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Essay On The Journey In Victor Frankenstein

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1.Every Trip is a Quest (except when it’s not)

While it may not seem like it, some of the most insignificant of trips in literature can account as an impactful experience for the main character. A quest can be defined by five major key points: a quester, a destination, a reason to go there, challenges along the way and finally a real reason to go there. When reading about a quest, the main reason behind the journey is often not about saving the princess or picking up a loaf of bread for mom as much as it is about self-knowledge. For example, as seen in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the story within a story expresses three different questers: Walton’s voyage for exploration, Victor Frankenstein’s pursuit for the secret of life and finally the monsters quest for affection in a heartless and judgemental society. The first quester, Walton, seeks to travel to the North Pole in the name of scientific advancements. During his trip, he encounters many challenges along the way: possible mutiny and entrapment between glaciers, all of which delay his quest. In an act of self-realization, he decides to halt his expedition as continuing would result in the loss of more lives the farther he traveled into the North. The second quester, Victor Frankenstein, devotes his entire being to finding the secret of life in a desperate attempt to feed his overwhelming God-complex. Throughout this trying and treacherous journey, Frankenstein loses sight of what really matters in life until

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