Someone once said, “With every scientific advance, there is a price to pay in terms of ethical considerations. It's our responsibility as a society to ensure that the benefits outweigh the costs." Although separated by nearly a century, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, share a common theme of exploring the consequences of uncontrolled scientific progress and the difficulties that arise when humanity plays with fire. It also forces us to ask ourselves- Does technology change what it means to be human? In Frankenstein, we're introduced to Victor Frankenstein, a mad scientist whose ambition knows no bounds. Leading him down a dark path of obsession and moral ambiguity, Victor’s desire to overcome death ultimately ruins his life while also …show more content…
We witness the birth of the Creature, a being shunned by society and tormented by existential loneliness. To Victor, the creature is just a body part. Body parts that lack spirit and soul, begging scientists to tear them apart. On page 31, Mary Shelley underscores the disturbing notion of severing life from a soul, “Darkness had no effect upon my fancy, and a churchyard was to me merely the receptacle of bodies deprived of life, which, from being the seat of beauty and strength, had become food for the worm.” Victor’s ambition drives him to create a being that ultimately ruins him. His obsession with giving life to an inanimate object captivates him and eventually returns to haunt him. The fact that Victor was able to do this “godly act” shows that there is no limit to science. However, life without limitations can lead to mayhem, as Mary Shelley’s story shows. Victor’s desire to create life and to be god overthrows his common sense and so he rushes into making his creature, contributing to his demise and the death of several of his close friends and