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The influence of Frankenstein on culture and science
The influence of Frankenstein on culture and science
The duality of creation in frankenstein
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Creator versus Created: Who Owes Who? Comparing two works of literature is like Calculus. The graph of a wave represents the intertwining of the two works: the trough symbolizes the minimum, opposed to the crest, which symbolizes the maximum. Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley, is the minimum, as the creator’s actions onto the created are minimal in quantity and quality. In turn, Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro, is the maximum, as the creators’ actions onto the created are maximal. The two novels are united in the argument that the creator holds a responsibility to nurture the created, and the created hold a responsibility of filial piety to the creator. When joined, the reader can see that the creators playing god is an immoral and unnatural task. Although he may have lustfully pursued an act taboo to society, the end result was equivalent; utter disgust. Victor had worked long, “. . . for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body (Shelley 35).” Victor abandoned family and friends to work on this project. At the moment of finishing his creation, “. . . horror and disgust filled my heart. Unable to endure the aspect of the being I had created, I rushed out of the room. . .(Shelley 35).” Victor quickly developed a societal attitude upon sight of his creation, soon abandoning it. This abandonment is the first instance of Victor’s failure to nurture his creation, and initialized his cycle of neglect upon the
First, Before the monster is created Victor says that he hopes this creation would bless him as his creator, and that the creature would be excellent nature and would be beautiful. After the creature is created Shelley creates sympathy for him by Victor’s description of him in a unique yet horrific way, “he’s ‘gigantic,” “deformed,” “yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath” this makes the creature abhorrent to typical humans. When thinking of the descriptions together, Shelley has created a vivid, unnatural image of the monster in the mind’s eyes. The language Shelley uses is powerful and emotive “shall I create another like yourself, whose joints wickedness
Shelley characterizes Victor in a way that he acts on his impulses and not with rationality. As a result, Victor does not take the time to teach or talk to his creation. This action leads to his downfall as his loved one’s are killed by the Creature taking revenge on Victor for leaving him to fend for himself. Victor’s actions have consequences, hence why all his loved one’s are murdered because of his instinct to leave out of fear and safety. Shelley proves that our id demands immediate gratification of needs and thus, is in control of our actions.
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...
Hogsette, David S. "Metaphysical Intersections In Frankenstein: Mary Shelley's Theistic Investigation Of Scientific Materialism And Transgressive Autonomy." Christianity And Literature 60.4 (2011): 531-560. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 9 May 2012.
Never Let Me Go. Not a modern promethean Since the beginning of time man has been infatuated with the idea of pushing the human body to its limits by the use of science. The Space program is the best example of science helping humans accomplish things never before thought possible. In the age of technology and scientific advancement, ideas that once seemed like science fiction, for example, people walking on the moon, are now a reality. In order to push human development, ethics and morals have been pushed to the side.
In the novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley intertwines an intricate web of allusions through her characters' insatiable desires for knowledge. Both the actions of Frankenstein, as well as his creature allude to John Milton?s epic poem Paradise Lost. The legendary Fall of Adam and Eve introduced the knowledge of good and evil into a previously immaculate world. In one split second sin was birthed, and the perfection of the earth was swept away, leaving anguish and iniquity in its ramification. The troubles of Victor Frankenstein began with his quest for knowledge, and, end where both pieces end: death.
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.
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.
Victor was born into a happy family and they lived in Geneva. His parents then adopted Elizabeth, whom he immediately felt a strong sense of possession towards. At a young age, Victor was always obsessed with alchemy and constantly divulged in experiments to prove the words of the mad men who wrote the ancient texts. When his mother died after her attempt to care for Elizabeth, Victor was sent to Ingolstadt where his interest swayed from alchemy to modern knowledge. In Ingolstadt, he became fascinated with the human body: “One of the phenomena which had peculiarly attracted [his] attention was the structure of the human frame, and, indeed, any animal endued with life” (36). Learning from his professor M. Krempe, he decided to delve into the discovery of “the secrets of heaven and earth” (23).
Through the theme of birth and creation, Shelley criticises Victor not only for creating the new being, but also for abandoning it when it comes to life. Victor first wishes to create the being because he thinks:
This truly is remarkable, two novels of different time periods, with characters of startling resemblance. God and Frankenstein's creations stunningly resemble each other. The monster relates to Satan, Adam, and Eve. Victor quotes, "You may render me the most miserable of men, but you shall never make me base in my own eyes," this is when the monster asks for a companion, Victor refuses. The monster also shows that he will go to any extent to be happy and complete vengeance when he goes on a murder spree.
In Frankenstein, Shelley creates two very complex characters. They embody the moral dilemmas that arise from the corruption and disturbance of the natural order of the world. When Victor Frankenstein is attending school, he becomes infatuated with creating a living being and starts stealing body parts from morgues around the university. After many months of hard work, he finishes one stormy night bringing his creation to life. However, “now that [Victor] had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled [his] heart” (Chambers). Right after Victor realizes what he has done, he falls into deep depression and must be nursed back to health by his friend. Victor spends the rest of the story facing consequences and moral problems from creating unnatural life. When he realizes that the ‘monster’ has killed his brother, even though no one believes him, he feels responsible for his brother’s murder because he was responsible for the existence of the ‘monster’. Also feeling responsible, Victor...
In Frankenstein, Victor is extremely excited about his creation, but once the monster becomes animated with life, he is horrified and abandons his work. Dr. Frankenstein, upon seeing the reality of what he had created, had a moment of realization, ? . . . when those muscles were rendered capable of motion, it became a thing such as Dante could not have conceived? (Shelley 57). In the previous quotation, we, the reader, see Victor?s utter shock and abandonment of the project. When Victor notices the creature?s muscles twitching, his eyes are opened to what he has really done: ?Oh! No mortal could support the horror of that countenance? (Shelley 57). He had not thought about the consequences of creating a being, only the actual task.
Many readers have sympathised with Frankenstein’s creation, the unnamed monster, because he is badly treated by most people who he comes across. Victor created the monster with dead body parts that he got though grave robbing once he got all of the parts it took him 2 years to build a body. Victor is very obsessed with his work because he would not let any one help him or see him his fiancée is very worried he might be doing something he would regret.
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.