Ambition In Frankenstein Research Paper

603 Words3 Pages

What can stop an unrelenting man with a goal in mind? Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, is a Romantic book filled with all sorts of ambition. Some of the desires are good and others are bad. Ambition is shown throughout the novel by the use of conflict, point of view, and characterization. The first way ambition is shown in Frankenstein is through conflict. Conflict is an important part of this story. An example of this is when Victor and the creature are trying put each other in pain because of what they have done. Victor says, "I devote myself, either in my life or death to his destruction"(Shelley 148). He also says, "Again do I vow vengeance; again do I devote thee, miserable fiend, to torture and death. Never will I give up my search, until he or I perish"(Shelley 152). Both of these quotes show how the conflict between each other will desire the hurt, pain, or even death to the other. Also, nobody in their right mind would chase a creature all the way up to the tundra …show more content…

Shelley uses point of view to allow Walton and Victor to express themselves in the first person. When Robert Walton is writing to his sister about his passion to find a passage way, he says, "What can stop the determined heart and resolved will of man"(Shelley 7)? If he puts his mind to the task at hand nothing will be able to stop him; therefore, he states he has ambition and Walton gets to explain how he feels. Another example of point of view in the story is Victor creating the monster. When he realizes the creature had come alive he says, "I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body"(Shelley 35). In this quote, Victor explains what it took for him to be able to create this creature. It would be very hard to work on something for two years without a fire burning inside of you to finish the task at hand. The way Shelley uses point of view gives the reading a different