Frankenstein By Mary Shelley: A Genetic Analysis

In the modern world, many inventors and scientists are discovering many new ways to challenge and improve society, as it progresses it challenges the ways in how far imagination can go. In these readings, that’s what many of the creators or young inventors tried to do and conquer the challenges and limits of imagination. In the novel Frankenstein, it is about a scientist named Victor Frankenstein who is eager to learn new ideas and thinking from his professors. Victor Frankenstein then creates a monster that destroys everything he has starting from his youngest brother William to his beloved wife Elizabeth. At the end, the creature gives Victor clues to come and follow him, and soon the responsibility passes to Walton who then finds the creature, who kills himself for his actions. Some terms to know is that science fiction is a type of fiction based on futuristic thinking and scientific or technological advances. Also, the pursuit of knowledge can affect humanity by showing some knowledge brings many fatal and other long-term consequences, but some knowledge can produce new pathways into the future.

What differentiates Mary Shelly’s novel, Frankenstein from the majority of horror novels are the very real and timeless themes it explores.  The overriding theme of the novel - scientific investigation without consideration of morality and responsibility is still an important topic in today’s world.  “Perhaps the reality of cloning and genetic engineering makes this theme more relevant today than when Frankenstein was first published”(Patterson). This theme, along with the more subtle themes of revenge, the inability to accept those who are different, and the inability to control one's destiny are all themes which separate Frankenstein from other novels in the genre.

Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein cannot merely be read as a literary work of the early 19th century. It represents the workings of young Shelley's mind. Further, it represents the vast scientific discoveries of the time, combined with Mary Shelley's intuitive perception of science. She views science as a powerful entity, but also recognizes the dangers if uncontrolled. Shelley demonstrates this fear in the book as science drives Victor Frankenstein to create his monster. In the end, it is also his use of science that inevitably becomes his demise.

Victor Frankenstein is infatuated with the science of life and giving life to the dead. He would prove to the world that he could play the hand of god through his invention of life. But this science experiment of his goes completely wrong and instead brings suffering, pain, and despair. Victor thought that through the monster he was making a huge advancement in science. He was improving what in his opinion was needed, he believed that he was creating something brilliant.

The influence of Lord Byron’s competition to see between the three of them who could write the most frightening tale was yet another influence to the result of the novel Frankenstein. The novel was first published anonymously 1818, has been printed more than four hundred editions and has been remade over a dozens times into plays, movies and televisions episodes. In Shelley’s novel the monster is remained nameless and is just known as a monster or creature. The novel was influenced by the science in its era; eugenics, which is the study of human improvement based on belief that genetics determines personality and morals. Shelley gives the monster intelligence, moral character, and emotional complexity.

In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, she explores the idea of emulating God, but also the consequences of neglecting the results of discovery. If Mary Shelley was alive right now, she would be against many ideas of emerging technology, especially genetic engineering. Although her position isn't explicitly stated, she urges the reader not to tamper with creating life. A new technology that is emerging in science is stem cell research.

The technological advances in science currently prevail above the science era of Frankenstein because stem-cell research, cloning, genetic alterations, and tissue engineering represents the accomplishments made through such a short period of time that disregards the possible consequences that could occur, however, parthenogenesis—the reproduction of an embryo without a fertilized egg—becomes evident in the Fiction of Frankenstein because Victor’s ego forces him to the height of an unparalleled scientist without having any concerns. Shelley’s creation of “Frankenstein is still frequently the first point of reference for media reports of such cutting-edge developments, just as it was when human IVF became a viable technique in the early 1970s” (Ball, 'Frankenstein' Reflects the Hopes and Fears of Every Scientific Era, theatlantic.com). The creature, an unorthodox science experiment created by Victor Frankenstein, represents the technological parallels between the 21st century and the time period of the novel because he reflects the fears of all scientific eras: consequences. Frankenstein rejects the creature he created because he deemed the creature unnatural and a “horror of...countenance” (Shelley 42), which pushed Shelley’s purpose for using the creature for the representation of human judgment.

There are three main points from the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelly in relation to the modern creation of ‘designer babies’ such as the danger of knowledge as abuse of technology, Frankenstein by Mary Shelly portrays a mentally unstable scientist named Victor Frankenstein, who reanimates a dead body and when “Frankenstein’s Monster” is born, he unintentionally causes havoc to the community, but when he is rejected he begins intentionally cause pain.

Frankenstein is a story full of questions and excitement. What is interesting about Shelley’s novel is the absence of God and multiple female characters. She ignores the proper way of conception and birth. Due to this, the science of what Victor accomplished had gone awry. His goal while creating the monster was a perfect race in which they would help mankind, “even though the dream of the new race is...exploded” in the end (Levine 12). Victor Frankenstein

The creation of life by unnatural method is a question that Mary Shelley's Frankenstein addresses. Through the events that result from Victor's attempt to bestow life to the inanimate, Shelley concludes that it is inappropriate for man to play god. With the advent of the science of creation, cloning, scientists now face the same problem that Shelley raised years ago. The applications of such research are numerous, all varying in severity. In what way the users for cloning are developed and performed is of much debate. Unfortunately, there is no absolute answer for the issue.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley explores the fight between man and nature through the story of eager scientist Victor Frankenstein, who artificially creates life from the body parts of the deceased with disastrous consequences. By highlighting the intense power of nature, Shelley comments on the folly of attempting to subjugate nature to bend to one’s will.

Cloning today holds a position of one of the most sought after inventions to cure humanity from organ failure and diseases. Scientists are working towards the elimination of human problems in the medical field and advancing in research so that immortality will one day be attainable. This could be a significant breakthrough for the human race, however dabbling in artificial creation remains unhealthy and factitious. Just as cloning falls under the same pretence of unnatural and dangerous life, so does the life that Victor Frankenstein created as he surpasses the accepted limits of human life. Once Victor is awakened to the danger in his discovery, his creation soon destroys everyone and everything near to him. If cloning will soon keep humans living for longer than they should, the outlook on life will be forever distorted. Life at ninety will never again be long enough and a child will only be another of it’s mother. Unless the world’s population equally sees cloning as a life altering experiment, they will often times not be satisfied with the life they posses now. Nothing will ever be good enough, generating a hunger for more knowledge that will dangerously impact the birthing of humans that’s consisted since the beginning of time.

Genetic engineering of food is surrounded with ethical issues or concerns. The main moral concern about genetic engineering of foods is based on the assumption foods produced from such means are harmful to the environment, health, and biodiversity (Weale, 2010). Skeptics on genetic engineering suggest that genetically modified foods are unhealthy and unsuitable for human consumption because their production process is often through unnatural means (Qaim, 2010). Those opposed to genetic engineering of food argue that foods which are genetically engineered might cause diseases such as cancer because the producers rely on genes created in the laboratory. It is further assumed that engineered foods pollute the traditional or natural plants and

Genetic engineering has also been associated with health risks (Nelson, 2001). This is because the process can render some foods which were at some point safe to consume hazardous to those consumers with allergies. The process of genetic engineering cannot be entirely predictable, and foreign substances can develop in these genetically modified foods. This is a fact that is known to the FDA as it does some testing of the final product (Ahmed, 2004). However, there can be no guarantees as to the purity of these genetically modified foods. Besides, introducing new genes to animals and plants can result in the already existing genes to react in a certain way that can include changes in the quality of the organism and reduction of the organism’s nutritional value. Other viewpoints have been brought forth to oppose the production of GMOs such as the arguments that these organisms give rise to ecological risks, upsets the natural balance, hence posing a danger to biodiversity, and that suggesting that genetic engineering is a tool for the corporate to control agriculture (Ahmed, 2004).

When someone mentions a genetically modified food, the mind of skeptics, opponents, and laymen conjure up an amalgamation of a pear, an orange, and a tomato. They hold up the fruit, and say, "Behold, the unnatural creation of these monstrosities will bring about the destruction of the world!" They call this fusion a "Frankenfood," named from Mary Shelley's famous monster Frankenstein, created in 1818, labeling the advanced display of scientific technology as a monster. Yet, in a way, genetic engineering is like Dr. Frankenstein's creation: people fear the creation because of the ignorance of modern science. Do not blame these uninformed people. Unlike the monster, genetically engineered foods and organisms have done much good in the modern world. Despite the call for "natural" foods, fears of danger, and pushes for regulation, GMOs have saved the Earth from mass starvation, boosted food growth without harming the environment, and enlarged food production for the Earth. These benefits must be taught, or else the world will suffer when genetically modified food are discontinued.