...Abandonment of a child by a father has a lasting effect on the social and emotional development of a functioning being. The conflict between father and son can be rooted in many different circumstances and causes long-term conflict. The novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, illustrates the struggle between a father and a son that occurs in all societies and time periods. In the novel, the father-son connection that is most crucial to the theme of the book: the impact of abandonment in a beings life. The relationship between Victor Frankenstein and his metaphorical son, the monster, demonstrates the horrors that come out of selfishness and ignorance in Victor’s disregard of his creation. The violence in Frankenstein stems from the original abandonment...
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...The actions of many juveniles has been said to stem from the childhood and their morals growing up. Similarly, in Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's Frankenstein, Victor and the creature's actions can be attributed to their parental teachings. The novel begins with Robert Walton in the 1700s, an explorer looking for a passage leading from the Pacific Ocean to the Arctic ocean. During his trip he discovers and saves fellow European Victor Frankenstein after finding him on the brink of death floating on the water. Victor tells Walton his story speaking on his amazing childhood and his mother's death which eventually lead to his desire to bring the dead back to life. After many tumulus hours of work, he brings life to his creature only to be appalled...
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...Selfishness springs from humankind’s instinctive desire for self-preservation. In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Victor decides to go beyond all boundaries of life and create something from the dead. He becomes all too obsessed with alchemy and human anatomy, that he takes his dark and twisted desires and creates a creature of whom he begins to refer to as a wretch and monster. Victor does all this with no intention of getting to know who the true person behind the ugly yellow skin is. By looking at Victor’s cruel actions and careless thoughts, it is evident that he resembles the true monster, thus revealing that mankind is inherently selfish. Victor has a thirst for knowledge as he becomes obsessed with alchemy and the human anatomy....
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...Frankenstein Notes ------------------------------------------------- Some Interesting Points * There is a chilling logic in the creature's arguments. Why should he not respond in kind to the way that he has been treated by both his maker, who should have cared for him and looked after him, and by mankind as a whole? If the creature is inhuman, it is only because he is imitating the inhumanity of the human species. Therefore, I think that the novel presents Victor as being more inhuman. * Victor is alien in his society in the way that he removes himself from others, for example when he goes about creating the daemon/creation. Victor is very secretive and seems to like it that way... he doesn't really try to understand people like the creation does. The creation tries again and again to belong in the community, its his greatest desire. With Victor, on the other hand, there seems to be a gulf between him and the rest of society. * Justine’s trial testifies to the inhumanity of man. What is important to note is the way this links in to a vital theme of the novel, which is the presentation of the creature himself. He starts off innocent and wanting a relationship with his maker. It is the way that he is shunned by his maker and by humanity and treated cruelly that forces him into cruelty, but this cruelty is only paralleled by the monstrous nature of humanity as displayed in incidents such as the trial of Justine. We cannot expect the creature to be good when...
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...Media P.2 April 5th, 2017 Isolation and Alienation The idea of alienation and isolation is the sense of not belonging to a community of to oneself. Throughout the novel Frankenstein, both Victor and Frankenstein experience isolation and alienation through society, family, and work to a point where it leads to being violent and antisocial. Throughout the story Shelley so different examples of isolation but the one we notice the most is the isolation and alienation of the monster, Frankenstein. He was created through isolation and alienation, being so different and not like the rest of society, Frankenstein kept to himself and hide away to be isolated. In the story Frankenstein and Victors paths...
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...Victor Frankenstein also proves that he is to blame for the Creature’s evil actions because, in the creation process, he never considers the thoughts and feelings of the Creature. The epigraph of Frankenstein which is from John Milton's work Paradise Lost perfectly describes the Creature’s feelings, stating that Did I request thee Maker from my clay, To mold me, Man, did I solicit thee, From the darkness to promote me (Shelley). John Milton’s Adam quote shows that Frankenstein never considers how the Monster will feel about being created so ugly, that he, in a sense, transforms the Creature into an evil monster. Just as Rousseau’s state of Nature Theory claims that as man gains power, he becomes corrupt. Victor gained the power to create another lifeform, that he forgot about consequences, thus leading to his downfall towards the end of the book. Along with this topic, Victor also never considers the fact that the Creature is partially human and therefore has human characteristics. The Creature demonstrates these characteristics when he asks Victor to make him a female companion because each character wants to have a partner to eliminate loneliness and misery. The Creature also displays several other human characteristics such as his sense of want towards the Delacey family when he explains his hopes that the family...
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...Imagine being cast into exile by your own parents at birth, forcing you to discover the world on your own. That’s exactly what Victor Frankenstein did to his own creation in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, proving that monsters can come in various physical forms, but they all share the same twisted mentality. Destruction and turmoil were some of the many things brought about by Victor’s reactions towards creating life. Instead of facing the new problems placed in front of him by his decision to create a new being, Victor ran away. He left his creature without the fatherly guardian it needed when first discovering the world, thus creating a vindictive relationship between the two. This relationship leads to the death of Victor’s loved ones by...
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...The Moral Immoralities of Victor Frankenstein In the novel Frankenstein, the author Mary Shelley portrays the limitations of man in his pursuit of scientific creativity. She illustrates Victor Frankenstein’s attempts and success at creating a human being in his laboratory as an immoral attempt to play the role of God. Shelley repeatedly shows the monster’s harmful effects on society and often places blame on Victor for the Monster’s detrimental actions. In order to emphasize the immorality and mistakes in Victor’s attempts to play God, Shelley constructs a recognizable parallel to the story of Genesis when God creates man and woman. In order to show her disapproval of such an endeavor, Shelley intentionally causes Victor to fail. This deviation from the parallel in Genesis demonstrates that man cannot exceed his natural limitations, or mimic the role of God. The story begins with Victor’s decision to create the Monster. Victor says that he “[s]ucceeded in discovering the cause of generation and life; nay, more, [he] became capable of bestowing animation upon lifeless matter” (Shelley 43). Immediately, a parallel is drawn to the creation of man in Genesis. This parallel continues when Victor discloses to the reader that he, “[c]ollected bones from charnel-houses and distrusted, with profane fingers, the tremendous secrets of the human frame” (Shelley 45). Shelley portrays the creation of Victor’s monster in a subtle but similar way that God created man. Her intention is for...
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...He was unique, alone, and an individual. God then breathed life into a companion, named Eve, for Adam.. Unfortunately in the story of Genesis, Adam and Eve betray God’s trust and are cast out of the Garden of Eden. Michelangelo’s paintings of the Sistine Chapel capture the story of Adam and Eve from Genesis. Similarly, in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the Creature can be compared to Adam and his creator, Victor Frankenstein to God. The Creature was also an individual, unique, and lonely being created by someone who was supposed to care for him, but unfortunately the Creature doesn’t get that same guidance as Adam gets from God. He says, “I ought to be thy Adam; but I am rather the fallen angel" (Shelley 66). In Frankenstein, there are many references towards the story God and Adam in Genesis. Because of these references many think that the stories are a little similar. That may be, but there are by far more dissimilarities. I believe that the Creature’s story doesn’t match up with the story of Adam in Michelangelo’s paintings of the Sistine Chapel. Adam was created in God’s image and born in a more natural way then the Creature in Frankenstein. God breathed life into Adam in Michelangelo’s paintings. It shows God looking at Adam in such a peaceful and loving way. God’s hand is fully stretched out toward Adam, showing how important he was to his creator. Adam is pictured as the ideal human male with large muscles and well-designed contours. Adam’s creation is thought to be extraordinary...
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...Many themes shown in the book “Frankenstein” are good representations of life lessons. One theme is, “the quest for knowledge can lead to a dangerous path to follow.” Victor uses his genus ability and his thirst for knowledge to create a monster that ultimately uses his power to destroy Victor’s life. The monster requests another creature’s creation of his kind, and when Victor refuses, the monster seeks vengeance on his creator. During this hunt for revenge that the monster partakes in, many deaths occur and Victor begins to realize he made a huge mistake. In chapter 5, Victor creates a monster because he is intrigued by the capability and knowledge of his learning abilities. Victor portrays a canny personality and one of the only desires...
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...Introduction Many literary critics consider Mary Shelley's Frankenstein as one of the most impressive and imaginative Gothic horror novels of all times. In the novel, Shelley managed to create one of the most phenomenal creatures in literary history: Frankenstein monster. The epistolary style that the author employs allows the reader to view the circumstances from varied viewpoints and draw conclusions from the plot and the characters. The book The plot has a variety of story-lines rolled into one. The main however is about a Doctor Victor Frankenstein who though born to a well-to-do and loving family, is over- ambitious and thirsts to prove himself. After achieving excelling academically, he designs a technique of creating life from a fusion of inanimate objects, dead bodies an animal parts. The doctor is not satisfied with achieving conventional feats but is determined to create a living being. It is this ambition that leads to the creation after years of painstaking work. It is this creation that leads to Victor's downfall. The creation is 8 feat tall and due to the use of human parts that do not march his massive size, is hideous. He is described as having watery yellow eyes, a withered, yellowish, translucent skin which barely conceals his muscular system and blood vessels. The only good aspects of his appearance are his perfect, white teeth, long black hair and his black lips. The doctor, who had hoped to create a beautiful being is shocked by his creation...
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...knew how to manage their ambitions. However, when people are not able to think of other things because they are overly into one particular thing, passion becomes evilly obsessive. In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley tries to convey that passion is blinding and perilous when people no longer control their desires over one thing in a reasonable way. A major character, Victor Frankenstein’s powerful passion towards science brings total ruin on his life, putting his beloved people in death of dangers through his creature. As he sees a complete creature, Victor runs away, shocked by its disgusting appearances even though he was filled with joy and delight when he creates it. Irresponsibly, Victor abandons his creature, and the creature starts to become drastically evil, causing deaths of Victor’s family and friend: Victor’s young brother William, dearest Justine, true friend Henry, his lover Elizabeth, and his father Alpfonse. Ironically, due to the final product of great passions, Victor almost lost all the beloved people. Victor’s strong desires made him blind so that he does not know that his excessive passion could drive him to have horrific mistakes of creating a human being. He should not have started to study “the secrets of heaven and earth” since it was somewhat beyond nature. Victor’s unforgivable behavior for destroying a dead person’s body to create a human being led him fall to the bottom...
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...Alicia Bozzuto Period 6 Frankenstein Textpert Project: In Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, has captured the attention of millions of readers over the centuries. There are many questions one must ask in order understand the full purpose and intention of Frankenstein; can someone devaluate life so easily? What is the meaning of life? Can science really go too far? The outcomes of technology and science, even God for that matter, both positive and negative, can drastically affect the outcome of a creation. In Frankenstein, Victor realizes that triumphing science, the forces of nature and the mocking of God can, just as quickly, back fire. Victor Frankenstein, even as a young boy, was fascinated with the way things work and why they happened. In order to fulfill his quest social standings, he becomes obsessed with an idea that no one had ever thought or attempted before; creating a “perfect being”. With this idea, possibly mad idea, he did construct a being but certainly not “perfect” in his eyes. Victor shows as the devaluation of life and the society that demands for perfection by the creation of the monster. “Victor’s characteristics of selfishness, pride, dishonesty, and lack of value for life are presented.” (Lundsford) In his creation of life, something so incredible, once thought impossible, had finally come to a reality, but it was still not perfect enough for him. Frankenstein was unable to cope with his status as a creator; the thought of his creation haunted him...
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... 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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...If you had to make a decision based on something that you did that could affect all of humanity, what would you choose? Would you choose the option better for you or better for humanity? The subtitle of Mary Shelley's book Frankenstein is "The Modern Prometheus." To be Promethean means to go against a greater power, disobey something that the greater power asks of you for the sake of humanity, and to be punished for your actions. Victor Frankenstein is Promethean. Victor Frankenstein fits my definition of what it means to be the "Modern Prometheus" because he created the creature by going against the forces of nature. An example of this is that Victor has the materials needed to bestow animation and he hopes that his attempts will lay the...
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