The Role Of Cloning In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

The legendary Socrates once said “I cannot teach anybody anything. I can only make them think.” Throughout Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, this statement is justified through Victor’s argument to Robert Walton that achieving knowledge is dangerous and not worth the many sacrifices it entails. In doing so Frankenstein ultimately intends to pursuade Walton to not make the same mistakes he did in his pursuit of knowledge. Although Victor may have had good intentions, I disagree with his warning to Robert Walton simply because Victor’s own argument changes at the end of the novel due to his incompetence to accept responsibility for his actions.

More than half of Frankenstein accounts for Victor Frankenstein retelling his story to Robert Walton. The novel opens up with Robert Walton informing Frankenstein how adamant he is in achieving his goal of being the …show more content…
Although they slightly differ, there are several similarities between the two. Back in 1818 when Shelley first published Frankenstein there were no obvious traces of stem cell research, thus making her novel completely fictional. Fast forward to today and we now have the technology and resources to effectively pursue stem cell research and cloning. Interestingly Michigan has banned cloning but “state law does permit the use of embryonic stem cells in research within Michigan labs as long as they have been retrieved from embryos outside of the state.” (Katz and Walker 11). While stem cell research may be deemed inappropriate for society, it is simply remarkable the number of breakthroughs scientists have made over the years. Some argue that stem cell research and cloning is a way to “mock God”, similar to how Victor Frankenstein felt he was wise to the point of playing God in his creation of the monster. Stem cell research may have its perks, but the cons outweigh the