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How does fiction reduce morality
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Consequences of Victor playing God
The cost of Victor Frankenstein playing God does not result so well for him. So
Victor has an obsessive drive to create life and it forces him into secret horrors. “Who
shall conceive the horrors of my secret toil i dabbed among the unhallowed damps of
the grave or tortured the living animal to animate the lifeless clay?” Now of days with all
these technological advancements, there will be people that have the willpower to mimic
God. It is called genetic engineering, cloning, or duplicating. All of these rapid scientific
growth of human organisms will result in human consequences. Some people would
even begin to question humanity and what it means to be human, just like people
question science
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The book follows events after Victor's
conception of a creature to show that using science to play or even try to act like God in
doing dangerous procedures can lead to major
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In this situation it is Victor’s
call whether his own creation, another attempt of Victor playing God. Victor intends to
murder the creature with the intentions of saving other innocent peoples lives, however,
as Victor proceeds with this mission, other humans may be endangered.
Playing God in reality may definitely include the loss of a human life as a
consequence, even if the intention was for good to create, reinstall, or preserve and
protect lives. An example of one playing God is what Victor’s actions resemble.
Although Victor successfully brought life to a lifeless form, this resulted in the loss of
multiple lives, destruction upon the people in the area, so the cons definitely outweighed
the pros for the creation; Victor’s attempts to play God resulted in the death of many
loved ones, himself, and his creation that is responsible for all of these tragic events.
Victor’s intentions had no good nature, however, the results of his attempts are
undesirable and
...or was not thinking of others in his actions, but only of himself. He did not consider the tumult the abnormally large creature could cause in the world, nor what the feelings of the monster would be towards him if he abandoned him. Victor also did not contemplate the safety of his friends, as he had the chance to stop the creature’s misdoings but failed to do so, risking the life of his friends. Therefore, Victor was a selfish being, who only concerned himself with his wishes and never evaluated the situation of his loved ones, ultimately causing their demise. The misfortunate events that occurred through Victor’s life could have been prevented, and also discontinued when Victor had the chance. However, Victor’s irresponsibility overcame these opportunities and he in turn, caused misfortunes for himself as well as his loved ones.
Once the process of life has been initiated, individuals have a lot to consider. When Victor begins creating the first creature he is excited at the possibility of bringing his creation to life. He has no thoughts of destroying the creature at this time. However, once the creature is brought to life, and Victor realizes the monstrosity he has created, Victor wishes to abandon the creature.
Although humans have the tendency to set idealistic goals to better future generations, often the results can prove disastrous, even deadly. The tale of Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, focuses on the outcome of one man's idealistic motives and desires of dabbling with nature, which result in the creation of horrific creature. Victor Frankenstein was not doomed to failure from his initial desire to overstep the natural bounds of human knowledge. Rather, it was his poor parenting of his progeny that lead to his creation's thirst for the vindication of his unjust life. In his idealism, Victor is blinded, and so the creation accuses him for delivering him into a world where he could not ever be entirely received by the people who inhabit it. Not only failing to foresee his faulty idealism, nearing the end of the tale, he embarks upon a final journey, consciously choosing to pursue his creation in vengeance, while admitting he himself that it may result in his own doom. The creation of an unloved being and the quest for the elixir of life holds Victor Frankenstein more accountable for his own death than the creation himself.
Everything starts to change once Victors ambitions become his life. He leaves to study at Ingolstadt, where his destiny begins to unfold. This is when Victor’s isolation begins. The search for the secrets of life consumes him for many years until he thinks he has found it. For months, he assembles what he needs for his creation to come alive.
Over two centuries ago, Mary Shelley created a gruesome tale of the horrific ramifications that result when man over steps his bounds and manipulates nature. In her classic tale, Frankenstein, Shelley weaves together the terrifying implications of a young scientist playing God and creating life, only to be haunted for the duration of his life by the monster of his own sordid creation. Reading Shelley in the context of present technologically advanced times, her tale of monstrous creation provides a very gruesome caution. For today, it is not merely a human being the sciences are lusting blindly to bring to life, as was the deranged quest of Victor Frankenstein, but rather to generate something potentially even more dangerous and horrifying with implications that could endanger the entire world and human population.
At the age of seventeen, victor leaves his family and attends a university at Ingolstadt. Like a mad scientist, and to the knowledge of no one, he locks himself away in his apartment and after two years of obsessive labor he creates his monster. Even during this time of following his passion, Victor is miserable and suffers from illness. “and now every day showed me more plainly how well I had succeeded. But my enthusiasm was checked by my anxiety, and I appeared rather like one doomed by slavery to toil in the mines, or any other unwholesome trade, than an artist occupied by his favourite employment. Every night I was oppressed by a slow fever, and I became nervous to a most painful degree; the fall of a leaf startled me, and I shunned my fellow-creatures as if ...
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
...he window and see his own creation killing his wife. As a result of all the deaths in Victor’s family, his father kills himself because he cannot stand all the grief that he has been struck with. His death is a result of the hideous monster that his own flesh and blood created, but he will never know that because Victor will not tell anyone.
A new species would bless [him] as its creator and source, many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to [him]” (Shelley 55). Life and death are natural things, but Victor thinks that he can “break through” them and create life. He alone would be the person to “pour a torrent of light into their dark world,” as if he was God, ruling over all of the world. This shows Victor’s lack of respect towards life and how he intends to overcome the boundaries set by nature.
Jürgen Barkhoff said the want of man to play God is “as old as man himself,” so it makes sense that, much like Walton, destiny set Frankenstein’s path at a young age (Barkhoff 39). He becomes interested in studying the ways in which the world worked, first with alchemy, then later on in life a curiosity blooms in the fields of both mathematics and natural sciences. His unmatchable interest in learning leads him to declare, “natural philosophy is the genius that has regulated my fate,” setting forth the events that would lead him to attempt and create life (40). In doing so, Frankenstein hopes that he will be looked up to, not only by society at large, but mostly by his creation, who he believes will “bless [him] as a creator and source” (55). The thought of possible disaster does not cross his mind, that by creating life, he would actually court death. A surprising fact, due in part that he has seen such a thing happen in his lifetime. When his Elizabeth falls ill and is on her deathbed, Frankenstein and the rest of his family attempt and stop his mother from visiting Elizabeth’s bedside. Caroline ignores the warnings and visits her dying child. Elizabeth returns to full health, but Caroline is not so fortunate, as “the consequences of this imprudence were fatal” (44). Had Frankenstein been a bit more
From the onset of Victor’s youth, his earliest memories are those of “Curiosity, earnest research to learn the hidden laws of nature, gladness akin to rapture, as they were unfolded to me, are among the earliest sensations I can remember” (ch. 4) This is the first example of obsession that we see in the novel. This drive to learn the ‘hidden’ laws of nature is the original driving force that sets the plot in motion. Without this, Victor would have never embarked on his unholy quest to overcome mortality, thus leading to his creation of his monster.
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.
To most people, and belief/moral systems, life and death are not things to be taken lightly but more importantly, not things to be messed with. Death is believed, by some, to be where souls go to rest and should not be disturbed. Victor violates this example of ethics and moral beliefs. One of the reasons ethical lines are crossed in this specific story is, Victor wants to create a being that would essentially see him as a God, or higher being.
The confrontation between the two demonstrates Victor 's weaknesses as an individual. Although Victor is the Creature 's creator, he refers to his creation as an "abhorred monster" (Shelley 68) and is willing to "extinguish the spark which he so negligently bestowed" (Shelley 68) upon him. This demonstrates Victor 's lack of responsibility. His goal was to create life, essentially to play God. Once the monster began to murder those dearest to Victor, he failed to take responsibility for the creature 's actions. Another weakness in Victor 's character is revealed through the dialogue exchanged between creator and creation. Instead of calmly trying to reason with the Creature, Victor lashes back at the Creature. He even suggests that the two "try their strength in a fight in which one must fall." (Shelley 69) The monster, however, maturely and eloquently urges Victor 's "compassion to be moved" (Shelley69). Because Victor is full of "rage and horror" he wants to destroy his own creation even though victor is playing god in recreation of humanity. They both are to blame due to the fact that Victor created the creature as well as the signs of irresponsibility between the two for the Creature killing people and for Victor trying to recreate
Victor creates it for himself out of selfishness. His interest in science was sparked when he saw lightning that night, and he never looked back. He does not think twice about the consequences anyone would or could suffer. He creates this being exactly how he wants to create him. “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. Unable to endure the aspect of the being I had created, I rushed out of the room…unable to compose my mind to sleep (Shelley