A classic battle, presented in many works of literature, is the internal battle between ones passions and responsibilities. The question exists of which one is more beneficial to the goals, ideas, and development of the individual who is faced with the ultimatum of choosing passion over responsibility. Passion, and the pursuit of it, is what most individuals yearn for, however, responsibility is omnipresent and typically is more potent in importance. Nevertheless, what if someone chooses responsibility over passion? In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Victor's aptitude to follow his passions over his responsibilities created trends of consequences, many fatal, which reflect an ideology that one must prioritize responsibilities over passion.…
Victor Frankenstein is driven by his scientific ambition and caught up in his obsession of creating life out of nothing. He wants so badly for his experiment to be successful that he sacrifices his own health to complete his goal. Then the monster is created, but the outcome is so hideous that Victor ends up running away, turning this infantile creature loose on the world with no…
Errors are made when someone has too much pride to admit that they made a mistake or that something they did was incorrect or suboptimal. Pride is good in moderation, pride in one’s self and pride in one’s abilities, but Victor’s excessive pride is what leads to his downfall and the death of all of his loved ones. Frankenstein’s hubris and his madness work in tangent with his monster, a thing whose sadness and rage were byproducts of another of Victor’s mistakes, to bring the brilliant man to his knees. He refuses to be content with the world that he has and the achievement he has already made, instead opting to try and create not only a thinking, functioning life, but a life inside of a hulking, horrific frame. His pride keeps him from telling anyone around him, because he cannot bare facing the horrible mistakes he feels he has made, but his unwillingness to share the details of his unnatural experiments leads to nothing but death and ruin, with those the monster kills being left unaware of the constant danger they lived in.…
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, she examines man's unquenchable thirst for knowledge, warns of scientific advancement, and the responsibility of the creators towards their creations. She wrote the book during a time where many scientific advances were being made in areas such as electricity. In the book, Victor creates a living being and flees it. The creature is abused and is determined to make Victor suffer as much as he had...or worse. The creature kills most members of Frankenstein’s family and Victor dies trying to take revenge.…
Victor Frankenstein, the protagonist in the story, becomes enamored with alchemy and the secret of life at a young age and fuses modern scientific knowledge with ancient alchemy in his omnipotent ambition to create life. Throughout the story, Shelley illuminates the questions of the moral and ethical obligations arising from Victor's unrestrained pursuit to create life. The ethical aspects of whether man should create life is brought to the forefront of the story when Victor decides to pursue the creation of life. Victor intimates his feeling of preeminence upon discovering the secret of life when he notes.…
Victor, also a creator, follows his blind ambition to instil sentience into his creation: a creature superior in stature and power to man. Frankenstein was dissatisfied with his creation which caused, in his own eyes, a failure within his own “great filter” and was thus forced into exile and abandoned his creation. All of this plays to the central chaos of these stories: the social normality to punish failure versus humanity's own will to succeed, and the betrayal of hope and trust leading to the misery suffered by all throughout the endeavors experienced. To be punished for failure is a basic social practice which drives most to succeed and some to despair. Viktor’s blind pursuit in creating life brought forth a creation with sentience and the capacity to learn.…
However, Dr. Frankenstein’s false pretenses are revealed as he decides to “play God” and compose a creation from several cadavers and robs graves in his attempt to appease his appetite in resurrecting inanimate objects. As displayed throughout the story proceeding the reanimation of the assembled creature, Frankenstein question his vile handiwork and the morality and ethical dilemma, or lack thereof, Frankenstein considered before embarking on his appalling crusade. However, despite Victor’s intentions, evil or not, progression of the human condition and furthering healthcare through bioengineering remains questionable in its moral correctness as scientific replacement of God, Mother Nature, and the genetic make-up of humans in the roles of shaping life. Frankenstein’s work crossed the boundaries of moral standards and ethical living as he chose to replace the laws of…
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein tirelessly studies the human body and how it can be created. He had worked for months and months at the University of Ingolstadt to create his own human being. One day he finally achieves his goal, but is not very…
Gilsinger 1 Amanda Gilsinger 10th Honors English Lit/Comp 11 August 2014 The Power of Knowledge, As Seen in Frankenstein Percolating under the surface of Mary Shelley’s book Frankenstein is the pursuit of knowledge and the negative effects that it can have on one’s life if gone awry.…
Foils are characters who contrast the protagonist’s traits in order to emphasize them. In many cases there is more than one foil to a character. Frankenstein, Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley provides an example of multiple foil characters. Elizabeth Lavenza, Robert Walton and Henry Clerval each counteract the main character, Victor Frankenstein. The most effective foil, however, is the creature Victor brings to life.…
In an attempt to clear his mind, Victor goes alone to Montanvert. Momentarily he finds peace, but it is very short lived when he come face to face with the daemon her created. The monster tells him the trials and tribulations that he has endured in life. The monster says to Victor “Remember, that I am thy creature: I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel.” (ch.10)…
When Victor attends University of Ingolstadt, he completely isolates himself from society and his loving family, who begged him to stay connected. Victor Frankenstein is motivated by pride and scientific curiosity, but his misguided ambitions lead to the formation of a monster. Victor Frankenstein becomes so enthralled in his work that it appears he has an unhealthy obsession with the pursuit of knowledge, and this curiosity persuades him in an attempt to recreate human life. He selfishly isolates himself, “while [he pursued [his] undertaking with unremitting ardour” (Shelley 32). Victor is incredibly naive and irresponsible to believe that his experiment will not yield any negative repercussions.…
Chaznic Griffin 12/2/13 Mrs.Golden English 10 Frankenstein Essay Victor Frankenstein determined his own fate by all of the bad choices he made. One of Victor’s mistakes was creating a monster that he really had no control over. The second mistake victor made was abandoning the monster because of fright without know what the monsters intentions were.…
Dr. Victor Frankenstein is the real Monster in Mary Shelley 's Gothic Novel Frankenstein? At first glance, the answer to this question seems quite simple but in fact; it is not. Like an onion, Frankenstein has many layers. This essay will peel away the many layers to determine who the real monster in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Some of the points this piece will touch upon will be Victor’s desire for admiration by his colleagues, his quest to animate a deceased human being that would allow him to find the answer to immortality, and how his self-imposed isolation causes his family and friends great sadness and worry.…
In Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein was an aspiring scientist who wanted to play the hand of God and create life. Through Frankenstein's obsession to create life he begins to seclude himself from the world to focus on his work. While he did successfully bring to life the dead, he is horrified by his creation and immediately rejects the creature. Victor lives his life as an outcast because of the monsters acts against him and the people dearest to him. While the Monster comes into the world with a loving heart, he is rejected by all and believes that all humans are terrible, and he seeks revenge on all who hurt him.…