Mary Shelley's Frankensteing

1432 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Short note on humanism

Frankenstein Frankenstein is among one of the most iconic novels written during the early 19th Century. This novel was written by a distinguished Mary Shelley and first published in the year 1818. Shelley’s story is considered to written before its time as it challenged many themes and ideas of humanism, natural science, ambition, abortion, etc. The novel itself sparked many controversies and debates as numerous different topics are challenged and discussed throughout the novel. Shelley flawlessly executes the story as she writes in a dramatic gothic drama tone and allows the reader to step into different views of the story by changing perspectives. Shelley’s main purpose of writing Frankenstein was to challenge the idea of being overly ambitious, define the importance of love and affection, and discusses the consequences of abortion. The novel begins with a series of letters written by Robert Walton, the captain of a ship bound for the tundra North Pole. Walton has set a goal for himself to reach the North Pole, a task that has never been accomplished before. This ruthless ambition to go somewhere where no man has ever been before sparks one of the first themes that are visited in the novel. The journey was successful early on in his travels; however the mission is soon jeopardized by the sheets of ice that halt any further movement of the ship, trapping him and his men in the frozen tundra. And as the story progresses, the reader can clearly identify the similarities between Walton’s pursuit to reach the North Pole and Victor Frankenstein’s desire to create life. Both pursuits of knowledge prove to be incredibly dangerous as Victor’s creation eventually results in the cruel destruction of everyone dear to him, and Walton fi... ... middle of paper ... ...g miseries will be extinct. I shall ascend my funeral pile triumphantly, and exult in the agony of the torturing flames. The light of that conflagration will fade away; my ashes will be swept into the sea by the winds. My spirit will sleep in peace; or if it thinks, it will not surely think thus. Farewell.” (197) These were the last words that were said by the creature. He tells Walton that he regrets being the creature that Victor had created him to be and that since his creator is now dead, he has no other reason to live and that he is ready for death. This ending is suitable for the novel; however I personally find that the end of the creature’s life and his life as a whole is tragic. His last speech to Walton was heartbreaking and gathered sympathy from the reading audience. Conclusively, if there was anything that I could change, I would alter the ending.

Show More
Related

  • Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    640 Words  | 2 Pages

    Frankenstien Many punishments for crimes are often given to innocent people. In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelly, there are several instances in which the punishment is given to an innocent person. Justine, a maid at the Frankenstein residence, was killed for a crime she did not commit. Felix, a character the Monster encounters, was exiled from his country, for helping an innocent man escape from jail. Lastly, Victor himself was jailed for a murder, which he did not commit.

    Read More

  • Themes in Frankenstien

    1247 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein focuses on several social and emotional themes throughout the novel. The consequence of obtaining too much knowledge for one’s good begins Victor Frankenstein on a canter to an early, lonely grave. The theme of isolation inevitably creates two dangerous monsters within Victor and his creation. Victor and the monster’s hunger for revenge results in the worsening of both parties involved, and the theme of prejudices against the unfamiliar exposes how society is sometimes blinded by its own judgments. Shelley’s ability to combine many important themes into a single novel displays why Frankenstein is household name.

    Read More

  • Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    1322 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hunter, J. P. (ed.), 1996, Mary Shelley Frankenstein. The 1818 Text, Contexts, Nineteenth-Century Responses, Modern Criticism, W.W. Norton & Company, New York

    Read More

  • Mary Shelleys Frankenstein

    994 Words  | 2 Pages

    BIRTH AND CREATION: One of the main issues in the novel, and also in Victor Frankenstein's mind. One of the reasons for creating his monster, Frankenstein was challenging nature's law of creation. That is, to create a being, male sperm and female egg must be united etc.. He was also fraught with the mystery of death and the life cycle. He created something in defiance of our understanding of birth and creation. However the similarity of Frankenstein's creation and a baby's creation is that both need to be held responsible for, and consequences dealt with, from the moment of birth. Frankenstein failed to do this with his creation.

    Read More

  • Ethical Issues in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    1228 Words  | 3 Pages

    In conclusion, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is considered to be a historical novel, based on scientific advancements. In this novel Shelley depicts her own definition of human nature, by showing the Creature and the ways that humans reacted to him. The novel also showed the differences between morality and science. The differences of science from when Shelley wrote the novel until today, including the foreshadowing of what would happen if we use science for the worse.

    Read More

  • Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

    1021 Words  | 3 Pages

    (187). Victor's search continued until he was almost near death. He then enlightens Robert Walton to seek happiness and stay away from the claws of ambition, the same ambition that stimulated him to create the monster. Once Victor gives his last bit of advice to man , he ends up dying.

    Read More

  • Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    524 Words  | 2 Pages

    Frankenstein begins aboard a boat with a stranger named Victor Frankenstein telling his story to man named Walton. After the death of Victor’s mother, Victor goes to a university where he secretly learns the secret to making new life. He creates a new creature, but he is horrified by its appearance. The monster runs away. Victor finds out his brother was murdered and believes his monster is responsible. Later, Victor encounters his monster. The monster tells Victor his story. He tells how humans run from him in fear and how he became attached to a human family that he secretly watched, but the family rejected him. He tells how he decided to get revenge on the human race and Frankenstein’s family, so he killed Victor’s brother. He then asks Victor to make him a mate so that he is not lonely, and Victor agrees. When Victor decides he cannot make another creature, the monster kills a friend of Victor and kills Victor’s wife on his wedding day. Victor devotes the rest of his life to trying to kill the monster. The reader finds out that Victor dies aboard the ship, and Walton finds the monster crying over Victor. The monster says he too is ready to die now and leaves.

    Read More

  • Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    544 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, the antagonist and protagonist changes throughout the course of the plot. In the earlier part of the novel nature is the protagonist and man is the antagonist, but as the plot progresses nature is forced to protect herself by becoming the antagonist and making man the protagonist. By the end of the novel both of the examples of man and nature’s antagonist characteristics lead to their inevitable destruction.

    Read More

  • Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    1416 Words  | 3 Pages

    to take over and play the role of god. In this essay I will be

    Read More

  • Frankenstein - Societal Changes in Film

    2487 Words  | 5 Pages

    While an entire book can be written on Ms. Shelley and her life, I am choosing to focus solely on her social and family contacts and issues surrounding her life that pertain to the writing of Frankenstein. These issues include her parents and lovers, the social crowd in which she entertained with, the contest and dream that lead to the story’s creation, the science that prompted the story to involve an unnatural creation of life, and some theories touching on the social and political agenda of the story.

    Read More

  • Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    1518 Words  | 4 Pages

    Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein is a Gothic novel that contains two genres, science fiction and Gothicism. The novel is a first person narrative that uses a framing technique, where a story is told within a story. Shelley gives the book a distinctive gothic mood tone by the use of her chosen setting which is dark and gloomy, by doing this it reflects the hideousness of the creature; the point of views helps towards the realism of the novel; and characterization able the reader to interact with the characters and feel sympathy or hatred towards each one. To entice the readers into her suspenseful novel Shelley uses foreshadowing. The narrative structure shows a wide range of perspectives rather than just one, by doing this it provides the reader with greater insight of the characters personalities. Symbolism and imagery evokes the readers’ emotions where sympathy is concerned. Shelley has entwined these techniques to produce a novel where the readers’ sympathy jumps from character to character and moral judgements are made due to the characters actions.

    Read More

  • Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    2239 Words  | 5 Pages

    Mary Shelley's Frankenstein We are first introduced to the creature when Frankenstein, his creator, is describing him. First he is described as something beautiful "limbs were in proportion" and "features were beautiful". However, his ability to self-contradict becomes apparent very quickly when he finishes his sentence by saying: "â?¦These luxuriance's only form a more horrid contrast with his watery eyesâ? ¦" With words like "shrivelled complexion" and "straight black lips", this gives the impression to the reader that firstly the creature does not look a human being and, secondly, he is hideous in Frankenstein's eyes.

    Read More

  • How Does Shelley Use Power In Frankenstein

    717 Words  | 2 Pages

    The monster and his creator, Victor Frankenstein, in Frankenstein are not characters to be confined into one trope and, by playing on the complexities of their nature and the readers’ impression of these characters, Shelley creates palpable tension and foreshadowing throughout the pages. Playing upon perceptions of what is right and wrong and the characters’ dynamics, the author has illustrated a key shift in the narrative.

    Read More

  • Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    1386 Words  | 3 Pages

    The ship of an English explorer, Walton, is trapped in the ice and is unable

    Read More

  • Dangerous Knowledge In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    762 Words  | 2 Pages

    In her book entitled “Frankenstein”, Mary Shelley strongly opposes the progress enriched by the Industrial Age in the nineteenth century and develops her argument throughout it to show the consequences led by the thirst for knowledge and discoveries. She demonstrates a person can dramatically change due to the danger he is exposed when questioning supernatural forces and experimenting with science, which may play an enormous role on the moral, ethical, and religious aspects of his life later on. With this intention, Shelley portrays the three main characters: Robert Walton, Victor Frankenstein, and the creature to exhibit the theme of dangerous knowledge that becomes more observable as the story is progressing. At first she studies their desires

    Read More

More about Mary Shelley's Frankensteing

Open Document