Knowledge In Oedipus And Frankenstein

The desire of extensive knowledge is first seen through Victor Frankenstein. At the beginning of the novel, a young boy named Victor grows up in Geneva “deeply smitten with the thirst for knowledge” (20).

Some say that knowledge can be a blessing and a curse. Others say that intelligence can only be a curse. People argue that knowledge can help mankind, while it can also can make dangerous monsters that can harm others. However, in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Victor’s intelligence is mostly seen only as a curse because it unleashes a murderer, results in his sickness, and makes him want the knowledge to be kept a secret.

In Frankenstein, one of the meanings that are portrayed throughout the story is that being ambitious in searching for knowledge and learning can be both a blessing, but also a curse. It shows Victor being very dedicated to his studies and how he can use what he learned to change the world forever. He discovers his interest in alchemy, human physiology, and the use of electric power and later on starts studying those subjects to see what he can make out to forever make an impact in the world. As a result, his knowledge was a blessing to him but later on came the consequences. Without further ado, here’s how knowledge can be a blessing or a curse to you.

Frankenstein is a book written by Mary Shelley in 1818, that is revolved around a under privileged scientist named Victor Frankenstein who manages to create a unnatural human-like being. The story was written when Shelley was in her late teen age years, and was published when she was just twenty years old. Frankenstein is filled with several different elements of the Gothic and Romantic Movement of British literature, and is considered to be one of the earliest forms of science fiction. Frankenstein is a very complicated and complex story that challenges different ethics and morals on the apparent theme of dangerous knowledge. With the mysterious experiment that Dr. Victor Frankenstein conducted, Shelly causes her reader to ultimately ask

In classical Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, “Child’s identification with the same sex parent is the successful resolution of the Oedipus complex; key psychological experiences that are necessary for the development of a mature sexual role and identity” (Bullock 705). In Frankenstein, Oedipus complex makes Frankenstein have pains and joys, affecting his character and fate. In the following discussion is divided into two parts: first, the desire of Victor Frankenstein to his mother, followed by his rivalry toward his father.

The plot of Oedipus the King, a Greek Tragedy written by Sophocles, revolves around several prophecies. A plague has stricken Thebes, and Oedipus discovers that the plague will only end when the murder of King Laius has been caught. Additionally, another prophecy states that the son of King Laius and Queen Jocasta would kill his father and sleep with his mother. Oedipus vows to the citizens of Thebes that he will find the murderer, but as the plot develops, Oedipus comes to the realization that he himself was the murderer that he had been seeking. There are several scenes in Oedipus the King that incorporate violence, and these violent scenes are a critical aspect of the play because they contribute to the development of the plot; the use of violence, whether verbal or physical, also enhances our understanding of the characters’ personalities and/or emotions.

The pursuit of knowledge is not the only passion that can lead to a person to a life of suffering. Shelley’s example of Frankenstein’s uncontrollable urge to learn can be applied to any passion that is taken to an extreme. “A human being in perfection ought always to preserve a calm and peaceful mind, and never allow passion or a transitory desire to disturb his tranquility” (Shelley 64).

“Learn from me…how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow” (Shelley, 39).

In Oedipus the King, Sophocles uses his protagonist, Oedipus, to explore his pursuit of knowledge, which leads to his tragic destruction. Oedipus is a favorable king who is determined to end the curse that has been brought upon the city because the murderer of his predecessor, Laius, still lies in the city. Ironically, Oedipus delivers the curse to the city because he murdered his father, Laius. Oedipus’s desire to gain knowledge and bring the murderer of Laius to justice, results in his downfall, which causes the people around him to be greatly affected as well.

In the novel, Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein shows the cruel karma that joins in the achievement of attaining knowledge. With countless examples to support this statement, the opinion of this reader holds strong with the opinion of Mary Shelly, that the power of knowledge, though incredibly tempting to grasp hold of tightly, can be a dangerous achievement that can lead to more destruction than it can recover.

Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles, follows the tragic story of a king named Oedipus who goes from an all-powerful ruler to a hopeless blind peasant. Oedipus the King was written as a play and performed in front of an audience. Sophocles shows in Oedipus the King that one cannot escape the fate of the gods. Throughout the play Oedipus struggles to find a solution and change all the troubles in his life. The play observes the story of Oedipus who defies the gods and through the journey experiences hardships in tragic flaw, tragic fall and tragic realization.

“Knowledge” recurring many times throughout the Frankenstein novel. A word that speaks for itself but also can have different meanings. It is also a powerful tool to that can be used as a result of our judgment. “Knowledge consists in recognizing the difference between good and bad decisions”. (Knowledge Intellectual understanding)

Oedipus the King is perhaps one of the most famous and influential of Sophocles' plays. It is a tragic play which focuses on the discovery by Oedipus that he has killed his father and married his mother. On the surface of this drama there is, without a doubt, a tone of disillusionment.

The timing of the chorus’ plea as Oedipus enters the stage clearly demonstrates that Oedipus is the man whom he seeks, the murderer of the king. The truth of the play is revealed, yet Oedipus remains ignorant.

Individuals are often victims of their own fate, meaning what was once seemingly impossible became truth through a predestined prophecy. Oedipus the King by Sophocles exemplifies the behavior of one who faces the grueling process of recognizing the truth; it reveals that people suffer whether they are oblivious or conscious of their own veracity. Consequently, people who go through the process of recognition often endure bittersweet results in their life; they are gifted with the reward of knowledge, but cursed by navigating the world with the truth they never wanted.