Frankenstein

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Recommended: Elizabeth Frankenstein character analysis

What qualifies a creature to be a monster? When the movie Frankenstein came out, monsters were usually big and scary animals that terrified everyone that walked in their path. They were creatures that generally behaved monstrously, doing things that were against society norms and had no consideration for the safety of others. Perhaps looking beyond the physical appearance of a “monster” and just looking at their actions one might see Dr. Frankenstein as a monster himself. Frankenstein was a story about a man who created an individual which led his life to failure and death, because of his desire to play which nature, and attempting the role of God.
The movie Frankenstein explores the consequences of what happens when man tries to play God and chases his ambition blindly. Victor Frankenstein became very involved in his work to create a being out of dead body parts. The doctor had the desire to achieve something that no scientist has ever done before: to give life to a being through science, not human nature. With this pursuit of knowledge, not only did Victor isolate himself from society but also from those who loved him, such as his fiancée Elizabeth and his father. However, it is with this knowledge and ambition, that winds up destroying him and those closest to him. His project he felt would better human kind and possibly make a name for himself, which is ironic because he brought only evil to society and death to his name. Frankenstein is so caught up in his work and his yearning to be remembered for all time that he does not think about what will happen after life is breathed into this being. After his creation comes to life, he refuses to accept his obligation as the creator to his creation. He does not care for it, shelter it, provide it with food or love, nor teaches the creation.
When realizing how to actually make his creation work he found out just how evil and strong his “monster” truly was. By bringing this creation to life; a destructive being that he had no control over, he doomed his own life and his intentions. Dr. Frankenstein was blinded by the fact that he was unable to foresee the effects that a creature could never be fully accepted into the human race. He was ultimately haunted by his own creation. Yet is it his monster’s fault that he doesn’t know right from wrong, or is it Dr. Frankenstein’s fault? Frankenstein is called the creato...

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... just a phase, hoping he could get over his work and forget about his creation and all the havoc he had caused. But unfortunately he couldn’t, the monster haunted him and eventually ruined him. What was once a sought after dream, was now a nightmare. There would be only one solution;to kill the monster. But was the creation really the monster? To the society and Victor he was but to the viewer, he was only a helpless creator who lost his way.
Victor Frankenstein shows that experimenting with the work of God or nature is immoral and will only end in corruption. No one can play God. The movie shows that a person who chases notoriety for his or her own personal intentions may find the consequences of their actions to be truly demoralizing, causing him to become the monster more than his creation. His faults in his creation lead to his demise.

Work Cited

1. Shelly, Mary. Frankenstein. Penguin Group. London, England. 1992.
2. Frankenstein. Produced by Carl Laemmle Jr. Perf. Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, Boris
Karloff, and John Boles. Universal Pictures. 1931.
3.Gods and Monsters. The Flick Filosopher. AF 100:#87
http://www.flickfilosopher.com/flickfilos/archive/004q/frankenstein.html

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