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Frankenstein book review essay
Frankenstein book review essay
Literary analysis about frankenstein
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In the novel, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the protagonist Victor first agrees to make his first creature a female companion. After further analysis, the risks that are possible by creating a second creature Victor, changes his mind, and decides he should not create a female creature. Victor made the right decision by not composing a female companion for the creature because of the initial feelings he endured when he created the first creature, the uncertainty with the female creature’s personality and feelings towards the male creature along with the promises he made to Victor, and the two creatures can reproduce.
Although Victor was originally contemplating his decision, one reason that deterred him from creating a female creature was because three years ago Victor had become consumed by the same task which had ended when
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That would be a frightful predicament because the creature population can grow expeditiously and take over the world. Victor does not have the right “to inflict this curse upon everlasting generations” (p.174) because that is not fair to the future populations having to deal with deadly creatures roaming the world. Victor inflicting the potential danger to the world now and in the future for his own personal gain is not honorable and he should not do it. To make a female creature would only end in problems because they would eventually move out of the desolated forests of South America into the human villages and make life challenging for humans. The lives of humans would be increasingly strenuous because they would live in fear of the creatures. If the humans did not comply with what the creatures want, then the humans could face potential harm. Creating a second monster would be nothing but an atrocious decision because they can reproduce making creatures a part of the earth forever and jeopardizing the current way of life for
This demonstrates the creatures moral ambiguity because he first saves an innocent girls life, but then he kills an innocent boy just for vengeance. In addition, he threatens to kill Elizabeth if Victor doesn't create female monster for him. This event also shows the creatures moral ambiguity because he wants to a female companion as hideous as he is, so that he won't feel alone if the world but Victor did not create the female companion he became enraged and killed Elizabeth whom was going to be Victors
As a tragic hero, Victor’s tragedies begin with his overly obsessive thirst for knowledge. Throughout his life, Victor has always been looking for new things to learn in the areas of science and philosophy. He goes so far with his knowledge that he ends up creating a living creature. Victor has extremely high expectations for his creation but is highly disappointed with the outcome. He says, “I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart” (Shelley 35). Frankenstein neglects the creature because of his horrifying looks, which spark the beginning of numerous conflicts and tragedies. At this point, the creature becomes a monster because of Victor’s neglect and irresponsibility. The monster is forced to learn to survive on his own, without anyone or anything to guide him along the way. Plus, the monster’s ugly looks cause society to turn against him, ad...
Throughout the history of literature, instances will always occur where themes repeat themselves constantly. One of these instances appears in the classic novel Frankenstein, where two characters, whom one would originally classify as opposites, truly possess many similarities to one another. Victor and the Creature share and oddly large amount of similarities between them. One of which being their drive to obtain knowledge, no matter the topic. With Victor, he typically is driven to discover things no one else has. The Creature however, constantly tries to find out how the world works and to find his place in society. Another similarity found in the novel would be the two characters isolation throughout the novel, self-inflicted or forced. For Victor, he always kept to himself,
Victor had created the creature with the vision from his dreams of a strong, tall perfect being with no flaws. His years of study with the unnatural and science had come to this final conclusion and masterful idea that he was determined to finish. To his surprise, he had created the opposite, “For this I had deprived myself of rest and health. I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart.” (Shelley 35) Victor is saddened by what he thinks of as a failure. He leaves his own apartment to go sleep in his court yard outside following his creation. He begins to isolate himself from the creature because of his fear of the creature’s outward appearance. He loses all hope for the creature without even learning anything about him. The fact that Shelley begins to refer to the being that Victor created as a “creature” shows Victor’s ignorance and lack of acceptance. It is Victor’s prejudice that blinds him of the creature’s true potential due to the unwanted preconception that follows the creature as he finds meaning in
He wasn't always this angry. He did so some good or tried to, but people didn't look at it that way. They just thought he was a monster by the way he looked. The creature states "I look upon crime as a distance of evil, benevolence and generosity were ever present before me. (101)" he really wanted to be good. When he burned that families house down it was out of anger. He seen the way they interacted with each other and wanted the same. He wanted a family, so he can he happy like everyone else. So, when he told Victor to create female creature for him. I think that was a good idea. He would have someone to love and to care for him. He wouldn't have felt as much as an outsider and he wouldn't be so lonely. Then they probably would have had kids, so they would have had the family he wanted from the beginning. When Victor killed the female creature, I think he was wrong because there could have been a way better way he could have dealt with that situation. I feel as if Victor's actions were different then the creature's actions would have been different the creature's actions would have been
Although he agreed to fulfill the task of creating a female partner for his monster, Victor
Upon first discovering how to make life, Victor is overwhelmed with excitement and pride, feeling as though he has unlocked the greatest power on earth. His imagination is “too much exalted” by this newfound ability, and thus determines there is no “animal as complex and wonderful as man” for him to attempt as his first creation (Shelley 43). Frankenstein does not contemplate how he will react to or interact with the human he gives life to, or that he has created an extremely twisted parent-child relationship by creating a human from dead bodies. His general lack of concern regarding the consequences of his remarkable yet dangerous power is the root of the rest of the conflict between him and his monster throughout the rest of the novel, and it exemplifies Shelley’s underlying theme that science should not be pushed past morally and psychologically safe boundaries.
but Victor thought to himself and says “I thought with a sensation of madness on my promise of creating another like to him, and trembling with passion, torn to pieces the thing on which I was engaged.” (Shelley 124 )Victor making the decision to not make another made the creature furious but Victor had his reasons like what if the creatures create more what if he doesn’t leave him alone just what ifs. He worries about making another creature because he wonders if the female would be as bad as the creature he first created. Victor does not make the second creature and tore it apart. Abandoning the creature caused him to learn for himself.
The crucial process in Frankenstein is Victor giving birth to a kind of human without a female womb. By doing this, he repudiates the law of nature. Bearing children is an intrinsic function and perquisite of women. Moreover, Victor decides against creating a female creature. Thus, he aims to create a patriarchal environment that consciously disregards women and consists only of men because Victor assumes women are not needed any longer. This actually backfires on Victor because the result of life without a matriarch is a monster. Accoriding to Mellor a feminist critic, "In trying to have a baby without a woman, Frankenstein denies to his child the maternal love and nurturance it requires, the very nourishment that Darwin explicitly equated with the female sex"(Anne K. Mellor, A Feminist Critique of Science). Victor Frankenstein 's unwillingness to provide his monster with motherly affection demonstartes the narrative consequences of procreation without a woman. Even if Victor was indeed able to provide his child with a mother 's care, he could not have prevented its social castigation and misery. When Victor 's monster came to life he explained how the
Frankenstein spent nearly two years devoting his life to giving life to an inanimate body. Frankenstein was so excited about finishing his work until he brought it the creature to life. Once the creature came to life Frankenstein abandoned him. Victor said, “Unable to endure the aspect of the being I had created, I rushed out of the room, and continued a long time traversing my bedchambers, unable to compose my mind to sleep (Shelley, 43).” Victor cast aside his creation simply because of his looks he could not get passed them. If Victor would have accepted and embraced the Monster than the outcome of their relationship could have been very different. Frankenstein’s rejection was the start of his future and happiness being stripped away from him. He had a chance to redeem himself to the Monster and he promised him he would create a companion for him and again he denies him that right as well. Victor spends months creating a companion for the creature and once he was almost finished he “tore to pieces” the Monsters companion. Victor now not only betrayed his creation once, but twice. First Victor left him and then he breaks his promise that he made
When Victor goes to college and his interest in science and nature grows, his curiosity to find the secret of immortality causes him to want to create a creature and bring it to life. Victor starts to create his unnatural work hoping that it will bring success in the future, “I prepared myself for a multitude of reverses; my operations might be incessantly baffled, and at last my work be imperfect, yet when I considered the improvement which every day takes place in science and mechanics, I was encouraged to hope my present attempts would at least lay the foundations of future success.” (43). Victor states his concerns about what he plans to do but dismisses them based on the importance he places on his work. For that reason, he starts to meddle with nature to create something no one can do but God. Finally, when Victor completes his creation, the monster, he realizes that he has made a serious mistake by interfering with nature, “I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart.” (47). He thinks he has achieved this beautiful dream of creating a life, but now that he has, all he can see is an ugly monster. Trying to take on divine creation fails and instead of beauty, all Victor can create is something horrifying. Therefore, disrupting with nature is a trait that proves Victor is the true monster because it is a limit that no human should overstep. Eventually, it will come to a miserable
As previously mentioned, Victor’s childhood was full of parental support, and even included his parents “adopting” another child into their home (Shelley 35). The creature’s “parent” Victor, abandons him, leaves him to fend for himself, which results in the creature feeling angry toward Victor. The creature had a resentful, distant relationship with his creator, while Victor’s upbringing could not have been more different. Shelley uses the story of Victor’s childhood; the adoption of Elizabeth, the stories of the De Lacey children to compare to the creature and the “upbringing” Victor is denying him. The opposition in parenthood is displayed between Victor and the creature are displayed by the way Shelley writes the creature’s last quotes after Victor’s death “Once I had falsely hoped to meet with beings who, pardoning my outward form, would love me for the excellent qualities I was capable of unfolding” (Shelley 239). The opposition lies in the monumental difference in parenting between Alphonse and Caroline Frankenstein, and Victor Frankenstein. Perhaps if the creature had been cared for more adequately, the story would’ve ended much
Because of Victor’s need for fame and desire for power leads to Victor becoming a monster. Victor begins his quest to bring life to a dead person because he does not want anyone to feel the pain of a loved ones death. At first he is not obsessed with his project. As he moves along in the project he thinks about what will happen to him. "Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first break through, and pour a torrent of light into our dark world. A new species would bless me as its creator and source, many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me." (Shelley 39) He realizes that he will become famous if he accomplishes the task of bringing a person back to life. The realization that he will become famous turns him into an obsessive monster. He wanted to be admired, and praised as a species creator. He isolates himself from his family and works on the creature. “I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body. For this I deprived myself of rest and health. I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation, but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart.” (Shelley 156) By spending most of his time inside on his experiment, he has no time to write or contact his family. He puts fear within his family because they fear for him.
I believe that Victor and the creature are both right about what they want and yet monstrous in their reactions. Victor is right about what he wants; one reason is because he is very committed to his work and in creating life for his creature. On the other hand he is evil because he abandoned the creature and left him on his own: "I escaped and rushed downstairs. I took refuge in the courtyard belonging to the house which I inhabited" (Shelley 57). Shelley shows Victor's monstrous reaction to the creature in the way that he abandoned the creature to his own luck and he shows no responsibility for him.
The vivid similarities between the two tragic characters are driven by their isolation from the secluded world, which refuses to accept those who are different into society, by hatred, and most importantly by the absence of motherly figures in both Victor’s and the Creature’s lives. As Victor had stated, “I seemed to have lost all soul or sensation but for this one pursuit.” (Shelley 40) as he described that he lost all touch with the world due to his work. Both figures seem to strongly despise one another yet strangely enough, they both also despise themselves for their wrong and disastrous actions. Family ties and vengefulness are truly one of the most significant aspects affecting the resemblance of both Victor and the Creature. At a young age, Victor was left without his mother after her death and as a result, he never got to experience the true feelings of a mother’s warm touch and love. “She died calmly...it is so long before the mind can persuade itself that she whom we saw every day and whose every existence appeared a part of our own can have departed forever and the sound of a voice so familiar and dear to the ear can be hushed, never more to be heard.” (Shelley, 29) Just like Victor, in his own time, the Creature never got to experience not only the love of a mother but the love of a father as well. These driven characters thrive for the same goals, feed of similar pain, and feel the same