Frankenstein : A Whole Mess Of Things

Finally, Robert Walton and the creature are portrayed with parallels that regard their ambition for discovery and knowledge—eventually leading to destruction. Both feel that they do not fit into society, and therefore feel that they have to change something in order to fit in. In the opening letters, Walton doubts himself in finding a real friend, even among “merchants and seamen” (9). Therefore, he makes an effort to be accepted. Walton voluntarily endures “cold, famine, thirst, and want of sleep” (7) while devoting his nights to the “study of mathematics, the theory of medicine, and…physical science” (7). Although Walton is appointed a high position in his ship by the captain, he is still in longing for a true friend. Likewise, the creature is

The idea of pursuing knowledge clouded Victor’s mind and when his creature is born he is shocked to discover that what he has created is far off his own expectations. Not only did the monster destroy his expectations of developing a creature that went beyond human knowledge, but it also affected his life, dignity, and fears. Victor himself admits to his own mistake when he says, “The different accidents of life are not so changeable as the feelings of human nature...but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless honor and disgust filled my heart ” (36). Victor Frankenstein realizes what his obsession with pursuing an extensive amount of knowledge has brought him. His destiny to achieve the impossible with no regard for anyone or anything but himself shows that he is blinded by knowledge when creating the monster and is incapable to foresee the outcome of his creation. Victor’s goal was meant to improve and help humanity, but instead it leads to

Walton is like a past version of Frankenstein before he created the monster. He is young, naïve and excited about the task which he will endure. Both Walton and Frankenstein were well educated and both were very close to their sisters. From the letters, we learn that Robert’s passion for a sea-farer’s life stems back to his childhood, where he would read nothing but histories of voyages.

Throughout the entire of the novel, Frankenstein, Mary Shelley shows that Frankenstein’s demise is a direct result of his own decisions. Mary displays this through three vivid actions that Victor did; the creation of the creature, the death of his Brother and trial of Justine, and the ignorance Victor had that led to the murder of Victor’s wife, Elizabeth. Victor was a very smart student with an immense drive to accomplish whatever he told himself he was going to accomplish. With Victor’s early studying in college, Victor describes his situation when studying “Victor’s cheeks had grown pale with study, and my person had become emaciated with confinement. “ (Shelley 40), Showing Victor relied so heavily on studying that he was hurting his body

Victor Frankenstein was very well educated, he attended The University of Ingolstadt, where he, as stated before, studied natural philosophy and chemistry. Along with university, Frankenstein was an avid reader of Paracelsus and Albert Magus, both philosophers who Victor got a lot of his inspiration from. It was at this point in Frankenstein’s life that he decided he wanted to find the secret of life. His journey to find the secret of life led him to trying to create the perfect human, which he failed at (Pahl 17). The

Victor Frankenstein in the book Frankenstein faces many terrible situations and has to face many consequences for trying to play God’s role in creating life. Victor seen and dealt with many situations as a young boy that will lead to his madness and obsession with science. Victor has always been intrigued with science and life ever since he was a boy. He studied natural science endlessly trying to master how to create a creature that could sustained life. When Victor finally creates his creature, he becomes disgusted with how it turns out. Victor runs from his creation failing to teach him any social or moral qualities. The creature haunts Victor killing many of his family and friends. Victor will try to run from the many problems he has caused. This causes Victor’s misery throughout the book. Victor becomes the true murderer in the book for trying to play God and create life with science.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein revolves around the life story of the protagonist, Victor Frankenstein. Victor Frankenstein lived a life of luxury with this incredible yet dangerous thirst for knowledge and was unable to ever quench it. Victor’s obsession with reviving the dead and immortality somewhat sprouts from the death of his dearly beloved mother, who died when he was seventeen. When he goes to study at the University of Inglestadt, he idolizes his professor Mr. Waldman, who teaches natural chemistry and “modern” alchemy. He learns through Waldman that alchemy is technically possible, and quickly expirements that theory for himself in secrecy. Since the beginning of his expirement, the secrecy keeps adding up and never tells anyone what dreadful attempt is occurring in his laboratory. He feels the need to hide this expirement for a couple of reasons. First of all, such alchemy during that time was considered witchcraft, which to most of Europe was a high offense of heresy, which ultimately would have terminal consequences. Secondly,

Victor Frankenstein was obsessed with knowledge, and thought knowledge was the key to unlocking nature and become a pioneer in science and challenging God. “I have described myself as always having been imbued with a fervent longing to penetrate the secrets of nature” (Shelley, Frankenstein, 21). Victor always had to push boundaries, and his passion drove him closer to science and immorality and farther from his family and friends. Once Victor sees his abomination animated, his potential come alive, he wishes for nothing more than if it had never happened. He moves on to a new obsession – fleeing his past. It consumes him and his health.

Throughout Frankenstein, Victor proves to be quite an egotistical person. Victor’s actions will sometimes be selfish and not as noble as he would like others to believe. He creates the monster with a desire to obtain awe and fame and to make sure that his name will be remembered throughout history. “… a light so brilliant and wondrous… that I alone should be reserved to discover so astonishing a secret” (Shelley 37). While this discovery of Victor’s may be groundbreaking, he fails to think of the negative consequences, only thinking of himself and what this could potentially

This experiment places him out of society and in isolation for months, showing his obsession with creating something that is his own. In addition, Frankenstein knows he has the ability to create the monster where he "[emphasizes] the necessary deference to nature that empirical science lacked, [Shelley] found her portrayal of Victor's artificial human complicated by the materialism of his genesis" (Willis 2). Victor's arrogance in knowledge led him to create the monster only because he knew he could. The monster is purely experimental and Victor creates the monster because his knowledge overcame his decision between morals and achievements.

Victor Frankenstein was a scientist that was so caught up in his research that he lost touch with reality. He was born in Naples to Alphonse Frankenstein and Caroline Beaufort, who later died due to scarlet fever. Scarlet fever is a bacterial illness that would occur due to people who have a strep throat. In the 19th century the death rate from scarlet fever was extremely high at the time (150/100,000), epidemics broke out quite frequently. As a child be wanted to know anything and everything there was to know about alchemy.

Victor Frankenstein is dissatisfied, with the limits of traditional knowledge and buries himself in scientific studies to discover hidden secrets of life and death is operating the plot. He succeeds gloriously, ultimately become like God, able to create life, but he sacrifices a lot for his ambition, away from the world and nature, his family, and his fiancée. Even the moment of his biggest achievement proves to be ominous. Victor is unwilling to face up to his responsibilities when his new creation comes to life.

He was so smart that he went to college at seventeen and was such a gifted alchemist that he gave life to a collection of dead parts that he pieced together. The only points on which one might challenge the humanity of Frankenstein are his decisions he makes with regard to the Creature. Following all the horrid things that the Creature has done to him, Victor loses his mind to some degree. The level at which Frankenstein seeks his revenge some people might consider to be inhuman. Travelling to the ends of the earth in order to exact revenge is not fitting with the inherent kindness of the human spirit.

Firstly, Victor Frankenstein purposely confines himself to his laboratory, temporarily forgetting about his friends and family, thus leaving him with no one to caution him against meddling in the science of bestowing life. Seeing as he has little interest in acquainting himself with the townspeople of Ingolstadt, with the exception of M. Waldman, Victor fully immerses himself in his studies and becomes increasingly enraptured by his deranged ideas. He spends so much time endeavouring to finish his project that he no longer takes care of himself: “My cheek had grown pale with study, and my person had become emaciated with confinement.” (81, Shelley). Because Victor’s withdrawal from society is deliberate, it is even more difficult for him to resign from his occupation of creating a new living being, wrongly believing that this new creature will love and praise him as a god. Perhaps it is the very fact that

Victor Frankenstein, a complex character created by Mary Shelley, experienced a complete change in attitude and perspective on the scientific world as he knew it. Between the deaths of his close family and friends, to the constant fight for survival as his own creation stalked him, Victor was under straining circumstances that allowed for his evolution as a character. Pre monster, Victor had strong morals and close relationships with his family. His family was his priority. Victor’s dedication to science was always a constant nagging in the back of his mind, but it did not mean more to him than his family dead. During the formation of his creation, he began to block off his family, especially his fiancee, Elizabeth. His dedication to science was his only priority, above food and hygiene. He was driven by the creation of his monster. After creation, his family members were killed off, eliminating any type of relationship he had with them, he rejected all science and moral values.