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Analysis Shelley's Frankenstein
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Recommended: Analysis Shelley's Frankenstein
Throughout the ages, mankind has sought to escape their prescribed limitations. It is within the confines of human nature to be ambitious. Whether we analyze the life of a prideful child, a fanatical scientist, a single-minded captain, or a representation of man, ambition is distinguishable among these various people. In James Thurber’s The Moth and the Star, a young moth is possessed by the dream of one day reaching a particular star of his choice. In Herman Melville’s Moby Dick’s, Captain Ahab pursued a life of vengeance against the infamous Moby Dick. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, Jack sets his interests on becoming the tribe’s new leader. And in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein sought to possess the secrets of life and with such knowledge, reanimate the dead. Because of the endeavors pursued by Captain Ahab, Jack, Victor Frankenstein, and the Moth, it is conclusive to state that any human, regardless of their occupation or background, is naturally embedded with ambition. First, the Moth demonstrates ambition throughout The Moth and the Star. James Thurber’s The Moth and the Star, begins when the main protagonist, the Moth, become possessed by the dream of reaching a star. His parents and society, however, wish for him a different fate: to receive his singe marks from a street lamp. The guardians of the Moth try to deviate their son from his dream by telling him, “‘Stars aren't the thing to hang around,’ she said; ‘lamps are the thing to hang around.’ ‘You get somewhere that way,’ said the moth's father. ‘You don't get anywhere chasing stars’” (Para. 1). As depicted by this quotes, the society which the Moth lives in, has a mechanical way of thinking; that is, no one performs an action outside of the s... ... middle of paper ... ...ice was high-lifted then; and the boat leaped on. Yet the voice spake true; for scarce had he pushed from the ship, when numbers of sharks, seemingly rising from out the dark waters beneath the hull, maliciously snapped at the blades of the oars, every time they dipped in the water; and in this way accompanied the boat with their bites” (135.24-26). Rather than relent on his pursuit, Ahab push away the fear of death and continues his hunt. From the moment of encounter, Ahab dedicated his life to the ambition of slaying the legendary beast. Ahab’s chance of success was dismal, but his hunger for bloodshed only grew with every failure. From sunrise, to sunset, the only thing on Ahab’s mind was the whale. In conclusion, despite coming from completely different backgrounds and living different lives, Victor Frankenstein, the Moth, Jack and Captain Ahab all had ambitions.
Analysis: Melville's Great American Novel draws on both Biblical and Shakespearean myths. Captain Ahab is "a grand, ungodly, god-like man … above the common" whose pursuit of the great white whale is a fable about obsession and over-reaching. Just as Macbeth and Lear subvert the natural order of things, Ahab takes on Nature in his
Frankenstein, speaking of himself as a young man in his father’s home, points out that he is unlike Elizabeth, who would rather follow “the aerial creations of the poets”. Instead he pursues knowledge of the “world” though investigation. As the novel progresses, it becomes clear that the meaning of the word “world” is for Frankenstein, very much biased or limited. He thirsts for knowledge of the tangible world and if he perceives an idea to be as yet unrealised in the material world, he then attempts to work on the idea in order to give it, as it were, a worldly existence. Hence, he creates the creature that he rejects because its worldly form did not reflect the glory and magnificence of his original idea. Thrown, unaided and ignorant, into the world, the creature begins his own journey into the discovery of the strange and hidden meanings encoded in human language and society. In this essay, I will discuss how the creature can be regarded as a foil to Frankenstein through an examination of the schooling, formal and informal, that both of them go through. In some ways, the creature’s gain in knowledge can be seen to parallel Frankenstein’s, such as, when the creature begins to learn from books. Yet, in other ways, their experiences differ greatly, and one of the factors that contribute to these differences is a structured and systematic method of learning, based on philosophical tenets, that is available to Frankenstein but not to the creature.
In this case, the whale Moby Dick would be the oppressor that harmed Ahab by amputating his leg. Similar to his modern-day counterparts, the captain expresses this condemning rage through his speech. For example, he lashes out, "That inscrutable thing is chiefly what I hate; and be the white whale agent, or be the white whale principal, I will
Ahab’s quest for the whale is not an honorable pursuit of God, but man’s vain endeavor in his hatred of God to destroy the all-powerful deity. The symbol of the whale as God makes sense as it is white a color that is associated not only with purity and honor but the deity of God himself. Because this whale caused him personal damage in an earlier encounter, Ahab views the whale as an “inscrutable thing”, making it his life’s quest to get revenge (335). Not only does he associate the whale with this damaging experience, he connects the deity of God with “the white whale that razeed me; made a poor pegging lubber for me forever and a day!” (334). His quest for vengeance distorts his ability to have a relationship of God as who can endure the pursuit of such a being if the pursuit is driven by enmity? Ahab’s pursuit of Moby Dick, “Be [he] agent, or be [he] principal” is driven strictly by hostility and a lack of righteousness (335). Only those who have experienced the sweetness of reconciling grace can look at the tremendous
Any goal in life is achieved through ambition, fueled by determination, desire and hard work. Ambition maybe a driving force to success or to a pit of failure, the path chosen by an individual determines the end. Remember that any goal to be fulfilled needs desire, desire that strives to do good or greedy desire that is selfish. Also the actions that contribute to our ‘hard work’ need to be morally and ethically right to enjoy the sweet success. However, when the desire and determination is stronger than conscience, many tend to fail often reach or don’t reach what they strived for, leaving them emotionally or even physically dead. The inner lying consequence of ambition is clearly stated by Napoleon, he quotes “Great ambition is the passion of a great character. Those endowed with it may perform very good or very bad acts. All depends on the principals which direct them”. The undesirable consequence of ambition can be observed in the lives of the protagonists of ‘The Great Gatsby and Macbeth. This describes the direction in which ambition is driven could change the end result, it is simply based on the individual itself rather than the dream they seek to achieve. Therefore, the strong drive of ambition helps the seeker attain their goal but greedy desires and wrong paths taken eventually lead to downfall.
Captain Ahab was a fictional character that participated in whale hunting in a book called Moby Dick. Moby Dick was the name of the great white whale that Captain Ahab was pursing to hunt. “The Minke Whale also known as the baleen whale is the smallest of the rorqual species, and the females are normally larger than the males,” Sea Shepherd1, but due to commercial whaling they are facing extinction. Minke Whale Hunting is a problem in Antarctic Ocean which is also known as the Southern Ocean, They are being killed by the Japanese to be used for sushi. “The Japanese and other countries have been hunting whales since the 1800’s”, studies that were recorded in 1986 have shown that over 30,000 Minke whales have been killed.4 People should pay attention to this because an animal is being hunted and is near extinction. According to Sea Shepherd, “The taxonomy of Minke whales is currently in question, and soon there may be three species of Minke whales.”1 The Antarctic Sanctuary or the Southern Ocean Sanctuary was established in 1994 devoting 19 million square miles of waters is dedicated to the whales for feeding,” ABC News2 . Minke Whale Hunting is a global, national, regional, and local problem because the earth will have another animal that is extinct. By reducing the demand for sushi, by preventing the Japanese from hunting the whale, and enforcing the Antarctic Sanctuary Law, marine biologist and Oceanic Conservation can protect the Minke Whales before they are extinct.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, is a novel of interpersonal struggle between inborn traits versus the self determined willingness to work for success. The author demonstrates the contrasting personalities of Victor and the Creature specifically in regard to the nature they are born with in contrast to who they made of themselves. Innate aspects hinder personal growth for the Creature although he works hard to become a self-made man, whereas nurturing miens obstruct growth for the dignified Victor despite his fortunate nature. Shelley demonstrates sympathy with a Creature who tries to overcome his monstrous form more than a gentleman who abases him in order to convey that no matter how hard he tries to overcome his nature, personal choices can only take him so far. Through contrasting Victor’s and the Creature’s innate personas and willingness to achieve success, Shelley is allowing the reader to question whether or not a person is able to work past his genetic boundaries and inherent instincts to become whoever he wants to be, or, if he is stuck having the same success level of his parents due to his intrinsic nature. Both scenarios play a key role in the character’s lives; if Shelley had not embedded this “nature versus nurture” theme into the plotline, then the plot would have ceased to exist due to a lack of conflict on the Creature’s part.
The obsessed search for knowledge, fame and fortune can often undervalue one’s life and become the main focus of their existence. In Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, she proves that obsession is a dangerous aspect of the human behavior, which always results in a negative outcome, this is mainly portrayed through the protagonist of the story Dr. Victor Frankenstein, because of Dr. Frankenstein’s obsessive personality he fails to recognize the affects of his scientific experiments which eventually lead to his and his family’s death.
Victor Frankenstein, the monster’s creator, is the victim of his own pride. An ego unchecked is a dangerous thing. But in truth, it really just shows Victor’s humanity. He is privileged, educated, talented, loved, adored, but he is not perfect. His flaw is his own ego and pride. Without doubt, this is the result of a childhood where he was overindulged. Overindulged to the extent he was given a little girl “Elizabeth” as a “present”, whom he considered from childhood “mine only” (Shelley 21). Little wonder the twenty year old Victor would think he could create, control and command life. But Victor as with any indulged child did not take the time to learn much from his parents about parenting and fath...
Philosophers and scientists alike have debated for centuries whether a person’s character is the result of nature or nurture. In the writings of Thomas Hobbes, it is expressed that humans are endowed with character from birth, and that they are innately evil in nature. John Locke’s response to this theory is that everyone is born with a tabula rasa, or blank slate, and then develops character after a series of formative experiences. The idea that true character is the result of experiences and societal interaction is a theme deeply explored throughout Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Through different interactions with the monster, Shelley attempts to express that it is because of Victor’s failings as a parent and creator, because of the monster’s isolation, and because of society’s reaction to the monster that the monster has become evil. The monster’s character is a direct result of how he was nurtured, based on his experiences and circumstances, rather than his being innately evil from “birth.”
...rn day society, illusive ambitions can be incredibly detrimental, just as they are demonstrated to be in Macbeth. Ambitions, if they are untamed, can be an impediment to free will; they can overpower your good conscience, possibly leading you into causing death and destruction. They can also corrupt one’s mental health, while practically morphing that person’s perception of reality into something demonstrably wrong and twisted. Finally, they can boost ones ego to a point where that person is engulfed and imprisoned in the vehemence of their own denial, which can ultimately bear fatal consequences. If one’s hopes and desires are innately destructive, then it logically follows that that one’s ambition is also innately destructive; be wary of one with an immense ambition.
Before affiliating the crew aboard the ship with Moby Dick, there are some comparisons to be made between them and ocean inhabitants in general. While living in the ocean environment the men begin to acquire the same survival techniques as some of the organisms in the ocean. The manner in which the whalers go about slaughtering the whales is much like the way that the sharks react to the whale carcass being held stagnate in the water. "....because such incalculable hosts of sharks gather round the moored carcass, that were he left so for six hours, say, on a stretch, little more that the skeleton would be visible by mornong"(Melville 328). These sharks are savages in the face of sustenance. In most cases the sheer size of the whale prohibits it from being captured and consumed by the sharks. The only chance that they have at these huge beasts is when they are slung along side the whaling ships. Once they have their opening to this plethora of meat it becomes a barbaric feeding frenzy. These actions of the sharks reflect the actions of the whalers when taking part in the slaying of a whale. "Soon ranging up by his flank, Stubb, firmly planting his knee in the clumsy cleat, darted dart after dart into the flying gish.
Victor Frankenstein is not the only person who has had an ambition. People who are not scientist also have ambitions. Some ambitions could be to become very rich, be elected into office, enter a certain university, etc. These ambitions are very difficult to attain. But if people really want to meet their goal, they will not stop until this is meet. For example, a politician who wants to be elected will do anything on his power to get voters to vote for him/her. This may require for him/her to spend a lot of money on the campaign. Another example is a student who wants to enter a certain university. This student will try to me...
The amount of involvement in one’s profession is another important theme in the two stories. Ahab takes his job as a whaler quite seriously. He is obsessed by the desire to destroy the whale that shattered his life. In contrast, the narrat...
After leaving Geneva to pursue his own ambitions in creating “a new species [that] would bless me [Victor] as its creator,” Victor Frankenstein returns after successfully creating a bringing his creation alive (Shelly 46). Written during a retreat in Switzerland by Mary Shelley, the daughter of radicals Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin, Frankenstein explores numerous observations about life and human nature. Observing that people are not inherently selfish and cruel but rather that these traits are products of circumstances, Shelly explores the how personal ambitions can disable strong morals and values of characters. Throughout Frankenstein, the consequences, often negative, of ambitions are explored thus making this 1818 novel a cautionary