?The Consequences of Being Smart
The good and bad sides of intellect and knowledge have baffled people for centuries. From the beginning of time, man has struggled to draw the line between knowledge and science, and religion, and have fought countless battles over it. However, this is no one-sided matter. The benefits and consequences of intelligence and knowledge are determined only by how it is being used. In the novel Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus, this conflict of interests tore and shook Dr. Frankenstein’s life to its very foundations. Dr. Frankenstein creates the creature in the hopes of helping mankind, but because of his intelligence he becomes overconfident, ending in his creating the very being that was to destroy
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Prometheus, a namesake of the Frankenstein novel, uses his intelligence and wit to defeat the Titans, earning him Zeus’s favor. However, he also used his aptitude to later steal fire from the Apollo chariot to bring to the humans. Zeus, after discovering that Prometheus had disobeyed him, chained Prometheus to a cliff where his liver would be eaten by vultures every day. It was a never-ending punishment, since his liver would painfully grow back at night, just to be pecked out the next day. Prometheus’s intellect may have been useful, but when he turns against Zeus to bring fire to the humans, his intelligence turns on him. And even though fire advanced humans into organized civilizations, Greek mythology also mentioned that once man received and mastered fire, strife and warfare began. Another Greek myth worth mentioning is the story of the Greek hero, Achilles. His mother, the Nereid Thetis, had the ability to predict the future. Upon learning that her child, Achilles would later die in the Trojan War, Achilles’ mother took baby Achilles to a spring of immortality, and dipped him in the water. Hoping that this would allow him to escape his fate, she submerged the baby into the water, making him immortal. All of him was covered except the heel because that is where she held onto him. He became almost invincible, except for his heel. In the end, he was shot there by an arrow, and he died.
He is in constant refusal of responsibility, and ends up essentially plaguing not only his life, but also the lives around him. After constructing and animating the creature, he’s in a flux never ending negative emotions. The creation gets turned into a monster both physically and mentally. Frankenstein describes the horrors that come along with scientific experimentation, and the pursuit of science unavoidably leading to tragedy. The novel presents insights that are just as valid today as when the novel was written in the 19th century. Dr. Frankenstein makes a scientific breakthrough in his creation of the monster, but at what cost? This novel shows us the dangers of attempting to find something we are simply unprepared to manage. Victor’s urges to truly learn the secret of making life completely blinds him to the consequences of achieving such a feat. This book also shows that our ethical (or unethical) actions have the potential to hurt not only ourselves, but also others around us.
Though Victor Frankenstein thinks fundamentally in terms of ‘who belongs to whom’, he and the Creature share a strange bond that goes beyond the bounds of mere possession. Frankenstein clearly ignores his mutual obligations and promises, especially towards the Creature, creating a relationship between the two that is composed entirely of power-struggles rather than any form of mutuality. In addition to this, as one who thinks about social organization in terms of sheer power, Frankenstein extends this master-slave relationship to nature itself – in short, he treats nature the same as he treats his unnatural Creation.
The relationship between Victor and The Creature shows a distortion of selfhood and human behavior in society as they both internally aren't individuals at all and they don't realize what choices are right from wrong. To create and conquer , you must have a reason and a mindset . Victor Frankenstein created “The Creature” with a godly desire. Ever since he was young , he had an interest in science and the balance of “life and death” " A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me.
“We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery, we need humanity. More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness.”(Charlie Chaplin) a powerful statement that applies strongly to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Victor Frankenstein created his being due to his thirst for alchemy and his unnatural obsession with being God-like. Once created the creature is denied love and companionship by his creator and humanity. The creature’s appearance is too monstrous for humanity to look past and see the good in the creature. As the novel progresses, the creature’s good nature slowly dissipates leaving him an angry and violent murderer after being subject to constant rejection by all who encounter him. Mary Shelley holds Victor responsible for the creature’s violent actions shown throughout the novel. Victor’s lack of responsibility for his creation was selfish,Victor allowed the creation
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein: A Modern Prometheus, Victor Frankenstein creates a monster. But unwilling to help it, he leaves it powerless in the land of man. Having no power in man’s world, the monster struggles to gain power and control over his life throughout the book, but in the end, the pursuit of freedom causes his demise. When the monster is first created, Victor Frankenstein runs away.
In Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, the creature argues that he is not to blame for the harm he has caused in the world-- instead, Victor is to blame because by creating the creature, he exposes him to the horrors of judgement and rejection of humankind (111). Victor agrees with this point when originally declining the creature’s resolution of ending the feud with the creation of a companion and a subsequent exile, saying, “You will return, and again seek their kindness, and you will meet with their detestation; your evil passions will be renewed, and you will then have a companion to aid you in the task of destruction,” (112). Others argue that the creature is to blame because he learns between right and wrong, good and evil, heaven
In the novel, “Frankenstein”, by Mary Shelley, Victor Frankenstein demonstrates unethical behaviour many times during the major moments in the book. Frankenstein‘s poor decisions include leaving loved ones to pursue education and making a creature, his method of dealing with the creature, and his method of dealing with the deaths of his friends and family. Victor Frankenstein’s moral and ethical misjudgements spark the tragedies in the novel.
Frankenstein and the monster’s regard for human life diminished as they began to play God with the lives of others. After leaving the cottage and seeing how even people as kind as Felix and Agatha could not look past his own superficial hideousness the monster turned violent, in an effort to cause as much harm to his creator as Dr. Frankenstein had to him by making the monster so ugly that all of humanity hated him. In an effort to control Victor’s life, the monster killed Dr. Frankenstein’s brother, wife, and best friend, all while trying to blackmail Victor into creating another monster. In the face of rejection from humankind the monster transitioned from wanting compassion, to attempting to command fear “[the monster] was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend, make me happy and I shall again be virtuous.” (.94) The monster recognized the horror he had become and forced his pain upon Victor in order for his creator to feel as much pain as he, the creation, had to endure. Dr. Victor Frankenstein’s desire and success in discovering the secrets of biological science caused him to believe that he was of a higher status than the rest of humanity, whom he believed to be too prideful over their few accomplishments. This perceived self superiority over humanity was what led him to try and create a higher-caliber race, which could accomplish all that normal humans could not. Dr. Frankenstein threw away his relationships with family and friends in the pursuit of
Who is the real monster?” acts as the dominant question throughout the novel “Frankenstein” written by Mary Shelly as the reader explores the protagonist Victor Frankenstein and his nameless creation. As the novel progresses, the reader notices how the relationship between the two characters goes far beyond a neglectful creature and resentful creation, for the two influence the thoughts, actions and emotions of each other. Furthermore, the creature’s physical appearance acts as his purpose throughout the novel as well as a mirror of Victor Frankenstein’s true identity. Additionally, the creature’s lack of identity begins to initiate Frankenstein’s shame towards his own identity, revealing the flawed character of Frankenstein and determining the resolution to the question “Who is the true monster? Who is the true catalyst of destruction?” During the novel, the reader is able to identify the creature as the most effective foil for Victor Frankenstein because the creature causes: Frankenstein to view the action of the creature as his own work, the shift between pride and shame in Frankenstein, and his physical appearance demonstrates his purpose to reveal the true character of Victor Frankenstein.
Victor Frankenstein created the creature in order to further science, however the creature took on a mind of it’s own. The creature’s mind consisted of several things that had similarities to the personality of it’s creator’s mind. Victor Frankenstein left the creature to it’s own devices, which caused death and destruction. But even though they developed a hatred for each other, Victor and the creature really do not have that different personalities and character traits. Both have a deep desire for strong attachments to others, their tempers match each other when their ire rises, and they both connect deeply with nature.
A heavily emphasized theme in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is science vs. nature or Destruction against creation, as in the case of Frankenstein science and destruction seemingly go hand in hand. The narrator, Victor Frankenstein, is a natural philosopher who is so fixated on the creation and destruction of life that he devotes years to discovering a way to create life in inanimate objects. Once Frankenstein accomplishes this feat, he has, in a sense, upset the balance of nature. In creating this one unnatural life, Frankenstein also destroys the lives of others. It is no coincidence that Frankenstein becomes ill as he works on creating this unnatural life.
Alhough Victor Frankenstein calls his creature a monster, and considers it disgusting and abhorrent, it is in fact Frankenstein who behaves monstrously. He claims to have created the creature for a noble purpose: to defeat death. However, it is clear that his motives
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, from the moment Victor Frankenstein creates a being that he neglects to even name, it is left to live and grow alone, feared and detested by all of mankind. Victor hates the creation for his existence, and the creation hates Victor for bringing him into the world, in addition to his refusal to take responsibility and help ease the anguish he feels as a result of complete exile from humans. Victor Frankenstein’s creation acts as a doppelganger of Frankenstein himself, and both characters rely on the existence of the other to motivate themselves to continue living; without one another their desire for revenge would be futile.
Frankenstein, Or the Modern Prometheus written by Mary Wolfenstein Shelley(1797-1851), is a classical novel that is nothing short of legendary. Born out of a leisurely cabin visit, Mary Shelley crafted one of the hallmark novels of the English Romantic period. Set in the gothic, science fiction genre, Frankenstein tells the tale of scientist Victor Frankenstein creating a monster that wreaks havoc over his world. What is on the surface just a spooky book, actually delves in the time tested narrative of creator vs creation. In this particular situation, it begs the question; Is Frankenstein(creator) good or bad? The answer is straight-forward and absolute. Frankenstein is bad due to his various displays of foolishness, selfishness and irresponsibility.
Frankenstein, a Modern Prometheus Novel Mary Shelly’s novel, Frankenstein, a Modern Prometheus teaches that a monster is defined not by its creation, but by its actions and reason for them. This novel teaches that some people have skewed morals. For example, despite knowing what is right and wrong Victor choose to do what would bring him glory. His creation while inventive, was wrong and immoral. Victor brought a creature that had no place in the world to life.