... The constant attention and focus on physical appearances are apparent not only in our society but in Mary Shelly’s novel, Frankenstein. Victor Frankenstein, a modern scientist unleashes a creature constructed of dead body parts. The creature’s social acceptance relies heavily on its hideous features, starting with his own creator, Victor Frankenstein. Throughout the novel Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein’s lack of ethics spurs problematic situations which are the consequences of his...
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...Monster Speaks" N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Jan. 2013. Baldick, Chris. In Frankenstein’s Shadow: Myth, Monstrosity, and Nineteenth-Century Writing. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press, 1987. Bernard E. Rollin. Frankenstein Syndrome: Ethical and Social Issues in the Genetic Engineering of Animals. Cambridge University Press, 1995. Betty T. Bennett. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley: An Introduction. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998. Bloom, Harold, ed.Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987. Caroline J.S. Picart. The Cinematic Rebirths of Frankenstein: Universal, Hammer and Beyond. Praeger, 2001. Dorothy Nelkin and M. Susan Lindee. The DNA Mystique: The Gene as a Cultural Icon. Henry Holt & Company, 1996. Forry, Steven Earl. Hideous Progenies: Dramatizations of Frankenstein from the Nineteenth Century to the Present. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1990. Frankenstein: Complete, Authoritative Text with Biographical, Historical, and Cultural Contexts, Critical History, and Essays from Contemporary Critics, 2nd ed. Johanna M. Smith, ed. St. Martin's Press, 2000. "Frankenstein." Literature.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Jan. 2013. "Frankenstein Quotes." By Mary Shelley. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Jan. 2013. Goldberg, M. A. "Moral and Myth in Mrs. Shelley's Frankenstein. In Keats-Shelley Journal, Vol. 8, 1959, pp. 27-38. John Williams. Mary Shelley: A Literary Life. St. Martin's Press, Inc., 2000. Jon Turney. Frankenstein's Footsteps: Science, Genetics and Popular...
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...Scientific Morality in Frankenstein Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a late nineteenth century novel about a scientist named Victor Frankenstein who creates a living person from dead body parts and gives it life through the power of magic and alchemy. It serves as a cautionary tale that sheds light on the ethical boundaries of scientific experimentation and the potential consequences of ignoring those boundaries for the sake of knowledge alone. Although science is not inherently good or evil, it can be used as a tool for both in the hands of imperfect humans. Victor Frankenstein betrays the scientific code of ethics when he creates a man that society can never accept. Victor, as a scientist, follows the very same path which elementary school children follow today when learning the scientific method; observation, hypothesis, experimentation, and conclusion. Victor Frankenstein observes the power of nature through the destructive force of lightning. He sees the potential of such energies and develops a hypothesis based on his studies of Agrippa and Magnus (German scholars and philosophers), who he looks to as mentors. His hypothesis is that through the power of nature, he can reanimate organic tissue with the use of alchemy which his chosen mentors have claimed to achieve. Victor Frankenstein’s experimentation requires a form, which leads him to the charnel houses to claim tissue from the deceased. His hypothesis proves true, and a monster is born. Throughout the process...
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...create anything we want. However, in Mary Shelley's novel ‘Frankenstein’ and the Canadian Space Arm, we went beyond the boundaries of ethics, where we created objects which were incredulous, yet at the same time, they were monsters of our own making. Both creators were nothing less than admirable in their intentions. Nonetheless, in providing both creations with human- like names and features, they violated what I believe to be ethical limits, and as a result they ended up with unethical monsters. I do not believe that it is right to give inanimate objects human like features; when we...
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...happening right before us, the need to see our exponential growth through a different lens becomes a necessity. But then how does Frankenstein by Mary Shelley written over two centuries ago, still manage to have a lasting impression on today’s society? Even though 250 years on, Frankenstein still manages to be relevant and pertinent to this very day. The reason being is that Frankenstein becomes more than synonymous with “monster” and “crazy inventor” but is in fact a cautionary tale of the monstrosity capable by man. It’s the universal themes of Frankenstein such as what it means to be human, medical ethics and the darker natured tendency of man to achieve ultimate glory. The events that occur in the text stem from Victor Frankenstein’s want and desire for glory. Dr Victor Frankenstein embarks on a futile quest to create and sustain life where he constructs his nameless monster from various dead matter. Here is where the nameless monster comes to life through being electrified into a conscious being. However, when the experiment is finished, Frankenstein is petrified by what he sees and flees the scene. However, for Frankenstein, time and space are unable to separate himself from his creation where the text delves into a cold and thrilling...
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...“Playing God” is a dangerous accusation toward the scientists and researchers that work for the betterment of humanity through organic replacements and modifications. To really play God, one must undertake deliberate actions to create life or affect the human race in a significant manner that many would consider ethically unacceptable. Today’s medical breakthroughs see unnecessary scrutiny due to the misinformed notion that the creation of life through unnatural means is an act of man playing God. This theme of creating life from other pieces is clearly shown in the novel “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley. Also, as seen in cloning, there needs to be a base from another animal or creature. In other words, a scientist cannot make a human or other...
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..."Commercial livestock cloning could inundate the food supply with novel products that have not been safety tested."(Mendelson). Most scientists who oppose the idea claim that cloned animals usually have birth defects, and have not been properly tested for safe consumption. Although this could be true, with the rapidly advancing technology in today’s world it probably will not be long until cloning is perfected, and the animals pass all tests. However, is the cloning of animals really necessary for us to survive? Those who are on the more ethical side of the matter believe that God has and will continue to provide us with plenty of plants and animals to survive on. Thus, the argument can go back and forth depending on your beliefs and personal ethics. Ultimately the answer to the question is what you make it. Another way cloning can benefit us is by the cloning of human organs, or “Therapeutic cloning.” If a person is dying as a result of a defected organ, this technology could simply create the person a new and solve the problem. However, is it safe? “Advocates for cloning believe the technique will push medicine toward curing diseases. What most advocates fail to mention are the abnormalities and other physical defects that go along with both...
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...Nine English AEP Frankenstein/Science Fiction Essay (Reading and Writing Task) Topic: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is the Science Fiction text that allowed all other examples of the sub-genre to follow. Discuss this proposition with specific reference to the Drama Script and Film versions of the novel, along with any other relevant Science Fiction texts you have read or viewed. * Your essay should especially consider Shelley’s context and that of other writers you refer to, as well as your own context as a reader. * You should make specific reference to the texts you are discussing via both direct (quotations) and indirect (explanations) evidence. * Be sure to plan your response so that each paragraph has its own unified idea. A sample paragraph structure might look like the following: 1. Introduction – Thesis: e.g.: “Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is the first text which uses scientific experimentation as the basis of its plot. In doing this, it paved the way for all Science Fiction which followed…” 2. Body P1 – Author context + sub-genre features – what changes have occurred over time as a result of context? Consider Mary Shelley, H.G. Wells, Ray Bradbury 3. Body P2 – Discussion of Frankenstein 4. Body P3 – Discussion of other text e.g.: War of the Worlds (make some reference to Frankenstein as well) 5. Body P4 - Discussion of other text e.g.: There Will Come Soft Rains (make some reference to Frankenstein as well) 6. Body...
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...When Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was first introduced in 1818, many people had contrasting views on the fictional tale. These conflicting perspectives are presented in a piece from The Quarterly Review and Sir Walter Scott’s review in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine. In the Quarterly Review, the writer characterized Frankenstein as a story of absurdity, stupidity, and craziness in order to portray the author with a sense of insanity. In contrast, Sir Walter Scott describes the fantasy with marvel and beauty to portray the author with a sense of appreciation. The difference between the piece from The Quarterly Review and Sir Walter Scott’s review not only lies in each authors opposing feelings about the story but also in each authors ability to support and prove their reasonings behind their beliefs. In The Quarterly Review, the author fails to build...
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...health, are a dangerous thing. Whether it be augmentations, medicine, or reanimation there are serious consequences for advancing technology both on an individual, moral level and for society as a whole. When someone decides to make advancements in science it typically comes at the cost of human relationships. New technology drives people away from each other. New technology is always hotly debated in the news. In the end a society has to decide whether or not a new technology is moral or not. Advancing technology also advances power, which is the most dangerous thing of all. The novel Frankenstein and the video game Deus Ex: Human Revolution explore these dangers. Technology is a dangerous tool to society because it has the ability to destroy human relationships, it can be morally wrong, and it can allow certain groups and individuals to gain scary amounts of power. In the beginning of Frankenstein, Victor was social and communicated with his friends and family often. After Victor created the Creature, he ran into Henry who took notice of the effects of the creation on Victor. Henry said, “I did not before remark how very ill you appear; so thin and pale; you look as though you have been watching for several nights.” (Shelley 45). Victor worked tirelessly on making advancements to science and it made him sick. He did not talk or see his friends or family for a long time. The Creature is a symbol for a technological advancement. Victor represents society as a whole. Victor does...
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...question… Why have we ignored the warnings? Two texts that have presented us with warnings are both Frankenstein and Blade Runner, concerns of their times in both Mary Shelly’s ‘Frankenstein’’ and Ridely scotts blade runner warned us of the consequences of overstepping our boundaries of man kinds moral code and the effect of technology advancement and lack of moral and virtuous conduct that is expected to human kind. These texts are critical of scientists who choose not to question the morality of their research and discoveries or to even consider the damaging consequences of humanity that may follow. Both texts even thought they are set in different times, explore similar themes concerning the disruption of natural order to create artificial life and show how both authors warn us many of the paths followed by over-reaching scientists irresponsible at best and evil at worst. Both texts give us warning to what the future may hold if science continues to strip away man kinds moral code. The time frame in which Frankenstein written was full of great changes and extraordinary discoveries such as electricity and the French revolution, which had bloody consequences which demonstrated how volatile the era was and how social order was being challenged. England was in a societal transformation. These are therefore reflected in Frankenstein such as the electrical experiment on Frankenstein, which was a warning against the expansion of modern humans. In contrast Blade runner was set...
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...In Mary Shelley’s classic horror story Frankenstein, Dr. Victor Frankenstein makes a scientific leap forward in his creation of the monster. He conducts this risky experiment in secrecy without referring to others, and with no contemplation of the possible penalties. Dr. Frankenstein creates the monster simply because he has the ability to do so. This turns out to be a blunder for him since his creation goes on a merciless killing binge over the progression of the next few years. There have been many debates over some of the improvements that have been made in the medical field. For example, stem cell research: Some say that with stem cell research, cures to many infections and ailments can be discovered. This can be done by using the stem cell and observing it in scientific ways. Contradictory opinions of that say that it is corrupt and immoral for researchers to do that because it is like murdering what would become a baby/ human being. Similar disputes occur within readers of this novel....
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...rise of any number of arguments about why it remains so compelling to so many. The story itself is something from the darker side of the mind, playing into just how terrible a human is capable of being without the restraint of ethics, morals or true human compassion. The monster epitomizes the darkest sides of our nature in his simple lack of morality or concern for human life. Perhaps Frankenstein has remained so popular for the many pieces of human nature that it shows...
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...bad that you would do anything to get it? The movie “Death Race” portrays Warden Hennessey as a self centered woman who basically posses all control of the inmates in her maximum security prison. She has her mind set on only the success of her pay-per-view show and money. Warden Hennessey consciously uses ethical objectivism all throughout the movie by analyzing symbolic objects, her ability to cause havoc, and ultimately her ability to control others. An object in this movie that plays a major role in proving Warden Hennessey’s ethical objectivism is Frankenstein’s mask. The mask is used to disguise Jensen Ames as Frankenstein in order to keep viewers of the show more interested. Without the mask, Warden Hennessey would have been unable to keep the viewers from seeing that there is a new driver and that would have hurt the show’s ratings because Frankenstein was so close to gaining his freedom back with four wins. Without the mask it would have almost been like starting all over and the show would lose interest. The mask is used entirely because of the show. Another object that helps show Warden Hennessey uses absolutism in the movie is a photograph. She gives Ames a picture of his infant daughter being held by her new dad that just adopted her. The Warden only does this to try to guilt Ames to give into more of her selfish orders. Ames holds onto this picture for the remainder of the film and looks at it regularly to remind him of the truly important things in his life....
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...shortly after is psychologically painful causing fear and depression. The death of the mother after childbirth would also contribute to this fear. Lockiophobia is the result, women fearing the birth process. Fear is a great motivator for humans, and it can push a person to do good or bad things. Mary Shelley chooses to write expressing her fears of childbirth in a uniquely creative way. Psychotherapy for individuals can be different, and she created her own through her writing. Utilizing the fictitious character of Frankenstein created by a male over a nine month time period before being brought to life. By avoiding the use of a female to create Frankenstein, the fearsome birthing process was bypassed. His life, filled with rejection and lack of love, severely depressed he choose to kill. Any further pregnancies for Mary Shelley would be encased with the fear of death, not only for the infant but also herself. Keywords: Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, childbirth, depression Introduction The fear of childbirth arises from past experience of the birth process, lockiophobia. Mary Shelley’s book was written about a monster that was brought to life. Childbirth does not always end happily, death of a child or mother is always a possibility and the ability to cope is not the same for every woman or their family. The pain and loneliness consumed her dreams and writing gave her the ability to cope. “My life will flow quietly away, and in my dying moments I shall not...
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