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Character of Victor in Frankenstein
The effect of science on frankenstein
The effect of science on frankenstein
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The monster from the novel Frankenstein was brought into society without any sense of intelligence causing him to be a social outcast. The monster was a result of a science experiment conducted by Victor Frankenstein who was striving to achieve greater intelligence. As the monster grows intellectually, it develops a desire to gain more knowledge similarly to its creator. It gains more knowledge allowing it to understand and respond to the way society rejects it leading to the destruction caused by the monster. Walton also experiences the same craving for knowledge which puts many people's lives at risk. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley demonstrates that an obsessive thirst for more erudition may ruin one's life through the book's characters.
Victor
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Frankenstein is a character that exemplifies the destructive qualities caused by an excessive desire for learning. At the commencement of the novel, an adolescent boy, Victor, grows up in Geneva, “deeply smitten with the thirst for knowledge” (20). The way Victor visually perceives the world is a secret which he yearns to discover and explore. His fascination into the secrets of the world drives him to study natural philosophy and chemistry at the University of Ingolstadt. Victor decides to further study revelations of archaic scientists and is not satisfied with their erudition. He says, “..I at once gave up my former occupations, set down natural history and all its progeny as a deformed and abortive creation, and entertained the greatest disdain for a would-be science which could never even step within the threshold of real knowledge” (24). Victor seeks to build upon preceding revelations and from premature thoughts that transcend the perimeter of mankind. Shelley shows how Victor’s obsession with the erudition of the unknown surmounts his life and does not let anything or anyone stop him. Victor’s quest to overlook the natural limits of human erudition establishes the engendering of a monster that ravages his life and kills him. The monster he constructs does not reflect his pristine motive and brilliant conception. Immediately after the monster is consummate, Victor rushes out terrified with the anomalous features of the monster he developed. “No mortal could support the horror of that countenance. A mummy again endued with animation could not be so hideous as that wretch. I had gazed on him while unfinished; he was ugly then, but when those muscles and joints were rendered capable of motion, it became a thing such as even Dante could not have conceived.” (37) The conception of pursuing intelligence clouded Victor’s mind, and when his creature is born he is shocked to discover that what he has created is far off his own prospects. Not only did the monster eradicate his prospects of developing a creature that transcended human intelligence, but it withal affected his life, dignity, and fears. Victor realizes the effects his obsession of pursuing an extensive amount of cognizance has brought him. His destiny to achieve the infeasible, with no regard for anyone or anything but himself, demonstrates that he is blinded by erudition when the monster is incapable of predicting the outcome of his creation. Victor’s goal was supposed to improve society, but instead, it leads to disaster. His ardency for erudition causes him to lose his self-control. Frankenstein’s obsession with his thirst to find the secrets of the world drives him to suffer for the rest of his life. He fails to understand that his pursuit would significantly defy natural law. His inundating desire to gain an inordinate amount of knowledge not only led to the death of many innocent people, but to the death of Frankenstein himself. He is enervated by the monster because, in lieu of relishing the delectations of life, family, and friends, he dedicated himself to pursuing the unattainable. Shelley suggests that knowledge is good but to a certain limit. If one goes over that limit, the human mind loses control and is disrupted. The obsessive pursuit of knowledge is additionally visually and optically perceived through Victor’s creation, the monster. When the monster is first created, it is abandoned by Victor and is left to live on its own. It has no knowledge of the outside world and responds to his natural necessities as any priority to get revenge on Victor because he abandoned him through the majority of his life. The monster makes it a the animal would do.
When it tries to meet other humans, they are immediately horrified by his appearance. In its encounter with the De Lacey family, it is fascinated by their language, history, and literature. After watching the De Lacey’s for a year through a hole in the wall of their cottage, he learns how to speak. The monster “looked upon them [the De Lacey’s] as superior beings who would be the arbiters of my [the monster’s] future destiny” (81). The monster becomes determined to learn how to speak and gain the knowledge of the De Lacey’s. They seem to provide him with a good example of human nature that makes him believe that language and pursuing knowledge will make him more likely to be accepted by society. He says, “benevolence and generosity were ever present before me, inciting within me a desire to become an actor in the busy scene where so many admirable qualities were called forth and displayed” (92). The monster explains how the De Lacey’s provide him with a positive view of the world and how to be a good person and perform good deeds. Although they demonstrate a civilized family, the monster also begins to realize he can not fully relate to them as he is not just a man. “I cannot describe to you the agony that these reflections inflicted upon me; I tried to dispel them, but sorrow only increased with knowledge. Oh, that I had forever remained in my native wood, nor known nor felt beyond the sensations of hunger, thirst, and heat” (86). Shelley demonstrates the evil of knowledge as the monster begins to feel like an outcast of the society and seems to regret his knowledge because it shows him how he is different from the humans around
him. Walton, an explorer in many ways, shows his determination for pursuing knowledge just as the monster and his creator. Walton makes a journey to the North Pole in order to make a new discovery. Once his ship gets stuck in ice, he puts the lives of many men at risk simply in order for his uncontrolled desire for a discovery. In the first letter to his sister, he writes, “what may not be expected in a country of eternal light” (3). Walton demonstrates his desire to pursue knowledge and complete his exploration to the North. He, like Victor, is willing to sacrifice everything in order to reach that knowledge. Walton is also lonely and feels like he does not fit into his society. He desperately wants a friend which is shown through his excitement when Victor arrives on his boat. Although Walton refuses to go back to England when asked by one of his men, once he learns of the tragic consequences of going beyond the boundaries of human nature he agrees to turn back. He realizes that Victor’s obsession with trying to discover the impossible ruined his life and does not want to experience the troubles Victor had. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley demonstrates that an obsessive thirst for more erudition may ruin one's life through the book's characters. Shelley suggests that knowledge without mortality and uncontrolled passions will lead to a great amount of destruction. Victor and his monster experience this damage following their desires and losing self-control. Walton, on the other hand, becomes aware of the consequences and is able to turn back before it is irreversible. Shelley additionally suggests that without relishing the natural gratifications of life, pursuing erudition is circumscribed, but accessing new knowledge can't be inhibited if it is illimitable.
As the monster carries on with his life, he understands that he is not in control of his future, and in his mind, the De Lacey family are, "Superior beings who would be the arbiters of my future destiny" (Shelley 115). He has acknowledged his disengagement and comprehends his dismissal, which compels the readers to feel pity and remorse for the Creature, inevitably making his fall into abhorrence more sensational and shocking. " When I looked around, I saw and heard of none like me. Was I then a monster, a blot upon the earth, from which all men fled, and whom all men disowned? I cannot describe to you the agony that these reflections inflicted upon me. I tried to dispel them, but sorrow only increased with knowledge." (Shelley
Knowledge comes from experience. Since birth, Mary Shelley’s Monster from her acclaimed epistolary novel, Frankenstein, has been assaulted by all of the difficulties of life, yet he has faced them completely alone. The Tabula Rasa concept is completely applicable to him. The Monster begins as a child, learning from mimicking and watching others. He then educates himself by reading a few books which help shape his personality and give him an identity. Following Maslow’s hierarchy of needs the Monster searches for and accomplishes the basic human necessities but feels alone, and needs human interaction and companionship. “My heart was fashioned to be susceptible of love and sympathy, and when wrenched by misery to vice and hatred, it did not endure the violence of the change without torture such as you cannot even imagine,” (Shelley 115). As the book progresses, the Monster ceases to be a one-dimensional and flat watcher of humanity. Through his numerous experiences and education, the monster instead morphs into a participator of humanity with the ability to achieve goals, broaden his personality and create himself an identity.
In conclusion, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein shows readers how irresponsibility and the excessive need for knowledge can cause suffering among others as well as oneself. Victor never intends to cause such harm; however, he is not cautious and observant with his actions, which ultimately leads to his classification as a tragic hero. The desire to learn is most definitely a wonderful trait to have, as long as one’s knowledge doesn’t reach the extent that Victor Frankenstein’s unfortunately does.
In "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley, Victor Frankenstein creates a monster that brings chaos and deaths to Victor Frankenstein's family and friends for revenge. This is one example of how too much knowledge can be dangerous. In addition to Frankenstein, the classical novel, "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Hyde." exemplifies why too much knowledge can cause chaos. In the novel, Dr. Jekyll creates salt in his laboratory that changes his physical appearance. Thus makes an alter ego named Hyde who murders citizens of England for pleasure. This changes Dr. Jekyll since he keeps switching appearances until one day, he changes to Hyde permanently. These examples show that the misuse of knowledge is dangerous. From bringing misery to Frankenstein to changing into a murderous alter ego, humans cannot handle too much
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.
In the novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, the main theme revolves around the internal and external consequences of being isolated from others. Being isolated from the world could result in a character losing his/her mental state and eventually causing harm to themselves or others. Because both Victor Frankenstein and the creature are isolated from family and society, they experienced depression, prejudice, and revenge.
Frankenstein is a book written by Mary Shelley in 1818, that is revolved around a under privileged scientist named Victor Frankenstein who manages to create a unnatural human-like being. The story was written when Shelley was in her late teen age years, and was published when she was just twenty years old. Frankenstein is filled with several different elements of the Gothic and Romantic Movement of British literature, and is considered to be one of the earliest forms of science fiction. Frankenstein is a very complicated and complex story that challenges different ethics and morals on the apparent theme of dangerous knowledge. With the mysterious experiment that Dr. Victor Frankenstein conducted, Shelly causes her reader to ultimately ask themselves what price is too high to pay to gain knowledge. It is evident that Shelly allows the reader to sort of “wonder” about the reaction they would take when dealing with a situation such as the one implemented throughout the book.
Victor Frankenstein’s scientific endeavor, Robert Walton’s search for the North Pole, and the creature’s kind heart but scary features creates this whole theme of dangerous knowledge. The search for knowledge is encouraged and at times pushed by others. In Frankenstein is shows quest can lead to too much knowledge and drive him or her to his fate.
In gothic novels tragic figures are symbols of pain to the characters. Victor Frankenstein brings misfortune to his loved ones, which concludes to his overall tragedy. Ironically the monster in this novel is Frankenstein the creator not the creature. He has seven victims including himself and his fall is due to his ambition to be superior.
Knowledge played a huge role in the life of the creature that affected him later. Dr. Frankenstein’s warning about knowledge being dangerous is valid and can be supported in multiple ways. To elaborate, the creature went searching for expertise, leading to a very miserable life and destruction. The creature found love in the De Lacey’s, which motivated him to show himself. Unfortunately, the De Lacey’s rejected the creature.
Victor Frankenstein is originally a happy character that loves to learn and read a large variety of books. He was a fiery individual who sought to understand all knowledge; regardless of how practical the information was. Evidence of this is when his father tells him not to worry about fictional writers like Cornelius Agrippa. Yet, Frankenstein states, “But here were books, and here were men who had penetrated deeper and knew more. 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 Frankenstein’s case, his goal of total enlightenment led to his pitiful demise. Frankenstein’s creature was not originally a monster. He is born with good intentions and is a gentle- although atrocious looking- being until he learns of the sins of the human race. The ultimate factor in the creature’s progression from harmless to
...Frankenstein and the creature. The situations that each character experience are lessons about how seeking prohibited intelligence comes with extreme consequences. Frankenstein is a Gothic novel which means it involves the supernatural; however, because it contains religious qualities it is more appealing to the common people’s idea of knowledge. Mary Shelley achieves her goal of informing the audience that man should not seek or possess the level of knowledge that God acquires. One should learn from the situations present in the novel because life comes with an enormous amount of knowledge; going after the unknown is an act of rebellion against God.
knowledge is found at the heart of the novel, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Mary Shelley constructs her novel in a form of tripartite that consists of three speakers Victor, Victor’s Creature, and Robert Walton. The pursuit of knowledge is conveyed by the alluring antagonist Victor in his endeavor to go beyond human adeptness and discover the elixir of life. The pursuit of knowledge is shown through another character, Frankenstein’s Creature whose pursuit of knowledge prompts him to become aware of himself. Robert Walton through the pursuit of knowledge learns that his own strive for success leads him to learning that his selfish pursuits are effecting the people around him. The pursuit of knowledge is proved to be dangerous to all three speakers Victor, Victor’s Creature, and Robert Walton and all three prove to the reader how destructive knowledge can be.
They produced in me an infinity of new images and feelings, that sometimes raised me to ecstasy, but more frequently sunk me into the lowest dejection (Shelley 116).” The monster was forced to learn about society and the world through literature because Victor abandoned him. Shelley’s life and career were influenced off the books of her parents, this lifestyle of being self-taught bled onto the story of Frankenstein. Shelley wrote her way of learning into the monster to perhaps describe the feeling of isolation as both lacked some parental figure. The monster was alone in society as he was rejected by everyone and through reading he taught himself on the wonders of human society just as Shelley did.
Mary Shelley in her book Frankenstein addresses numerous themes relevant to the current trends in society during that period. However, the novel has received criticism from numerous authors. This paper discusses Walter Scott’s critical analysis of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein in his Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine Review of Frankenstein (1818).