Theme Of Ambition In Frankenstein

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Ambition can lead to disaster
As a young writer, at just the age of 18 years old, Mary Shelley was able to become a gothic novel specialist. She was able to create a story that has an unbelievable amount of depth behind all of the events that happen between the characters. Her writing stays relevant in today’s society due to her focus on the creation of artificial life. Many of the characters in the novel Frankenstein have a deep love and desire for new discoveries. The characters like Walton, the Creature and Victor have the desire for ambition which they all become overly consumed in their works and end up in destructive situations. In the novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley is able to develop multiple characters whose ambitions lead to destruction;
The creature is born into the world with a fully functional brain; however, he has no knowledge of anything. As the story progresses, the creature quickly learns the language, culture, and customs of the world he lives in. Since he is horribly ugly, he is rejected by the people of his society, this is the motivation behind his need and desire to learn about himself and the society he lives in. As the creature obtains more and more knowledge, he finally discovers his origins and birth from Victor. As a result, the Creature becomes a wretched monster, who now has no sympathy for anyone or anything. The Creature becomes fixed on the idea of needing a companion, and due to this obsession, he turns Victor’s life upside down. The Creature is able to torment Victor by killing his family members, then quickly vanishing so Victor can not tell who or what he saw. The Creature and Victor finally meet again and the Creature tells Victor of his stories and struggles. Throughout the novel, the Creature remains in the same state of being, he persistently harasses Victor and maintains a watchful eye on him. At the beginning of the novel, the Creature is an innocent being, made purely for science. In the end of the novel the reader sees what the Creature truly becomes when Victor has died and the Creature is having his last words, he says: “I felt the cheering warmth of summer, and heard the rustling of the leaves and the warbling of the birds, and these were all to me, I should have wept to die; now it is my only consolation”(pg. 166). This explains how the Creature is aware of how he has changed from start to beginning. The society that he lived in, causes him to shift from an innocent and loving creature, to a hopeless and wretched

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