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Forbidden Knowledge Frankenstein Research Paper

585 Words3 Pages

What would you do if you had too much knowledge in your hands? In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, a man on a quest to the North Pole meets a stranger with an enthralling tale. To the sailor’s surprise, the Swiss stranger had uncovered the secrets to creating life from perished body parts. Subsequently, the stranger had created a monster that would vow to destroy his creator after being rejected by all of society. Shelley uses the recurring theme of forbidden knowledge in her book, Frankenstein, to show readers that knowledge is a nice item to have, until having an overwhelming amount damages you. To illustrate the idea of forbidden knowledge, Shelley uses men who try to obtain God-like powers. Initially, when Victor discovers Alchemy, he believes “immortality and power are grand” (Shelley 33). In fact, these thoughts lead Victor into thinking he has the ability to play God and gain power with the assistance of M. Waldman (Shelley 34). Similarly, when Victor finally brings the creature to life, he declares, “I had desired it with an ardour that far …show more content…

While Robert is stuck on his heroic trip to the North Pole, he points out to Margaret that he has “one want that he will never be able to satisfy… a friend” ( Shelley 15). Within Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the first level in physiological needs is love and belonging. Robert’s yearn for discovering the undiscovered deprived him of a feelings that he needed to survive. Frankenstein also experienced loneliness from this action when he was a little boy. Victor would lock himself in a room and study science to gain more knowledge (Shelley 29). This could lead some readers to understand why Victor was so infatuated with learning more and more because it was all he knew. The two main protagonists within the book battle with a want for knowledge that leads to distasteful

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