...The dangers of the pursuit of knowledge is a main theme in the novel Frankenstein. This theme is most evident in the main character Victor Frankenstein. He suffers because of his pursuit of knowledge and his creation ultimately destroys his life. As the novel progresses the creature begins to change as he gains knowledge. The creature at the start is innocent and means no harm. As he gains knowledge, however, he begins to learn that he does not fit in and becomes angry. We will take a closer look at how knowledge hurts these characters throughout the novel. The knowledge that Victor is pursuing and the knowledge the creature is pursuing have fundamental differences. Victor is working to try to figure out how to cheat death. This knowledge pushes the limit of what is accepted by society. This project is an unknown realm of science and the possible consequences of success are a mystery. Victor becomes so involved with the idea, however, that he fails to consider possible consequences. Creating a menace to society had not crossed his mind. His creature is at a different intellectual level. The creature does not understand the language of humans or how human society is structured. He observes and studies human behaviors and interactions. He learns the language and more about how humans work. He is surprised about what he learns and is angered by it. The creature is not accepted in human society, and his knowledge of this changes his personality into an angry outcast seeking revenge...
Words: 1498 - Pages: 6
...Secrecy is an important theme that is expressed in chapters 7 through 9. As a matter of fact, Frankenstein keeps the secret of his creation, and it has an impact on the story and on the different protagonists. When he sees the monster, and realises that it would certanly be the murderer of his little brother William. His first intinct is to go after and tell his family he knows the murderer. But then, he realises that his story won't be credible and that people will think it is madness. So he decides to keep the secret. He sais : ''I was firmly convinced in my own mind that Justine, and indeen every human being, was guiltless of this murder. I had no fear, therefore, that any circumstantial evidence could be brought forward strong enough to...
Words: 767 - Pages: 4
...common misconception that “Frankenstein” is the name of the creature in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; however, Victor Frankenstein is actually the name of the man who creates the monster, who is found to be unnamed. Although the two are not the same being, they are very similar in many ways. Frankenstein and his creature have more similarities than differences. Throughout the novel, both Frankenstein and his creature prove to be fueled by revenge, intrigued by tampering with life and death, and isolated by and from society. Notably, both Frankenstein and his creature obtain a thirst for revenge. After the murders of various friends and family members of Victor, he becomes infuriated with the being he has created: “When I reflected on his crimes and malice, my hatred and revenge burst all bounds of moderation… I wished to see him again that I might wreak the utmost extent of abhorrence on his head, and avenge the deaths of William and Justine” (76). The crimes that his creation has committed compel him to seek revenge and rain havoc down upon the creature. After Victor abandons the creature and tears apart the companion that he is constructing for him, breaking his promise, the creature swears to pursue revenge on Victor: “Cursed, cursed creator… my feelings were those of rage...
Words: 814 - Pages: 4
...love culminates in shattered self-esteem, crippling dependency, and uncontrollable rage” (Berman 58). Narcissus and Frankenstein are both disoriented by ostensible renditions of their own internal conflicts. The creature’s acts of violence are external representations of Victor Frankenstein’s internal rage. It is ironic that his own self-replication in the form of the creature brings him to his eventual demise. Another element that correlates with the Narcissus story pertains to the escapes and pursuits that are present in the novel. “Since Mary Shelley’s novel employs the element of flight (Walton to the pole, Victor from the Creature, the Creature in pursuit of Victor), Frankenstein embodies an additional element of the Narcissus complex” (Kestner 69-70). The grandiosity of his creation and pursuits end in a chase to eliminate any evidence of his mistakes. Jeffrey Berman summarizes all of these examples in comparison of narcissistic personality disorder: Victor exhibits, in fact, all the characteristics of the narcissistic personality disorder as defined in DSM-III: a grandi- sense of self-importance; preoccupation with fantasies of unlimited success; exhibitionism; cool indifference or feelings of...
Words: 1039 - Pages: 5
...Losing power and the ability to control a situation makes people feel very vulnerable and scared, leading to feelings of defenselessness and weakness. One appropriate example of this shift is in Frankenstein when Victor loses control of Innocent. At first, as Innocent is looking up to him, Victor still feels in control, despite feeling uncomfortable with the situation. Unfortunately, because he doesn’t feel comfortable, he runs away from his creation and treats him like an outcast. Victor’s actions lead to Innocent becoming frustrated with humankind as a whole, and vows “eternal hatred and vengeance to all mankind” (152 Shelley). It is at this point that readers can see Victor has lost all control of the situation that frightens him, which adds to the suspense for the readers. Some people find loss of control so powerful that they would do almost anything to regain it. We can see Victor reach this breaking point when he agrees to make a match for Innocent. If he were still in control at this point, and in his right mind, he would have never agreed to such acts and likely would have tried to reason with Innocent. Although readers can sense the correct decision from the beginning, Victor’s insanity blinds him to it until his new creation is almost done. Ultimately, he breaks his promise and destroys the body....
Words: 1515 - Pages: 7
...When God created the humans, he asked the angels to bow down to his creation. One of the angels, Iblis (Satan), refused and was banished from the heavens for this sin(The Noble Qur’an 2:34). In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, The Creation is born, and is banished from civilization by his creator, Frankenstein, similar to how the devil was banished from the heavens. In both stories the one ostracized, unsightly and deformed in comparison to its creator and fellow beings, swears revenge on them but for separate reasons. Unlike the Quranic story of the devil, the novel focuses on themes of revenge and appearance allowing one to sympathize more with the creation rather than with its creator. Both Frankenstein and the creation feel the need for revenge...
Words: 654 - Pages: 3
...Mary Shelley's Frankenstein was the result of a challenge from Shelley's husband and Lord Byron to write the best horror story. In so doing, Shelley created a novel that was a horror story on many levels, not because of the sole monster that Victor Frankenstein creates, but because of the monster that Victor had become. It introduces many societal questions about the obvious and not-so-obvious monsters who live amongst us. This is best illustrated in Chapter 10 of the novel, where Victor and the monster finally meet again. Victor Frankenstein is sitting at the top of a glacier in a place of bliss just before he encounters the monster he has created. He speaks of the sun reflecting off the ice and the brilliant snow-covered peaks. His sadness...
Words: 1090 - Pages: 5
...ESSAY CONFRONTATION IN FRANKENSTEIN. Frankenstein is a novel that was written in 1818 by Mary Shelley. It deals with a young science student named Victor Frankenstein, who gives birth to a being in a scientific experiment. The novel revolves around the conflict between two characters : Victor Frankenstein and the creature, who are linked in a complex, multidimensional relationship. In fact, the creature and its creator become enemies the first time they meet and battle against each other through the entire story. Moreover, it is easily noticeable that their confrontation has several aspects to it. First, we will study their confrontation to each other through the story. Then, we will see how these two characters are involved in a confrontation with the human kind. Finally, we will ponder on the way the characters and their conflicts mirror the confrontation between nature and science. First of all, by reading Mary Shelley's novel, we can see that Frankenstein and the creature are struggling with each other until the end of the book. Actually, we have on one hand the Frankenstein monster who is dependent on his creator because he is the only man with enough knowledge to create another of his kind. On the other hand, we have Frankenstein who is dependent on his creation, because it is physically stronger than he and able to murder his family and friends. For these reasons, each of these two characters is able to blackmail the other, and so they...
Words: 1181 - Pages: 5
...philosophical debates in history. The argument is whether your life experiences or the environment you grow up in has a lasting effect/influence on the type of person that you become or if your development is predisposed in your DNA. Both nature and nurture play important roles in the development of a human being, but it is not known which one causes the majority of the way a person turns out. In Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, I believe nature vs. nurture is a theme that she raises. Would the creature have turned out differently, even good, if Victor Frankenstein raised him and didn’t abandon him when he was first brought to life? She is arguing in favor of nurture and saying that the creature behaves...
Words: 1887 - Pages: 8
...When Victor Frankenstein reanimated the creature, the creature only wanted to feel love and acceptance towards his creator; however, that does not occur because of the monsters’ hideous appearance. The monster feelings of loneliness and rejection led him to become the creature full of anger and later started seeking revenge towards the people Victor loved. To the creature, murdering the people Victor loved dearly was his form of seeking justice. He wanted to make Victor feel the same pain and loneliness so he would hunt down his family and friends as a way of him feeling justice and seeking revenge. The monster believes that seeking revenge on innocent civilians is a way of justice, the monsters’ justice successfully done since he managed to murder a few people Victor loved, and how morally wrong his way of justice is....
Words: 672 - Pages: 3
...The Horror Story- Section 031 November 14, 2014 Mary Shelley’s story “Frankenstein” is a story of a young man obsessed with the creation of mankind. We are introduced to Victor Frankenstein a man that uses all his education and resources to create a new human. With good intentions Victor creates not a human but a monster too terrible to even look at. Victor’s new creation provokes him fear causing him to abandon his own creation. This creature abandon by his creator becomes Victor’s Frankenstein’s nightmare and becomes the monster of Mary Shelley’s story. The following will show how Shelley’s intentions were meant for Victor’s creation to be seen as the true monster in the story. Victor Frankenstein wanted to create a human to improve humankind. He made is creation out of various parts of human corpses. Victor then realizes that his creation is hideous. The creation is a monster; he is larger than any human about eight feet tall, with yellow skin and scary eyes. The appearance of the creation is one of the first signs that he is a monster. His own creator becomes fearful of him and due to the monsters appearance he is unable to have any type of human interaction. People who see him fear and perceive him as a monster. The creation has now been perceived as a monster. He has been rejected by his creator and now by all humankind. Causing Victor’s creation to feel anger towards all humans especially Victor. On the discussion board, Allison Mascivecchino defends the idea that the...
Words: 628 - Pages: 3
...In Frankenstein there are many actions chosen by the characters that could be viewed as evil or immoral. While their actions are viewed as sinful there tends to be sympathy evoked due to one’s knowledge of the character’s background and person. Victor’s monster would appear horrid and vile until the monster’s background information is presented to the reader. Having all the pieces of the puzzle changes one’s perspective which changes the opinion of the reader and characters. In Frankenstein the full presentation of the monster’s background information and thoughts helps the reader sympathize with the monster’s otherwise evil actions. Victor Frankenstein creates his creature and abhors the physical appearance of the monster. Having been abandoned, the creature seeks out the basic necessities to life; food, water, and shelter. Without anyone to guide him the monster must learn to survive and the first sparks of sympathy and pity bloom inside the reader. The monster survives and continues to grow, the many emotions he faces are then shared by the reader; his happiness, his sorrow, and his anger. Shelley provides the reader with the beginning of the monster’s life to weave a tale of...
Words: 598 - Pages: 3
... The constant attention and focus on physical appearances are apparent not only in our society but in Mary Shelly’s novel, Frankenstein. Victor Frankenstein, a modern scientist unleashes a creature constructed of dead body parts. The creature’s social acceptance relies heavily on its hideous features, starting with his own creator, Victor Frankenstein. Throughout the novel Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein’s lack of ethics spurs problematic situations which are the consequences of his...
Words: 1140 - Pages: 5
...Who’s the real monster in Frankenstein? How can we prove if somebody is a monster? In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the main character is named Victor Frankenstein, a person of unnatural cruelty. Throughout the book, Victor encourages the reader to believe that his horrid creation is a monster, but in reality, it is Victor. Throughout the novel Victor displays his cruelty in the way he treats his family, the way Victor acts toward the creation, and is visible through Victor’s lack of responsibility in caring for his loved ones. Victor Frankenstein treats his family and friends with no regard. He spends two years away from his family in college secretly working to bring a deceased man back to life. His family does not hear from him once during this span of time. Victor is so obsessed with completing his creation that his wife, Elizabeth, believes he is having an affair with another woman. “I conjure you by our mutual happiness, with simple truth—Do you not love another?’ ‘You have travelled; you have spent several years of your life at Ingolstadt; and I confess to you, my friend, that when I saw you last autumn so unhappy, flying to solitude from the society of every creature, I could not help supposing that you might regret our connection and believe yourself bound in honour to fulfil the wishes of your parents, although they opposed themselves to your inclinations.”’ (Shelley 178) Victor is so preoccupied with his work that he drives Elizabeth to think...
Words: 958 - Pages: 4
...creator or the creation’s behavior due to its social, physical, mental and environmental health effects, if it is not used for the better of the community. In Frankenstein, Mary Shelly argues that the beast is dangerous because it symbolizes scientific technology; implying that the beast can impose threats to civilization. The author warns, that the beast can form independent consciousness and then turns upon society in an apocalyptic rage. Society becomes afraid of the monster and as a result, rejects it. This fear...
Words: 1620 - Pages: 7
