Modern Ethics In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Modern Ethics within the Genesis “Fall” Narrative and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein Most people in the Western hemisphere know the story of the “Fall.” This is the biblical myth of Adam and Eve consuming the apple in the garden of Eden and being exiled by God. Meanwhile, the story of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is not as well known, but is still extremely popular. It is a tale of how a deranged doctor summons a dead object back to life. While both of these stories seem to be completely different, there are elements hidden in each that can make one wonder if they are instead quite similar. The folly of man is that he will never know when to question himself, and therefore, the progress he achieves, even through error, still will be embraced by society. In each myth, a character goes against the will of the natural world. Adam from the “Fall,” consumes the apple out of innocence even though God ordered him not to, however, as soon as he swallows it, “[Adam and Eve] Suddenly they became aware of their nakedness, …show more content…
When comparing and analyzing them, a realization can be made that ideas from these stories highly influence modern culture. Many scientists that have forged the way for new technological developments regret ever doing so. For example, the theoretical physicist Robert Oppenheimer, the lead developer of the atomic bomb, hated that his technology was employed in war once he came to the conclusion of how powerful of a scientific breakthrough it actually turned out to be (Venkataraman, “The Problem with “Playing God,” para. 8). Furthermore, his invention is still heavily debated as to whether or not it is ethical to use such a device. Still today, there is a huge following of people that believe it is completely unethical to ever use an instrument such as that ever again. That is why there were only two ever dropped in the first place, even though nations still posses