The creations from both Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Dean Koontz's Frankenstein: Prodigal Son are created by the hand of man, and are created human, therefore subject to the same propensities as any natural-born person. In both novels, the creators overstep their bounds as 'Modern Prometheuses,' a title assigned by Frankenstein creator, Mary Shelley. Victor Frankenstein of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Victor Helios of Dean Koontz's Frankenstein: Prodigal Son assume that, as creators, they have the authority to control their creations, but as versions of Prometheus, they bestow the capacity for individualism that allowed their creations to escape control. Frankenstein's and Helios' roles are defined from the beginning, when Mary Shelley described …show more content…
Recognizing that each is his own gives rise to personality. Shelley lets Frankenstein's creation describe his own personality by giving him a voice to tell his own story. While talking to Frankenstein, the creation gives proof of his creative abilities, provided by Prometheus' creative fire, by telling of his attraction to music and language, ability to learn language without instruction, and by desiring companionship (Shelley). Victor Helios gives each of his creations life and similar downloaded knowledge, but they each manage to develop their own personalities anyway. Helios usually can control his creations, but one, the renegade's, programming was flawed, and his human brain took over. The renegade began to see in real humans a quality that he lacked; he didn't feel capable of the happiness he saw around him. To discover it, he began to dissect humans, and hints about the act to his creator in a phone call, "If I just cut open enough of them and look inside, sooner or later I'll discover what makes
The two main characters, Victor Frankenstein and the creature that he builds, both seek, and occasionally find, solace in nature. At first, Victor believes himself superior to nature, and he builds a creature to prove his dominance. After gathering the information and materials needed to create life, Victor begins to fantasize about what he is about to do. He sees “life and death [as] ideal bounds, which [he] should first break through, and pour a torrent of light into [their] dark world.
As Frankenstein explains, he declares that he deliberately neglects to communicate with his creation, based on its shockingly hideous appearance. Had Frankenstein taken the time to communicate and care for his creation, with all the knowledge that he possesses of the responsibility of a good parent, the creation would have never developed the sense of vindication and reprisal that lead him to murdering Victor's loved one's. The creation would henceforth account Frankenstein for all his sufferings succeeding his birth.
In the book of Genesis, God is creating the world and eventually creates his children Adam and Eve. Like Adam, the creature in Frankenstein was created by another being, in this case Victor Frankenstein. As a creation, the monster has had no choice in his own development just like Adam didn’t. Frankenstein abandoned his creation and left it to fend for itself and cope with abandonment as it learns the workings of the world. This is similar to Adam’s excommunication from the Garden of Eden as he himself was cast away from God. The creation says, “Remember, that I am thy creature; I ought to be thy Adam; but I am rather the fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed,” (Shelley 84) which shows how even though Frankenstein is the parental figure he has disowned the creation similar to the story of Adam. In the book of Genesis, as a result of God’s negligence as a parent, Adam acts in rebellion towards God. Likewise, the creature’s abandonment leads it to act in a malicious manner towards Frankenstein and other human beings. The negligence of the parental figures led both of their children to have eccentric behavior as they had to develop their own understanding of the world without any guidance from a parental
When Frankenstein is at Ingolstadt, he “has a void of the soul'; so profound that he subverts Nature to fill it (qtd. in Renfroe, 2). He conceives, “A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me'; (Shelley, 32). Frankenstein decides to make a creature, to defy the powers of Nature and God -- a poor decision that ruins the rest of his life. When Victor finally succeeds in his quest to possess Nature, “horror and disgust'; fill his heart upon viewing his new creation (qtd. in Renfroe, 2). He sought companionship by capturing Nature and creating someone to honor him for giving them life; but it backfired and he sealed his fate to the wrath of his creature.
As time goes on, many things tend to change, and then they begin to inherit completely different images. Over the years, the character, created by Dr. Victor Frankenstein in Mary Shelley’s famous novel, has changed dramatically. The monster, regularly called “Frankenstein,” has been featured in numerous films, such as Frankenweenie and Edward Scissorhands. Although, the characters in today’s pop culture and the monster in the well-known 1800’s novel have similarities, they are actually very different. The many similarities and differences range from the character’s physical traits and psychological traits, the character’s persona, and the character’s place in the Gothic style.
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.
Throughout the novel Victor Frankenstein isolates himself from humans and elevates himself to the level of God. Frankenstein spends countless hours in isolation, something humans are not meant to do, and he “succeeded in discovering the cause of generation and life” (50). After remain in isolation he believes he is greater than other humans and was able to attain God’s level because he can create life. The power to bestow life is something that is thought of as godly and after Frankenstein created the creature he felt like a god because he “became capable of bestowing animation upon lifeless matter” (50). Frankenstein makes a comparison of his new species to human kind and cites himself as the new god. Frankenstein stated that this “new species blesses [him] as its creator and source,” elevating himself to god’s level and replacing him (52). God is something people look to for answers and for benevolence. Frankenstein describes himself as a person “with benevolent intentions, and thirsted for the moment when [he] should put them into practice” making it seem as if he has the same intentions as God but has a higher ability to fulfill his intentions because he is on earth
Victor Frankenstein from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is the embodiment of the Greek titan, Prometheus. Victor is controlled by his desire for results but he ignores his path to getting those results. It’s helpful that he is able to ignore reality when doing so because then he is able to focus more on the developments. Being on the selfish side, Victor Frankenstein never bothers with the questions such as “Why” but focuses on the “Why not”. Victor Frankenstein is the modern Prometheus because of his realization when reality does not match what he imagined, brute strength to compensate for his ignorance and constant reluctant to take responsibility for his actions.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is ‘one of the pioneering works of modern science fiction’, and is also a frightening story that speaks to the ‘mysterious fears of our nature’. Mary Shelley mocks the idea of “playing God”, the idea that came from the Greek myth of Prometheus, of the Greek titan who stole Zeus’ gift of life. Both the story of Frankenstein and Prometheus reveal the dark side of human nature and the dangerous effects of creating artificial life. Frankenstein reveals the shocking reality of the consequences to prejudging someone. The creature’s first-person narration reveals to us his humanity, and his want to be accepted by others even though he is different. We are shown that this ‘monster’ is a ‘creature’ and more of a human than we think.
The Creature, Victor Frankenstein’s creation, is shaped into a monster through its experiences, instead of the nature of itself, which is more expected. Victor Frankenstein, on the other hand, is shaped into a monster because of his mind’s power-hungry nature. Victor treats his creature poorly and he himself becomes wicked. While the Creature also becomes wicked in the end, its actions are more justified because multiple people treated it poorly, causing the Creature to lash out. Even though Victor Frankenstein and the Creature both turn into wicked monsters, to some extent, only one of
Promethean idealism is centered on the Greek god Prometheus who defied the other gods and gave humanity the gift of fire so that they could progress into advanced race. Those who follow this principal believe that life is of ultimate value and should be lived with the highest standard possible; therefore, the Prometheans push the boundaries to science and technology to move forward and advance the standards of life (SP1a). Dr. Frankenstein mirrors this belief as he ventured out away from society to push the limits of science and “renew life” for the first time (Shelly 58). His aspirations to advance forward in his field and reach to new heights where no one has gone before, mirror natural human desires and link him to humanity and humanistic actions. Dr. Frankenstein embarked on him journey i...
Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, Walter James Miller, and Harold Bloom. Frankenstein, Or, The Modern Prometheus. New York: New American Library, 2000. Print.
In Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, a genius scientist named Victor Frankenstein uses science and technology for selfish purposes by surpassing humankind’s ability and going against nature, using his powers to bring a breathless creature to life. The advancement of science and technology has had society question whether humans will attempt to play God’s role and the consequences that society will have to face with new discoveries (Barcia). Therefore, as modern science continues to grow, humans continue to wonder if the creator of the world, God will one day be replaced with a God-like figure as artificial selection, cloning, and genetic engineering, continue to advance at a rapid pace (Levin 34). In the novel, Victor uses his scientific knowledge
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s Frankenstein (sometimes also known as The Modern Prometheus) is the classic gothic novel of her time. In this eerie tale, Dr. Victor Frankenstein – suffering from quite an extreme superiority complex – brings to life a creature made from body parts of deceased individuals from nearby cemeteries. Rather than to embrace the Creature as his own, Frankenstein alienates him because of his unpleasant appearance. Throughout the novel, the Creature is ostracized not only by Frankenstein but by society as a whole. Initially a kind and gentle being, the Creature becomes violent and eventually seeks revenge for his creator’s betrayal. Rather than to merely focus on the exclusion of the Creature from society, Shelley depicts the progression of Dr. Frankenstein’s seclusion from other humans as well, until he and the Creature ultimately become equals – alone in the world with no one to love, and no one to love them back. Frankenstein serves as more than simply a legendary tale of horror, but also as a representation of how isolation and prejudice can result in the demise of the individual.
Muriel Spark proclaims one of the most prominent pieces of evidence to show the relationship between Victor and the monster includes the alternate title of the novel, The Modern Prometheus. In the initial chapters, Victor was himself the protagonist, Prometheus, the beloved contributor of fire. Nevertheless, as the monster was created, he had assumed the role of Prometheus. The godforsaken monster recites, “But am I not alone, miserably alone?” (Shelley). The revolt of the monster against his creator is another feature to depict the similarity between the monster and Prometheus; a Titan, who sought revenge against the Gods. The title may imply that the monster is an alternative Frankenstein. Critics have often provided specific examples from the text to support their claims of the relation between Victor and the monster. Primary characteristics shared amongst both figures can include a strong lust for knowledge, arrogance, and ignorance to those around them, an inner darkness that dictates their principles, and a conscience...