Knowledge can be Blessings and Curse A teenage girl Mary Shelly wrote Frankenstein in the 18th century. A Gothic novel Frankenstein deals with two genres, Gothicism and science fiction. Victor, one of Mary Shelly’s characters represents man’s pursuit of knowledge which ultimately leads towards the path of destruction while another character Robert Walton implemented his knowledge wisely to get benefits for the society. Mary is indicating to the society that mankind has to pay full attention to science and scientific innovations in order to avoid the catastrophic events due to misuse of knowledge.
Dangerous Minds- Rough Draft Knowledge has the capability to be used for both good and evil. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, there is a consistent message throughout the novel showing the dangerous and destructive power that knowledge can have. Two key characters, Victor Frankenstein and his monster, are shaped through their obsessions with knowledge and the power and responsibility that it brings. Ultimately, Victor’s downfall is a result of his uncontrollable thirst for knowledge, and is brought about through the monster which is the embodiment of his obsession. Victor is a brilliant scientist who figures out a way to create life from death using galvanism, or electricity.
In Frankenstein, Mary Shelly opens the story with letters being written from Robert Walton, who is writing to his sister Margaret Saville. Robert Walton can be assumed to be in the British navy away traveling at sea, around the world and writing to his sister to let her know that he is alive and to tell her his experiences roaming the waters. While he is traveling Robert and his comrades come across a mysterious man that is wandering the sea on a piece of ice. It can be inferred that this mysterious man is Victor Frankenstein, our main narrator, seeking shelter on the ship. Victor and Robert develop a bond and Victor confesses to Robert that “You have hope, and the world before you, and have no cause for despair, But I- I have lost everything and cannot begin life anew.”
Every decsion ever made always comes from having the knowlege about it, whether it was good or bad. In the classic novel, "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley, having too much knowledge is dangerous, which can lead to a harmful misuse. Victor Frankenstein, the protagonist is seen as a scientist leading as God, due to his abundance knowledge of human and animal science. Primarly, In the novel "Frankenstein" Victor's excessive knowledge was a great dangerous to the people in the Geneva.
The attainment of knowledge did not improve Victor Frankenstein. He lacks compassion with the Creature right after it was brought to the world. His ignorance and lack of affection, brings the worst in the creature which leads the creature to kill Victor’s loved ones. After abandoning the creature for years, Victors returns back home after being informed about his brother Williams murder. While returning back home, Victor encounters the Creature for the first time after all his avoidance since past couple years.
It is often said that the more you learn, the more you realize you don’t know. Even Aristotle said, “The more you know, the more you know you don 't know.”. This can often lead to a yearning for more knowledge and sometimes, can be somebody’s downfall. In this case, it was Victor Frankenstein’s downfall. His love for science and his ever-growing quest to learn about the human body ultimately destroyed him, his family, his wife to be, and his best friend.
The Curse of Knowledge The American Psychological Association, an organization supporting psychological needs, stated “During the 2020–2021 school year, more than 60% of college students met the criteria for at least one mental health problem.” While attending rigorous classes and acquiring knowledge are important and beneficial, having large amounts of homework and little personal time can cause more harm than good. In fact, many college students experience the negative side effects of the collegiate quest for understanding, such as stress and exhaustion, during their time at universities. Mary Shelley displays this concept in her novel Frankenstein by pointing out the negative effects of knowledge. The acquisition of knowledge is often seen
The idea of knowledge in the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley interprets knowledge as an evil pursuit. The knowlege is misused, due to Victor, the monster, and the interference with nature. Theses reasons are different perspectives that lead to tragedies. The novel Frankenstein identifies Victor's desire to gain knowledge as misusing it.
Shelly seems to be very against the idea that knowledge leads to happiness. She seems more amiable towards the idea that ignorance is bliss. Yet, it seems more that the despair both characters face in Frankenstein is a result of a tainted society. Knowledge is the light that illuminates this corruption for Frankenstein’s monster. However, while knowledge opens the monster’s eyes, the scene that they first gaze upon is painted by Victor.
The search of knowledge can help take away the doubt, but it can affect the ones around you. Victor doubts and knowledge cause the death of his wife, best friend, and his brother. Victor should have known that bringing something back to life would had consequences. His relentless search of knowledge did brought him suffering because he involved his family and didn't thought about the consequences. Victor’s passion about learning new things brought him to the creation of an ugly monster.
In Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein (1818), Shelley shows her audience that while acquiring knowledge leads to survival for the Creature and power for Victor Frankenstein, the path to obtain this knowledge leads to the destruction of one’s self. Education and knowledge have major negative effects on both of the characters’ attitude, perception, and decisions. The life experiences of each character is dependent on the amount of knowledge that the character possesses. Knowledge gives Victor Frankenstein a superiority complex, and it changes the Creature’s perspective of the world and the people in it. The Creature, like a baby, is brought into the world with no prior knowledge of how society behaves.
ENG-3U0 November 20 2015 Frankenstein: The Pursuit of Knowledge Throughout the course of their individual journeys, Victor Frankenstein’s extreme passion for gaining knowledge about creating life, Robert Walton’s curiosity to discover land beyond the North Pole and the monster’s eagerness to obtain knowledge about humans was the principal cause of each of their suffering. As such, In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the pursuit of knowledge is a dangerous path which leads to suffering. Victor Frankenstein develops a keen interest in discovering knowledge about living beings which ultimately results in his personal suffering as well as others suffering. To begin with, Victor embarks on an assignment through combining body parts and following various
As Frank Herbert once said: “ Too much knowledge never makes for simple decisions.” This reigns true not only in Frankenstein, But also in everyday life. Coincidentally, learning too much can bring misery and dangers into your life. We can see this in scientists, like Victor, they learn too much knowledge and become mad, crazy, hurtful people. Knowledge like most things is good in moderation, when knowing too much, we become people who are darker and more wretched than our original
The story is not just a story about the dead coming alive, but a symbolic representation of the effects of the industrial revolution. At the time, Shelley wrote Frankenstein Europe was enamored by scientific exploration and experimentation. Science at the time had good intents for the general masses by making goods cheaper and making the jobs easier and more productive. This is show by Victor Frankenstein when he attempts to give life to a lifeless matter, and the joy he felt in science for the possibilities which he could now explore. Knowledge is what starts change but the power of the knowledge can change men to use it without regard to the outcome.
In Frankenstein, Dr. Frankenstein describes the ill effects his created monster on his personal life. Throughout the novel, Frankenstein describes the monster killing his little brother William, his friend Henry Clerval, and most importantly,
