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Frankenstein character analysis thesis
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Frankenstein character analysis thesis
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Ever since the earliest scientists, including the likes of Aristotle and Plato, the question of the morality of man's meddling in nature has been a prevalent issue. While science can provide boundless amounts of invaluable contributions to mankind, ultimately some scientific endeavors should never have been pursued. In Frankenstein, Mary Shelly explores the ethics involved in this query through the creation of a wonder of science, and its inevitable consequences.
Much of the analysis of the consequences that the scientific perversion of nature harbors is manifested by the inner struggle within both Dr. Frankenstein and his monster. The tortured mind of the creator expresses the notion that one who plays god will be burdened by the excruciating pain of loneliness and uttermost guilt weighing down upon his mind and his creation. Throughout Dr. Frankenstein's struggle, he is overwhelmed by fear, hatred, regret and his culpability in interfering with nature: "a weight of despair and remorse pressed on my heart, which nothing could remove. Sleep fled from my eyes; I wandered like an evil spirit, for I had committed deeds of mischief beyond description horrible" (Shelly 59). Since such sentiments are all expressed in the first person, it allows the reader to more closely sympathize with his pain and moreover makes the message all the more accessible. These themes are not solely portrayed by the doctor, for the sorrow harbored by his creation outweigh even those of his grief-stricken creator.
While Dr. Frankenstein my be lonely in the sense that he is so utterly bound by worry that he cannot interact with those whom he loves, the monster is forced to endure absolute isolation and censure from all people. Throughout history, hum...
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...r. Frankenstein, as well, escapes to a place of natural beauty to clear his mind and ease his worries when he visits Chamonix. Shelly conveys the contrast between altered and unaltered nature even more starkly by vividly describing these locations and displaying the inherent beauty that nature exhibits and therefore should not be tinkered with.
While history often views the story of Frankenstein as little more than a horror story about a monster, it is obviously much more. It is a tale that explores the darker side of mankind, loneliness, guilt, sorrow and above all the dangers of manipulating nature. The bounties that humanity has reaped through the works of science have indeed been great, but the consequences of some such discoveries can be far greater.
Work Cited
Shelly, Mary. Frankenstein(1818). Ed. J. Paul Hunter. New York: Norton & Co. inc., 1996.
Frankenstein has been interested in natural science since childhood and has described himself to “always have been imbued with a fervent longing to penetrate the secrets of nature”(Shelley 25), which foreshadows his future aspiration to create life, and
Mary Shelley’s gothic novel Frankenstein is a novel narrated by Robert Walton about Victor Frankenstein and the Monster that he creates. Frankenstein grew up surrounding himself with what he loved most, science. He attended Ingolstadt University where he studied chemistry and natural philosophy, but being involved in academics was not enough for him. Frankenstein wanted to discover things, but did not think about the potential outcomes that could come with this decision. Frankenstein was astonished by the human frame and all living creatures, so he built the Monster out of various human and animal parts (Shelley, 52). At the time Frankenstein thought this creation was a great discovery, but as time went on the Monster turned out to be terrifying to anyone he came in contact with. So, taking his anger out on Frankenstein, the Monster causes chaos in a lot of people’s lives and the continuing battle goes on between the Monster and Frankenstein. Throughout this novel, it is hard to perceive who is pursuing whom as well as who ends up worse off until the book comes to a close.
The theme of creation in "Frankenstein" touches on the notion of how modern science plays God. This is illustrated through the attempt of replicating a human by means of science, using the main character Victor as the god-figure. Unfortunately, Victor Frankenstein did not consider the effect his creation would have on the outside world and, more importantly, his internal self and his creation.
I took their word for all that they averred, and I became their disciple” (21). Frankenstein embodies the movement in science to understand everything, and that is not necessarily a good thing (Storment 2). Frankenstein only understands that this train of thought is bad when he reaches the pinnacle of knowledge and produces the creature. The fruits of Frankenstein’s labor end up costing him the lives of his friends and family, as well as his own sanity. The feeling of guilt thrives in Frankenstein because he knows his work was the direct cause of the chaos in his life.
In today’s world of genetically engineered hearts and genetically altered glowing rats, the story of Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, seems as if it could be seen in the newspapers in our near future. The discoveries seen in modern science, as well as in the novel, often have controversy and negative consequences that follow them, the biggest of which being the responsibility the creator of life has to what has been created. Victor Frankenstein suffers from a variety of internal and external conflicts stemming from the creation of his monster, which in return also experiences similar problems. Shelley uses these tumultuous issues to portray the discrepancies between right and wrong, particularly through romanticism and the knowledge of science.
Mary Shelley expresses various ethical issues by creating a mythical monster called Frankenstein. There is some controversy on how Mary Shelley defines human nature in the novel, there are many features of the way humans react in situations. Shelley uses a relationship between morality and science, she brings the two subjects together when writing Frankenstein, and she shows the amount of controversy with the advancement of science. There are said to be some limits to the scientific inquiry that could have restrained the quantity of scientific implications that Mary Shelley was able to make, along with the types of scientific restraints. Mary Shelley wrote this classic novel in such a way that it depicted some amounts foreshadowing of the world today. This paper will concentrate on the definition of human nature, the controversy of morality and science, the limits to scientific inquiry and how this novel ties in with today’s world.
Mary Shelley’s novel demonstrates the type of language and intricate structure rarely found in novels today from which students in the twenty first century can learn much from. Mary Shelley puts forward timeless lessons of one’s confrontation with one’s self taking responsibility for your own actions, the result of being shunned from society and the dangers of tampering with nature. The novel foreshadows our very real fears of the double-sided nature of scientific ‘progress’ making it relevant today and proving the statement: “Students in the twenty first century have little to learn from Frankenstein.” very wrong.
Mary Shelley’s Sci-Fi horror known as Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus has become a classic novel in history. This dark tale touches on every subject of humanity. One of Shelley’s biggest themes is a big question in the science world we live in, nearly 200 years after publication of the book. That question being can science go too far, is there a line that shouldn’t be crossed? Shelley uses the plot of her story to serve as a warning to readers to be careful when dealing with this imaginary line. Shelley’s tale of a mad scientist and the repercussions he suffers from his experiment is a timeless story. As technology is being pushed to the brink of morality in the modern day, this question has become a huge part of the modern world of science we are living in.
In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley tests the motives and ethical uncertainties of the science in her time period. This is a consideration that has become more and more pertinent to our time, when we see modern scientists are venturing into what were previously unimaginable territories of science and nature, through the use of things like human cloning and genetic engineering. Through careful assessment, we can see how the novel illustrates both the potential dangers of these scientific advancements and the conflict between that and creationism.
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.
Since the beginning of time man has been infatuated with the idea of pushing the human body to its limits by the use of science. The Space program is the best example of science helping humans accomplish things never before thought possible. In the age of technology and scientific advancement ideas that once seemed like science fiction, for example people walking on the moon, are now a reality. In order to push human development, ethics and morals have been pushed to the side. Necessary evils have been accepted as part of science without a second thought. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein a scientist, Victor Frankenstein, plays God by creating a monster out of body parts and bringing it to life. When Frankenstein realizes the full extent to what he’s done, he abandons the monster leaving it confused and lonely. The monster then
This act leads to a long journey of guilt and desperation. He immediately regrets playing God, but he cannot tell anyone what he has done, for fear of being called a madman. He must suffer the fear of his creation alone. To emphasize this isolation, Shelley adds an excerpt from the Rime of the Ancient Mariner to the text: “Like one who, on a lonely road, Doth walk in fear and dread, And having once turned round, walks on, And no more turns his head; Because he knows a frightful fiend Doth close behind him tread” (57). Frankenstein first feels guilt as he faces the horrible reality of unleashing a monster into the world. He deems the monster dangerously unpredictable and fears it’s reckless
Victor Frankenstein and his creation are alike in several ways, one of them being their appreciation of nature. Victor embraces the nature for the quick moment that he escapes the creature as it “filled me with a sublime ecstasy that gave wings to the soul and allowed it to soar from the obscure world to light and joy” (Shelley 84). Vict...
Mary Shelley`s Frankenstein was a standout due to its depiction of science and it, influences on the known aspects of society. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Europe was fascinated with scientific exploration and experimentation. Scientific discoveries were growing at a fast pace, and the discovery of concepts like electricity shook society from it set roots. In the age of discovery, Shelley shows the danger of society interaction with science and knowledge that comes with discovery with the absences of rational decisions and women.
The most famous character in Frankenstein, the Creature, represents the corruption that human greed and ambition can cause. The Creature is conceived by Victor’s ambition and much like his creator, he thirsted for knowledge of the world and its’ workings; “I perceived that the words [...] spoke[n] sometimes produced pleasure or pain, smiles or sadness, in the minds and countenances of the hearers. This was indeed a god-like science, and I ardently desired to become acquainted with it” (Shelley 78). He was abandoned at birth, which left him ignorant and vulnerable and ultimately served as the catalyst to his fascination with the