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Character of Victor in Frankenstein
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What gives a person the traits to be a hero? A Hero can be defined a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal. In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley there is a man by the name of Victor Frankenstein, who is extremely smart in the scientific field. Although he is deeply saddened and struck by grief when his mother dies. During that moment in his life motivated him in a way that he wishes to be able to bring dead people back. With much hard work and dedication Frankenstein does accomplish this deed. Essentially Frankenstein is Shelley's, ” Victor was fascinated by science and was influenced by alchemy and what was known as the old science.” (College) Although the question is whether or not Frankenstein is really a hero. Many may see Frankenstein as a hero, but it's quite clear that he is not. Frankenstein wasn’t called to be a hero because he was selfish, he tried to play God and was irresponsible. …show more content…
It stands to reason that a hero can't be selfish, such as Victor Frankenstien.
Everything that Victor did was for his self-satisfaction. He was the one that created the monster and the reason he did it was all for himself. “is a well-intentioned man who strives to recreate human life in order to alleviate his own loneliness.’(Murray)This basically shows Frankenstein's Selfishness was driven by his motivation and ambition. Victor was the farthest from a hero in his acts of selfishness, he was fully aware that he was doing could end in disaster, but he did it anyway. He wanted to create a monster that he knew could be good or the worst creation ever made, he was fully aware of the consciousness, but although his want for self-power was too strong. Frankenstein wanted something he never should've had. Frankenstein wanted to know and understand how to bring life back so we wouldn’t have to live in
mourn. Next he tries to play God and that is one of the biggest thing . Frankenstein crossed a line that he obviously should not have. The line Frankenstein crossed was this one; “Upon completing his creation he really noticed it for the first time, not just the beauty he was trying to create but the ugliness of death that lingered around the creations eyes.” (Anthologyoi) Of course Frankenstein was sad about all the deaths he had faced in his famiy, but that was no reason for him to have the power to decide if life should be in control of man. Frankenstein had no right to give life to anything or take I from others. That was not his place to play the sky boss. Frankenstein though that he was the one calling the shots and that's why horrible things happened to him. When the time comes and God asks you to come home, there is nothing you can do. Lastly irresponsibility was Frankenstein’s horrible trait. He created a man slaughtering machine. “Shelley's novel focuses on an aspect of the Prometheus myth typically overlooked in the more traditional version of the Titan's defiant martyrdom, namely, an offspring's need for sustained guidance, influence, pity, and support from its creator.” (Hustis) The point being made in this quote is often times the child is not to blame, but instead the two makers of the child. Although at first the monster wasn't necessarily a bad guy in fact, he tried to help a poor boy, although the townspeople didn't see him is helping, caring, and an accomplishment and chase the monster out of town. So it's clear that at one point in time the monster did have good intentions, although Frankenstein's lack of responsibility for keeping his word. Not liking and caring about his creation caused the monster to turn into a killing machine. The monster isn't necessarily to blame, its Frankenstein for not being responsible for his actions. Had he been a more responsible person and take on the responsibility of his monster and treated him like one of his own, the whole story would be different. Frankenstein should have taught the monster a sort of higher meaning that is to tell the difference between right and wrong To conclude, one can see that Frankenstein is definitely not a hero in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Victor Frankenstein was very selfish when he took on the task to create the monster, and wasn't looking out for anyone but himself. As said by Bond the problem was, “Essentially the treatment of his progeny” (Bond) Frankenstein was very irresponsible to create the monster and he did not teach the monster any morals, instead he left his creature to fend for himself and to be treated bad. He abandoned him without giving him any idea of what was right and wrong. Lastly Frankenstein tried to play God, which is where he screwed up the worst. There is only one God and he has the right to control life not Frankenstein. All these qualities that Victor Frankenstein possessed and Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein we're definitely not the qualities of a hero. Although it is highly questionable how the story would have changed Frankenstein didn’t have the ambition he had.
Victor Frankenstein may be the leading character in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, but a hero he is not. He is self-centered and loveless, and there is nothing heroic about him. There is a scene in Chapter twenty-four where Captain Walton is confronted by his crew to turn southwards and return home should the ice break apart and allow them the way. Frankenstein rouses himself and finds the strength to argue to the Captain that they should continue northwards, or suffer returning home "with the stigma of disgrace marked on your brows." He quite obviously has alterior motives and if he were not the eloquent, manipulative creature he so egotistically accuses his creature of being, he might not have moved the Captain and the men so much that they are blind to the true source of his passion. Unfortunately for Frankenstein, the crew, (however "moved") stand firm in their position. Yet the things he says in his motivational speech are prime examples of the extent to which Frankenstein is blind to his own faults and yet will jump at the chance to harangue others. He is so self-centered that his lack of interaction and love for others after his experiment has been completed, would barely qualify him as a person, if the difference between being human and being a person lies in the ability to have relationships with others.
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor and the monster go through a journey filled with love, betrayal, and ambition. However, there are key differences between the two of them. Victor leads a good life, but has an inner spark within him that leads him to rebel against the normal world and seek glory. The monster starts off with derelict beginnings and simply wishes for the basic needs that every human gets to experience such as love, affection, and friendship. Eventually, they both face problems, and as a result, devise evil plans, and yet their motivations and rationale cause the reader to have more sympathy for the monster than Frankenstein.
In Frankenstein, everyone treats Victor’s creation like a monster, including Frankenstein himself. This leads to the creation accepting that title and going on a murder spree. His creation says “When I reflect on his crimes and malice, my hatred and revenge burst all bounds of moderation” (69). Victor’s creation shows that he did not ask to be created, and his existence is miserable.
As the monster is abused by Victor is loses its compassion, and only seeks revenge. Victor, who never had any compassion for his monster, wants to get vengeance for the people who his monster killed. The monster has compassion at first, but the more Frankenstein tries to seek revenge on him, the less compassion he has. Frankenstein was shown compassion all his life because of his loving parents and their money so he does not have any compassion. Both the monster and Victor try to get revenge on each other, but neither succeeds. Overall, Mary Shelley is trying to prove that vengeance can take the place of compassion, but vengeance is pointless.
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...
After bringing life to something seemingly horrible, Victor Frankenstein reveals his personality of avoidance and arrogance. Instead of facing the creature he created, he runs away from the problem. His motivations for the experiment vary, but there is one clear one that he even admits. "The world," he says, "was to me a secret which I desired to divine" (Shelley 18). Victor tells us that he's curious, and more importantly that he's always been this way. Victor has been raised in a very loving family. His father and mother were kind parents who loved all of their children, and even adopted some children. Victor, however, grows up a little indulged and perhaps because of this, he is selfish. He is stubborn and unyielding about many things. For
Although some critics say that the monster Victor has created is to blame for the destruction and violence that follow the experiment, it is Victor who is the responsible party. First, Victor, being the scientist, should have known how to do research on the subject a lot more than he had done. He obviously has not thought of the consequences that may result from it such as the monster going crazy, how the monster reacts to people and things, and especially the time it will take him to turn the monster into the perfect normal human being. This is obviously something that would take a really long time and a lot of patience which Victor lacks. All Victor really wants is to be the first to bring life to a dead person and therefore be famous. The greed got to his head and that is all he could think about, while isolating himself from his friends and family. In the play of Frankenstein, when Victor comes home and sets up his lab in the house, he is very paranoid about people coming in there and finding out what he is doing. At the end of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Victor says:
If Victor had stayed around and showed the monster the real world, he might have not have went on to perform violent actions. This portrays Victor as a selfish character and gives more of an insight on his personal life. As a child, Victor is only interested in furthering his own knowledge and not worried about anyone else. He spent much of his time “drawing the picture of [his] early days... when [he] would account to [himself] for the birth of that passion which afterwards ruled [his] destiny” (Shelley 34), or otherwise a magnificent creation that would change his future. When constructing the Monster, he put all of his relatives in the back of his mind, and only focused on his own success and victory. This further explains the theme of being selfless and only doing certain things that will benefit
After Frankenstein discovered the source of human life, he became wholly absorbed in his experimental creation of a human being. Victor's unlimited ambition, his desire to succeed in his efforts to create life, led him to find devastation and misery. "...now that I have finished, the beauty of the dream had vanished..." (Shelley 51). Victor's ambition blinded him to see the real dangers of his project. This is because ambition is like a madness, which blinds one self to see the dangers of his actions. The monster after realizing what a horror he was demanded that victor create him a partner. "I now also began to collect the materials necessary for my new creation, and this was like torture..." (Shelley 169). Victor's raw ambition, his search for glory, has left him. His eyes have been opened to see his horrible actions, and what have and could become of his creations. As a result, Victor has realized that he is creating a monster, which could lead to the downfall of mankind. His choice is simple, save his own life or save man.
He toils endlessly in alchemy, spending years alone, tinkering. However, once the Creature is brought to life, Frankenstein is no longer proud of his creation. In fact, he’s appalled by what he’s made and as a result, Frankenstein lives in a perpetual state of unease as the Creature kills those that he loves and terrorizes him. Victor has realized the consequences of playing god. There is irony in Frankenstein’s development, as realized in Victor’s desire to destroy his creation. Frankenstein had spent so much effort to be above human, but his efforts caused him immediate regret and a lifetime of suffering. Victor, if he had known the consequences of what he’s done, would have likely not been driven by his desire to become better than
People are defined by their environment and how they react to their environment. Environments that appear to be perfect on the outside may very well be the cause of misery in man's life because one must be able to cope with their environment. Victor could not cope with his environment and lashed out at the world by trying to attain power. However, things do not always go as planned, and sometime this may be beneficial. One should not judge by external appearance alone. It is what is on the inside that counts. Had Victor Frankenstein been taught ethics such as this, his life, as well as the lives of those he loved, could have been saved. Also, the life of the creature could have been free of pain and hatred. The monster is a symbol for the outcasts and rejected of society. He is also a reflection of Victor, meaning that Victor was also considered an outcast. The reality of an animated object reflecting something that one does not want to see, combined with being alone in the world, is enough to drive man mad. The monster, in some ways, creates a harsh reality for Victor. Either love what you create or be destroyed by it.
It is when Frankenstein realizes how different he is to other people that he realizes his uniqueness and individualism. “I was, besides, endued with a figure hideously deformed and loathsome; I was not even of the same nature as man. I was more agile than they and could subsist upon a coarser diet; I bore the extremes of heat and cold with less injury to my frame; my stature far exceeded theirs. 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?” (Frankenstein, 150). While Frankenstein is by no means a human, he is made up of human parts and still craves love and affection. His rejection from everyone he sees, including his creator makes him feel like an outcast. It was because of Victor that Frankenstein couldn’t bear to be who he was made to be and felt a need to run into isolation. Victor not only created a monster physically, but also mentally turned him into someone he didn’t have to be. Both Frankenstein and Victor struggle with balancing their personal wants and needs with societies expectations and the people around them. That is one of the true struggles of being one person living in a world of many, you have to do what makes you happy while making sure it doesn’t effect other peoples happiness negatively. Victor doesn’t do a good job of
Victor Frankenstein, the main character in Mary Shelley’s novel, is the creator of the monster. When Victor created the monster, he believed he created the monster for the betterment of humankind, but he actually created the monster because he desired to prove to the world that an average human can do Godly acts. The desire to create the monster goes back to Victor’s childhood. As a young kid, Victor’s passions always lied in science and chemistry and in college; he became obsessed with the idea of creating life out of inanimate objects. He then decided to specialize in Alchemy. Within Shelley’s book Frankenstein, Victor said:
As a romantic novel Victor is responsible, because he abandoned his creation. As an archetype novel, Victor is the villain, because he was trying to play god. Finally, Victor as a Gothic novel, Victor is at fault, because, he and the creature are two different parts of the same person. If Frankenstein is looked at as a romantic novel, Victor, not the creature, is truly the villain. When Victor created the creature, he didn't take responsibility for it. He abandoned it, and left it to fend for itself. It is unfair to bring something into the world, and then not teach it how to survive. The creature was miserable, and just wanted a friend or someone to talk to. On page 115, the creature said, "Hateful day when I received life! Accursed the creator. Why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in disgust." This line shows the agony the monster was in, because of how he looked when he was created which led to even Victor running away from him. If Victor didn't run, he could have taught the monster and made his life happy. After the creature scared the cottagers away he said, "I continued for the remainder of the day in my hovel in a state of utter ...
He created a life, and then spontaneously he quickly decided to run away from his creation. Victor’s actions after creating what he created were really irresponsible, and did not correctly took care of the circumstance’s he put himself in. The creation was never actually evil, but he felt abandoned by what could had been called his father. Frankenstein, the monster, was only a seeker for companionship. He strongly desired to feel loved, rather than abandoned. Society’s evil behavior toward the monster is what altered the monster’s conduct and followed to how he acted.