How Is Frankenstein Relevant Today

The novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is a complex and profound story of a man who plays god and creates a man. The book touches on and brings up important questions and topics about the morality of man creating life, the origins and meaning of sentience and intelligence, as well as the problems that are linked with changing the workings of humans and the fear that idea induces in many people. Not only are these topics still relevant in both modern pop culture and science, but the questions posed are still asked today by philosophers and scientists. This is truly the greatest proof of Mrs. Shelley’s writing ability and the impact of her novel has had on the modern world. In the novel, the scientist Victor Frankenstein uses the dismembered parts of dead humans to create a new “man” using unknown methods to bring the flesh back to life as a new being. This creation is simply referred to as “The Creature” throughout the story. The creature is brought about from nothing but dead tissue, and because of this, it truly is a new life …show more content…
While there would normally only be an outcry from religious fundamentalists and humanistic purists, there is also a large group of people speaking out against human and animal modification, drawing comparison to Frankenstein. While many people who may practice medicine like this, applying prosthetics, and genetically modifying organisms, will say that this leading to a situation like that depicted in Frankenstein is a “slippery slope” fallacy of enormous proportions, others claim that it is a logical conclusion to the current direction of things. They may say that what may be considered preposterous now would be just the same as how Frankenstein's teachers dismissed him at first, saying “‘The ancient teachers of this science,’ said he, ‘promised impossibilities and performed nothing.’” The true direction and morality of modern medicine is up to only time to