...achieve and attain that goal, is your motivation and drive behind it. In the book Frankenstein, personal interests and goals drive the characters to be able to overcome obstacles and succeed. Each character has a motive or a goal that drives them; whether it be curiosity or revenge. Victor and the creature, two major characters in the novel, both had different drives for success, but both of these, although different, lead them to success. At a young age Victor Frankenstein interest were in sciences such as chemistry, and the balances between life and death. Fascinated by the secret of life, begins researching the studies of anatomy of the human body, biology, electricity, Galvanism, and pseudo-genetics. Fueled by curiosity to learn about the hidden laws of nature of heaven and earth, arrogance, and the urge to do what only god can do and create life, Victor creates the creature bringing new life into the world. Victor’s motivation and research went into his true intentions finding a way to be able to cheat...
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...The actions of many juveniles has been said to stem from the childhood and their morals growing up. Similarly, in Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's Frankenstein, Victor and the creature's actions can be attributed to their parental teachings. The novel begins with Robert Walton in the 1700s, an explorer looking for a passage leading from the Pacific Ocean to the Arctic ocean. During his trip he discovers and saves fellow European Victor Frankenstein after finding him on the brink of death floating on the water. Victor tells Walton his story speaking on his amazing childhood and his mother's death which eventually lead to his desire to bring the dead back to life. After many tumulus hours of work, he brings life to his creature only to be appalled...
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...Yusra Ali Mrs. Manos English III 18 May 2018 Nurturing of the monster The Nature v. Nurture is one of the biggest issue debated by philosophers, sociologists, and scientists. It is the primary influence on personality development. The scientists argue whether nature develops the character of a person or nurture. Nature has a profound impact on the development of a child; however, it is the element of nurture which determines their level of growth and most important development. Mary Shelley emphasizes in her Frankenstein that the creature is good by his nature and only wants some friends, but the abandonment of his creator and the hatred of the people makes him evil. The novel Frankenstein, indirectly debates whether the development of an...
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...“Unrequited 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...
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...He was unique, alone, and an individual. God then breathed life into a companion, named Eve, for Adam.. Unfortunately in the story of Genesis, Adam and Eve betray God’s trust and are cast out of the Garden of Eden. Michelangelo’s paintings of the Sistine Chapel capture the story of Adam and Eve from Genesis. Similarly, in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the Creature can be compared to Adam and his creator, Victor Frankenstein to God. The Creature was also an individual, unique, and lonely being created by someone who was supposed to care for him, but unfortunately the Creature doesn’t get that same guidance as Adam gets from God. He says, “I ought to be thy Adam; but I am rather the fallen angel" (Shelley 66). In Frankenstein, there are many references towards the story God and Adam in Genesis. Because of these references many think that the stories are a little similar. That may be, but there are by far more dissimilarities. I believe that the Creature’s story doesn’t match up with the story of Adam in Michelangelo’s paintings of the Sistine Chapel. Adam was created in God’s image and born in a more natural way then the Creature in Frankenstein. God breathed life into Adam in Michelangelo’s paintings. It shows God looking at Adam in such a peaceful and loving way. God’s hand is fully stretched out toward Adam, showing how important he was to his creator. Adam is pictured as the ideal human male with large muscles and well-designed contours. Adam’s creation is thought to be extraordinary...
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...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...
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...Name: Course: Tutor: Date: The theme of alienation in Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein Frankenstein, as a book, is one that is rich with ideas on how mankind can be able to utilize knowledge for evil and good intentions. The book also brings out how some individual, those without knowledge or ‘defected’, are treated by society at large. In another instance, the book helps to illustrate how mankind views and is affected by technology. One of the main characters of the story is Victor Frankenstein. Victor is a young scientist obsessed with finding the unknown secret of life. To this end, he manages to create a creature out of dead organs; in his laboratory. At first, the monster is gentle, but mankind negative attitude and fear towards it manages to change that. To this end, the monster seeks revenge towards its creator; it manages to do so by killing close relatives of its creator. The book clearly illustrates the theme of alienation and the innocent bystanders that are directly affected by it. Frankenstein and his character are presented as one complete thing; with one being a complement of the other. This paper aims to explore and support the theme of alienation in Mary’s book. The book starts with a clear illustration of alienation in the form of the scientist; victor. Victor has faced alienation almost his entire life. The alienation is seen from his childhood, work, and the society at large. The life of victor is that of science; his mission and goal being that of trying...
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...Name: Course: Tutor: Date: The theme of alienation in Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein Frankenstein, as a book, is one that is rich with ideas on how mankind can be able to utilize knowledge for evil and good intentions. The book also brings out how some individual, those without knowledge or ‘defected’, are treated by society at large. In another instance, the book helps to illustrate how mankind views and is affected by technology. One of the main characters of the story is Victor Frankenstein. Victor is a young scientist obsessed with finding the unknown secret of life. To this end, he manages to create a creature out of dead organs; in his laboratory. At first, the monster is gentle, but mankind negative attitude and fear towards it manages to change that. To this end, the monster seeks revenge towards its creator; it manages to do so by killing close relatives of its creator. The book clearly illustrates the theme of alienation and the innocent bystanders that are directly affected by it. Frankenstein and his character are presented as one complete thing; with one being a complement of the other. This paper aims to explore and support the theme of alienation in Mary’s book. The book starts with a clear illustration of alienation in the form of the scientist; victor. Victor has faced alienation almost his entire life. The alienation is seen from his childhood, work, and the society at large. The life of victor is that of science; his mission and goal being that of trying...
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...as love, kindness, pain and anger. The creature takes complete responsibility for his actions, respects life more than Frankenstein, which is apparent by Frankenstein robbing graves to create the creature, and the fact that Frankenstein abandons the creature to die, only for the creature to experience the hatred of mankind. In almost every way, the monster portrays himself as more human than Frankenstein, but of course, one must not put aside the fact that ultimately, Frankenstein is a human and the creature is not. Of course, for the creature to be more human than his creator, he must first have the typical human characteristics. He firstly shows physical human features. He is “eight feet in height” and his body parts are taken from dead bodies which his creator dug out from graves. His “limbs were in proportion” and his “hair was of lustrous black. He has also developed human emotions. Having been scared off by the villagers he began “feeling pain invade [him] on all sides, [he] sat down and wept”. This shows that his surroundings have an impact on how he feels and reacts, and to weep is a common human action. He likes warmth, company, kindness and music, and dislikes pain, cold and seeing people sad. All these qualities are typical of a human and so it makes the creature human like. The point where the creature becomes more human than his creator is when it comes to the types of feelings expressed; for instance, in the beginning of the creature's life he is loving, benevolent...
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...Passion in a right place The late eighteenth century’s American author Christian Nevell Bovess quoted, “The passions are like fire, useful in a thousand ways and dangerous only in one, through their excess” which says that passions are good enough to help people o achieve what the want; nevertheless, they can still bring harm or destruction when they are excessive. Successful people usually have had enough passion to make their dreams come true since they knew how to manage their ambitions. However, when people are not able to think of other things because they are overly into one particular thing, passion becomes evilly obsessive. In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley tries to convey that passion is blinding and perilous when people no longer control their desires over one thing in a reasonable way. A major character, Victor Frankenstein’s powerful passion towards science brings total ruin on his life, putting his beloved people in death of dangers through his creature. As he sees a complete creature, Victor runs away, shocked by its disgusting appearances even though he was filled with joy and delight when he creates it. Irresponsibly, Victor abandons his creature, and the creature starts to become drastically evil, causing deaths of Victor’s family and friend: Victor’s young brother William, dearest Justine, true friend Henry, his lover Elizabeth, and his father Alpfonse. Ironically, due to the final product of great passions, Victor almost lost all the beloved people...
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...Mary Shelley’s book, “Frankenstein’, talks about a constant clash between a young man named Victor and his created creature. Between these two comes a growing conflict, as they both gather evidence to accuse each other for their damnation. Many can vouch that Victor is the villain because he is the one that made the creature how he is. Throughout the story, we know that his appearance is what drives people to run away in fear. Despite his good intentions to find companionship, he was unable to because of the features that Victor bestowed onto him. Though this could be a valid reason explaining why Victor is the villain, I believe that the true villain in the story is the creature. Its evident that the creature is the villain because of the...
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...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....
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...Gregorio Frankenstein Essay 412 Summer Intensive Professor Monaghan July 16th, 2015 Victor attributes his tragic fate to his relentless search for knowledge. Do you think that this is the true cause of his suffering? In what ways does the novel present knowledge as dangerous and destructive? Trace the similarities between Victor and the monster. Consider their respective relationships with nature, desires for family, and any other important parallels you find. Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein is a story about a brilliant but unorthodox scientist, Victor Frankenstein that rejects the artificial man that he has created, the Creature escapes and later swears revenge. Throughout the novel readers experience and learn about Victors boundless passion for knowledge and discover the positive and negative effects that come with his relentless search for it. Victor’s relentless search for knowledge ultimately leads to the death of his loved ones and friends as well as his own death. The suffering that Victor encounters can also be caused by other things in his life such as lack of family and companionship or lack of a love life. The knowledge that the monster obtains throughout the novel also comes with an emotional suffering that tarnishes the relationship with his regretful creator. As seen in the novel this emotional suffering obtained through knowledge caused danger and destruction that affected many people around Victor. One can surely say that Dr. Frankenstein and his creation...
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...At the time Frankenstein was written, education was rare and highly valued. It was also associated with the gentry, being one of the most noticeable characteristics that separated them from the commoners. Any educated person therefore exuded overtones of being a gentleman, and in European culture, a powerful prevailing myth was that any gentleman was an inherently worthy person. Educating the Creature, therefore, subtly paints him as a worthy person. Also, Victor Frankenstein was a gentleman, and highly educated. By the end of the novel, Shelley has made the Creature the equal of Victor, and the two are as counterparts to each other, so inter-related that is hard to tell where one leaves off and the other begins. In order to do this, the Creature would have to be educated. The Creature says that "I now hasten to the more moving part of my story. I shall relate events that impressed me with feelings which, from what I was, have made me what I am." Shelley suggests that a relationship between education...
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...demonstrated in the comparison of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner? The concerns that composers challenge in their texts not only reflect the ideals and perceptions of their time, but the same issues are also found to transcend through the decades. This has been demonstrated through the comparative study of Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein and Ridley Scott’s feature film Blade Runner in which their 150 year contextual difference could not create a barrier in exploring related issues. Despite Shelley’s Frankenstein being written in the early 19th century Romantic era, while Blade Runner was created in the period of late 20th century America influenced by Reaganomics, both texts delve into the concerns of the overpowering need for glory, the dichotomy between humanity and monstrosity, and the lack of parental responsibility. Through Frankenstein and Blade Runner, the desire for ultimate success is represented through the pursuit of knowledge and the application of science and technology. The underlying intention behind the project is of utmost importance as there will be dire consequences if the purpose of the creation is of a superficial motive. Through Victor, Shelley has portrayed humans as deeply ambitious yet also deeply flawed. Victor dreams of transforming society and bringing glory to his name through his scientific achievements yet his desire also makes him fallible. In writing Frankenstein, Shelley had challenged the Enlightenment ideal...
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