism Essay

Frankenstein: An Analysis Of Irony In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

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