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Death is a slippery concept, I’ve surely never managed to grasp the idea. Wrapping your head around it is like grappling with a bar of soap. There’s no use trying to make sense of it, it’s only a matter of time until we find out what it’s like. That being said, some have too fun of a life and their last wish is to find out. I would go through hell and all the way back, in order to be able to dive, head first, in the fountain of youth. However, to believe in the idea that dabbling one’s feet in a certain puddle, would in turn restore health and, let alone, youth, seems somewhat delusional. In spite of immortality not really being thing, you can actually go about immortalising your name. It’s fairly simple; you just have to be the “first one”. …show more content…
Whether it’d be pioneering a groundbreaking theory of some sort, or being the first one to successfully assemble a living creature from mutilated limbs and remains, you will surely be remembered.
To clarify, the name of the man who first walked the surface of moon never slips your mind, right? In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, written in 1817, legacy is a recurring theme. Ones who have read the book ought to be familiar with the characters Robert Walton and Victor Frankenstein. Said gentlemen are both very much alike; kindred spirits, if you will. There’s no questioning their genius but you only get so far
The story of Frankenstein is introduced with series of letters to Mrs. Saville, Robert Walton’s sister. Walton holds the hope of being the first to tread the icy surface of the North Pole - or as Walton himself puts it: “I shall satiate my ardent curiosity with the sight of a part of the world never before visited, and may tread a land never before imprinted by the foot of man.” What entices him to embark on such a hazardous and great adventure is expressed very clearly; there’s no denying that he’s in pursuit of glory. In the first letter to Mrs Saville he,
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amongst other things, writes of his childhood and recollects his dreams as a boy. From spending days as well as nights in good uncle Thomas’s Library, to how poets’ effusions entranced his soul and lifted it to heaven. He says how he fancied the idea of becoming a poet as a lad: “I imagined that I also might obtain a niche in the temple where the names of Homer and Shakespeare are consecrated.” - let me rephrase; he fancied the idea of becoming a renowned poet, comparing himself with the likes of Homer and Shakespeare. As is evident, Walton longs for greatness; he wants to be immortal. For the sake of reinforcing my statement, I’ll quote Walton again: “Six years have passed since I resolved on my present undertaking. [...] And now, dear Margaret, do I not deserve to accomplish some great purpose? My life might have passed in ease and luxury; but I preferred glory to every enticement wealth placed in my path.” He is not only in search of glory - as is evident from all the excerpts mentioned above -, but also of a greater purpose. Walton and Frankenstein share many properties; the most notable being profound intelligence. They’re too smart for their own good - I would imagine they see a challenge as an insult -, they’re thrill seekers basically. I can’t see there being no further motives for Walton's journey to the Arctic than glory and thrill. Regardless, the following is quoted from Walton’s first letter and suggests that he is motivated by purpose: “ [...] nothing contributes so much to tranquilise the mind as a steady purpose - a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye.” It’s by all means a good quote, it does indeed contain truth. It somewhat corresponds with the saying “idle hands or the devil’s tools” or “an idle mind is the devil’s playground”. These sayings certainly tell the truth but what exactly is “a steady purpose”? Reading surely keeps you occupied, as does learning a language - an especially appropriate undertaking for the so called “intellectual eye”, I would reckon. Be that as it may Walton instead decides to embark on what essentially is a suicide mission. Not for the sake of “tranquilising his mind”, I would guess. It goes without saying that Walton is in it for the honor and glory. One day he realises that that of Homer’s and Shakespeare’s genius was unmatched to his. Just as he get the idea his loses cousin. Luckily this cousin of his was sitting on a generous amount of money, on which he managed to lay his hands, enough for a vessel and a crew for another shot at stardom. Robert Walton and Victor Frankenstein are more or less identical characters; both, for instance, being eloquent and intelligent. Most notably they share an obsession of greatness. Being brought up in Genève, young Vicor takes an interest for natural philosophy.
At the ripe age of seventeen Victor is sent to Innsbruck of Bavaria, where he will further educate himself in natural science. Victor excelled at his subjects and quickly finishes the curriculum, being the most esteemed pupil at the university. As he is done with his education, Victor decides to not immediately call an end to his stay in Innsbruck. Anatomy and the phenomena of life and decay attracts his attention. No rest had, he works day and night in his laboratory, studying the wonders of the body. Suddenly Victor somehow manages to resurrect one of his subjects. A burst of joy ensues, which then leaves him clueless as to how he had actually done it. Walton retells his initial thoughts surrounding the occurrence, doing so he also reveals his intentions: “No one can conceive the variety of feelings which bore me onwards, like a hurricane, in the first enthusiasm of success. The Astonishment which I had at first experienced on this discovery soon gave place to delight and rapture.[...] 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 their creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would own their being to me. No father could claim the gratitude of his child so completely as I should theirs.”To pour a torrent of light into a dark world surely has to be somewhat of an
selfless motive to carry on with the project, whereas the part of claiming gratitude doesn’t say anything about good-heartedness. Just as our fellow Walton, Frankenstein has a rather selfish reason behind his enterprise; his intent is to create being which sole purpose is to serve him, which will view him its creator and father - even its god more or less. Being a god - or at least being regarded as one - is about as much glory as you could get. As can be seen from the excerpts above, Frankenstein and Walton are in pursuit of greatness and, in a sense, immortality. They couldn’t care less what benefit they might confer on mankind.
In Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, cruelty is a frequent theme and different acts of cruelty are committed almost every chapter. Victor Frankenstein abandoned his creation because of its grotesque face and destroyed any chance if the monster getting a mate, and the monster kills everyone Frankenstein loves out of spite. In Frankenstein, the different acts of cruelty that are imposed onto Frankenstein and his creation help reveal their true character
After Walton and his crew get stuck in some ice, they notice a gigantic man in the distance. Just a couple hours later, Victor Frankenstein washes up to their boat on a sheet of ice. Walton welcomes him onto his ship, and Victor tells the story of this thing in the distance, which is his creation. In the first four chapters, Victor talks about his family and how they came to be. He also talks about his education, and what made him create this monster. Walton and Frankenstein are similar because they both switched what they wanted to do before pursing their current occupation. “I imagined that I also might obtain a niche in the temple where the names of Homer and Shakespeare are consecrated. You are well acquainted with my failure and how heavily I bore the disappointment”(Shelley 2). This shows how much Robert Walton desired to be a poet and also how distraught he was after his failure. Walton also reveals how he was not well educated, even though he loved reading. So after he failed at trying to become educated, and becoming a poet, he inherited his cousins fortune, and became a sea captain. Like Walton, Frankenstein did not do
Before leaving Victor, his mother died of scarlet fever, and the family was left in the care of Frankensteins Elizabeth. Victor zealously took up the study. It turned out that the work of medieval alchemists who was fond of the young man, hopelessly outdated, so he had to study modern science, especially chemistry, with the basics. After two years, Victor has achieved great success. Fascinated by physiology, he decided to identify "where lurk start in life," and soon reached his goal - to open a way to revive the lifeless matter. To apply the knowledge in practice, he gathered from various parts of the body found in the morgues, tombs and in slaughterhouses. Victor dreamed of a perfect being, a new breed of
Mary Shelley’s idea of friendship is very important throughout the novel because it is the goal of Walton throughout the beginning, as well as the monster Frankenstein created throughout his narration period. In chapters fourteen through sixteen the creature learns that he is the only man of his kind, the only monster created on this Earth and he himself is much like Satan and Adam. He stumbled across three novels in which he reads and interprets differently. Paradise Lost having the most impact on the creature made him realize that he is utterly alone, and wretched. Adam was created from God, and was protected, whereas the creature who was created by Victor, was the complete opposite. He was dragged into this earth. The creature states, “But
“What is the point of being alive if you don’t at least try to do something remarkable?”-John Green, an American author of young adult fiction, such as The Fault in Our Stars, and the YouTube blogger of crash course history. The mythological character Prometheus and Victor from Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, try to influence mankind in a positive way, but instead the result is detrimental to society. Victor and Prometheus both want to help mankind, regardless, both overstep their bounds, and are severely punished. Although their true characters are revealed through how they handle their suffering.
Furthermore, when Victor finds out the mystery of rising life, he said that, “[a] sudden light broke in upon me -- a light so brilliant and wondrous"(Shelly, 52). The light stands for his insight of life; he is cheerful and astonished with what he has discovered about life and death. He wants to discover and halt the secret of life that was hidden in the dark. Then again, Victor becomes thoughtless and fails to realize or think through the perilous effects of his searches for enlightenment because of the brilliant light or knowledge that make him preoccupy with making another life.
We are shown that this ‘monster’ is a ‘creature’ and more of a human than we think. It is in the complex structure of the novel that Mary Shelley creates sympathy. We shift from Robert Walton to Victor Frankenstein to the monster and finally back to Walton. With each shift of perspective, the reader gains new information about both the facts of the story and the reliability of the narrator. Each perspective adds pieces of information that only they knows: Walton explains the circumstances of Victor’s last days, Victor explains his creation of the monster, the monster explains his turn to evil.
Walton's letters play an important role for the reader may find many foreshadowed themes. As the novel progresses, the reader will realize how Walton and Victor Frankenstein share similar views on their life's roles. Both men are driven by an excessive ambition, as they desire to accomplish great things for the humankind. Walton is an explorer who wants to discover a new passage to the Pacific and therefore conjures "inestimable benefit on all mankind to the last generation" (16). Victor's purpose is to "pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation" (49). These explorers will demonstrate that such pursuit can prove to be very dangerous in quest for knowledge. Walton's ship becomes stuck in the ice and Victor's creation finally kills everyone dear to him. However, this parallel is not the only one: we can easily compare Walton's search for a friend ("I have no friend, Margaret" (19)) with the monster's request for a female because he feels alone ("I desired love and fellowship" (224)). This similarity between man and monster suggests that the monster perhaps is more similar to men than what we may perceive. If it is assumed that Shelley also shared this view when she wrote the novel, maybe she meant that the real monster manifests itself differently tha...
Victor’s life starts with great potential. He comes from a decently wealthy family whose lack of love towards each other never existed. He is given everything he needs for a great future, and his academics seem to be convalescing. Everything starts to change once Victor`s 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. The day came in which he was able to complete his life time research project. This day was described as the day “breathless ...
Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, is a book in which men pursue their goals against hopeless odds. Robert Walton’s decision to turn the ship around at the end of the novel is questioned by many. This essay will discuss the interpreted views on Robert Walton’s decision to retreat by Victor Frankenstein, Mary Shelley and myself. Although, some may disagree ultimately Robert Walton made the right choice to turn his ship around at the end of the novel and is therefore not a failure.
Victor Frankenstein finds himself exploring the world of science against his fathers wishes but he has an impulse to go forward in his education through university. During this time any form of science was little in knowledge especially the chemistry which was Victors area if study. Victor pursues to go farther than the normal human limits of society. “Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge, and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow” (Chapter 4). He soon finds the answer he was looking for, the answer of life. He becomes obsessed with creating a human being. With his knowledge he believes it should be a perfe...
The wise Uncle Ben once told Peter Parker, “remember, with great power. Comes great responsibility.” There is no greater power than that acquired by the infamous Victor Frankenstein in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein when he discovers the secret to creating life. Shelley’s Frankenstein is a tale of creation that depicts acts of human conception and discovery. The Oxford English Dictionary defines creation as “the action or process of bringing something into existence from nothing by divine or natural agency; the fact of being so created.” It defies the natural order of things and creates a world of its own. The multiple acts of creation and discovery bring upon a certain set of responsibilities and implications as depicted by David Collings who analyzes the responsibilities that come as a result of these acts in his essay “The Monster and the Maternal Thing: Mary Shelley’s Critique of Ideology”. The main act of creation is evident through Victor Frankenstein’s creation of the Being which is depicted most prominently in the novel. However, there are multiple other acts of creation and discovery that may not be apparent at first sight. One of the most important being, Victor’s discovery of the knowledge required to create life. Apart from initially creating the Being, Victor also plays a critical role in the Being’s evolution into a raging and vengeful creature. Perhaps above all other acts of creation and discovery is Victor’s personal creation of himself into a monster. As stated by Collings most of these acts of creation on Victor’s part are subconsciously brought upon because of their lack of a maternal figure but also in part because of his desire for fame and glory. However, he is blinded by his motives and forgets that with his...
Plot summary: Frankenstein begins with four letters that are addressed by Robert Walton to his sister Margaret Saville. Walton is an Englishmen on a voyage to the North Pole. His first letter is dated December 11th in St. Petersburg; he tells his sister about the trip and how great it feels to be going to undiscovered territory. Walton tells his sister the irony of living a nautical life because this was denied by his father before he died. He explains that he wanted to be a writer, but he failed, causing him to venture to the North Sea. He informs Margaret that he should be arriving to the North Pole by June. Walton’s second letter is dated March 28th in Archangel. We learn that he is twenty-eight, has been reading voyage books since he was
Walton is on a voyage to the north pole which he wonders “what could not be expected in the country of eternal light”(1). Walton comes to the realization that the “light”, is waiting to be gained, and it’s just a matter of getting to it, and believes this “light” to be solely favorable. He sends letters to his sister in order to keep him sane while on the voyage, SOMETHING Victor, which was like Walton, desires “light”, and believes he “should first break through, and pour a torrent of light into our dark world”(39). Victor is viewed as wanting to play the role of God, and wanting to achieve some discovery of his own. Before Frankenstein fabricated the monster, he believed that he was on this earth to learn, and gain insight on new material not yet known to human-kind. He spent most of his time trying to figure out the mysteries of life and to create life from dead organs. Victor have always wondered about making life and described himself as “always having been imbued with a fervent longing to penetrate the secrets of nature”(25). While studying in Ingolstadt and not stopping his studying until he finished what he planned to do, Victor discovered the mystery of life. He was able to replicate a living human, from dead organs and body parts. The morning after creating the monster, Victor is disgusted by what he assembled. “Light”, it can either be bright and positive, or burn, and come along with many
The majority of the novel Frankenstein revolves around the pursuit of knowledge and is the most prevalent theme in the novel. As a matter of fact every narrator in this novel had a pursuit of knowledge in their mind. Robert Walton endeavors to reach the North Pole and to find the effects of magnetism on the compass needle, only to have his ship trapped between sheets of ice. Victor Frankenstein strived to make a living human being out of lifeless material and achieve ultimate greatness but the monster he created led him to the destruction of everyone he cared about and eventually himself. Even the monster wanted to learn how to communicate to the DeLacey's and show them that he wasn’t a monster. But to his disappointment his knowledge of the language didn’t make the DeLacey's accept him for what he knew because they only