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Frankenstein and the pursuit of knowledge
Frankenstein and the pursuit of knowledge
Main themes in frankenstein
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In the gothic novel Frankenstein, humans have a bottomless, motivating, but often dangerous thirst for knowledge. This idea was clearly illustrated throughout the novel by Mary Shelley. The three main characters in the novel shared the thirst for knowledge that later lead to their downfall. In the novel knowledge is a huge theme that led to atrocious life to anyone that tried to gain it. Knowledge is hazardous; therefore, I support Dr. Frankenstein’s warning about knowledge being dangerous and that knowledge shouldn’t be gained.
Knowledge played a huge role in the life of the creature that affected him later. Dr. Frankenstein’s warning about knowledge being dangerous is valid and can be supported in multiple of ways. To elaborate, the creature went searching for expertise, leading to a very miserable life and destruction. The creature found love in the De Lacey’s which motivated him to show himself. Unfortunately, the De Lacey’s rejected the creature. The creature didn’t give up by asking Dr. Frankenstein for a mate since no human accepts him. Dr. Frankenstein de...
Knowledge can be the key to success and can lead people to happier life. However, there are some instances that you can not gain any more knowledge because of how it would change your whole life. The drive of wanting more and more knowledge is best portrayed through two well -known books. In Mary Shelley’s, Frankenstein, and in Daniel Keyes, Flowers for Algernon, both the creature and Charlie are ostracized by society because they are different from everyone else but this distinction gave way for distinct fallouts because of their quest for knowledge beyond their reach to achieve happiness.
In the world today there is a drive to evolve and improve life through science and its findings. When looking at the good of a society, the people have to decide when the line between right and wrong is drawn. In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, she proves that the possession of knowledge can lead to destructive forces through Victor Frankenstein’s monster’s journey. The events that lead to Victor’s monster’s destructive path is when he comes into contact with the cottagers, he murders Victor’s brother, and runs away after destroying Victor’s life.
In my opinion, Victor should note also that knowledge itself does not hurt, however the application of the knowledge is where it will hurt, when someone will act and use the knowledge in some way, such as in the example of nuclear energy. Used beneficially, it provides great benefits, such as in power generation. But the bad side, nuclear weapons, is one example of a "Frankenstein monster" unleashed upon the world due to man's uncontrolled passions. So Shelley's message to the reader is that knowledge without morality will lead to suffering. Sadly, man has not yet learned this and it will take much time for this message of Frankenstein to settle in.
In conclusion, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein shows readers how irresponsibility and the excessive need for knowledge can cause suffering among others as well as oneself. Victor never intends to cause such harm; however, he is not cautious and observant with his actions, which ultimately leads to his classification as a tragic hero. The desire to learn is most definitely a wonderful trait to have, as long as one’s knowledge doesn’t reach the extent that Victor Frankenstein’s unfortunately does.
As Frankenstein is enroute to his pursuit of gaining more knowledge, he states, “I wished, as it were, to procrastinate all that related to my feelings of affection until the great object, which swallowed up every habit of my nature, should be completed” (Shelley 41). Frankenstein’s decision in allowing his intellectual ambitions to overpower everything else in his life leads him to be blinded to the dangers of creating life. He isolates himself from his society when creating the monster, letting himself be immersed in his creation while being driven by his passions, allowing nobody to be near him. The fact that he allows this creation of a monster to consume his total being reveals how blinded he is to the immorality of stepping outside the boundaries of science and defying nature. His goal in striving to achieve what wants to in placing man over nature makes him lose his sense of self as all he is focused on is the final product of his creation. He starts to realize his own faults as after he has created the monster, he becomes very ill and states, “The form of the monster on whom I had bestowed existence was forever before my eyes, and I raved incessantly concerning him” (48). His impulsive decision to make the monster leads him to abhorring it as it does not turn out to be what he has expected. Because he chooses to isolate himself in creating the
Mary Shelley’s novel arises several questions relevant to the present day. A question that arises from the novel is whether man is born evil or made evil from his life experiences. The debate on whether how far man should pursue knowledge exists today as well as other questions challenged in the novel therefore “Frankenstein” is a popular novel at present as much as it was in the past.
The philosophical root of Frankenstein seems to be the empiricist theory first promoted by John Locke in An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. In that essay, the mind is concieved as beginning as a blank slate or tabula rasa, upon which the various impressions gained by the outside world shape the personality. According to this strict empiricism, the mind contains no innate basis for the basic prerequisites for human socialization: a social code and/or morality with empathetic roots. As a result of the monster's isolation, he is unable to sympathize with human beings and loses respect for other intelligent life. Even though the monster has good intentions, his beneficence is subverted by the negative and anti-social reactions he receives from the people he encounters.
Education is a tool to advance an individual and a society; however, education can become a means to gain power when knowledge is used to exercise control over another. In Frankenstein, knowledge becomes the downfall of both Victor Frankenstein and the Monster. The novel explores the consequent power struggle between Victor Frankenstein and his creation, the dichotomy of good and evil, and the contrast between intellectual and physical power. Finding themselves in mirroring journeys, Victor Frankenstein and the Monster are locked in a struggle for dominance. Through these two characters, Mary Shelley explores the consequences of an egotistical mindset and of using knowledge to exercise power over others.
Mary Shelley's Attitude to Knowledge in Frankenstein Mary Shelley is a gothic writer, who (through this novel 'Frankenstein') has been able to create a hybrid form of gothic literature, a gothic/horror genre which allows Shelley to convey a more realistic terror, one that resides within the psyche instead of a form outside , an example would be Ghosts. Her knowledge on different subjects allows her to create a realistic world in the novel, possibly even criticising her own husband Percy Shelley, who searched for knowledge and in doing so became egotistical and self obsessed like a true romantic just like Frankenstein and other romantic characters like him. Shelley was always surrounded by intelligent people, which were mainly her father and his inner circle that also included her husband. These people encouraged Shelley to educate herself and develop her own opinions. Shelley found the gothic genre a perfect place in which she could air her thoughts, such as a critical view of certain powers in her society and imply things about the industrial revolution through subtle remarks in the novel.
The desire of extensive knowledge is first seen through Victor Frankenstein. At the beginning of the novel, a young boy named Victor grows up in Geneva “deeply smitten with the thirst for knowledge” (20). The way Victor sees it, the world is a secret which he yearns to discover. His fascination in the secrets of the world drive him to study natural philosophy and chemistry at the University of Ingolstadt. Victor begins to further study discoveries of ancient scientists and is not satisfied with their knowledge. He says, “..I at once gave up my former occupations, set down natural history and all its progeny as a deformed and abortive creation, and entertained the greatest disdain for a would-be science which could never even step within the threshold of real knowledge” (24). Victor seeks to build upon previous discoveries and form new ones that go beyond the perimeter of mankind. Shelley shows how Victor’s obsession with knowledge of the unknown takes over his life and does not let anything or anyone stop him. Victor’s quest to overlook the natural limits of human knowledge brings about the creation of a monster that destroys his life and kills him. The monster he constructs does not reflect his o...
Frankenstein is a book written by Mary Shelley in 1818, that is revolved around a under privileged scientist named Victor Frankenstein who manages to create a unnatural human-like being. The story was written when Shelley was in her late teen age years, and was published when she was just twenty years old. Frankenstein is filled with several different elements of the Gothic and Romantic Movement of British literature, and is considered to be one of the earliest forms of science fiction. Frankenstein is a very complicated and complex story that challenges different ethics and morals on the apparent theme of dangerous knowledge. With the mysterious experiment that Dr. Victor Frankenstein conducted, Shelly causes her reader to ultimately ask themselves what price is too high to pay to gain knowledge. It is evident that Shelly allows the reader to sort of “wonder” about the reaction they would take when dealing with a situation such as the one implemented throughout the book.
Knowledge of Religion and Frankenstein "It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer (Blackstone). " This quote explains how a proper court case is viewed, but what if there was a confession? In Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, that’s exactly what happens to Justine: some planted evidence and then a false confession. In her book, it forces us to complete the role of God in a struggle for justice. Mary Shelly’s
Victor Frankenstein’s scientific endeavor, Robert Walton’s search for the North Pole, and the creature’s kind heart but scary features creates this whole theme of dangerous knowledge. The search for knowledge is encouraged and at times pushed by others. In Frankenstein is shows quest can lead to too much knowledge and drive him or her to his fate.
Knowledge is an addictive drug. If administered in controlled dosages, it has the ability to cure a critical illness; however, if taken whimsically and in excess, it acts as a consumptive toxin that can result in powerful suffering or even death. If this is the case, then what makes knowledge so desirable? Throughout their texts, Aeschylus and Shelley depict numerous characters in mad pursuit of knowledge, like Victor’s creature from Frankenstein or Io from Prometheus Bound. Yet, one after another, characters are propelled into an existence of utter despair because of their unquenchable thirst for new enlightenment. Prometheus Bound and Frankenstein demonstrate that the pursuit of knowledge often results in grave suffering, physically and mentally; yet, Shelley and Aeschylus’ characters cannot abandon their chases, as knowledge provides the ultimate form of individual glory, power, and freedom.
By definition, knowledge is the fact or condition of knowing something with familiarity gained through experience or association (Merriam-Webster.com). In the novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley considers knowledge as a “dangerous” factor. The danger of it is proved throughout the actions of the characters Robert Walton, Victor Frankenstein, and the creature. The characters all embody the theme of knowledge in different ways. Shelley supports her opinion about knowledge by using references from the Bible and Paradise Lost. She uses these references to show the relationship between God’s Adam and Frankenstein’s creature, and how nothing turns out as great as God’s creation. Mary Shelley’s goal is to teach a lesson on how destructive the desire for knowledge really is.