Fate And Free Will In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

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Fate vs free will is an overwhelming topic, and is a subject that is covered by numerous texts throughout history. It is often hard to determine where fate ends and free will is allowed to begin. Paradise Lost tries to tackle this area between fate and free will between creation and the creator. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein also deals with similar issues by delving into the relationship between Victor Frankenstein the creator and his monster. I believe these texts setup interesting scenarios to make the reader question whether or not creations have free will especially when it comes to their relationships with their creator.
In works based on the Christian religion God is often portrayed as all-knowing and all-powerful. This is how God is portrayed …show more content…

If God knows the actions of his creations such as humans before they are done, and God has commands these creations how could they refuse their creator? This is brought up in William Walkers “On Reason, Faith, and Freedom in Paradise Lost”. Walker argues that although God commands Adam and Eve to worship him, ultimately it is their choice to worship him and thus they are employing their free will he writes “I will further argue, does not mean that, in requiring that man have faith in him, Milton 's God is requiring him to do something he is not free to do” (Walker 143). I would disagree with this argument, I believe in this story humankind has no free will. I believe when God made Adam and Eve he gave them the illusion of free will, how could Adam and Eve refuse their creator, especially if their creator made them to worship him. I believe that God knew mankind would worship him before he even before he created them and therefore he has true free will while mankind does …show more content…

God wants a new intelligent species to roam the Earth and wants them to be able to prosper without him. He knows this is going to be a tough task so he creates two humans first and tests them to see if they are ready for his Son his second in command. Once he sees that they are ready he sends his Son to Earth and allows mankind to go on living life on their own. I believe Milton uses juxtaposition throughout Paradise Lost to confuse the reader at times but ultimately try to point out the plan God has for

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