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Frankenstein Lab Reports

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Frankenstein by Mary Shelley illustrates the results of Victor Frankenstein’s experiment in bringing new life to the world through a frame narrative depicting multiple layers of recollection and observation. Considering Victor’s scientific exploration is the inciting incident that gives rise to The Creature’s conflicts in the narrative, it seemed unreasonable that a formal, written report depicting the experimental methods of bringing The Creature to life was not included in the book. The generation of a formal lab report fills the scientific void left by the text, providing the avenue for Victor to convey his experiences creating The Creature. Furthermore, writing a lab report as a creative outlet appeals to my interests and area of study …show more content…

Historical accuracy, even in the midst of a creative journey, is one of the main aspects I wanted to include in my work in order to remain consistent with the work of Mary Shelley and the time period in which Frankenstein was set. This guided me to do some initial research on the technology and scientific capabilities of the eighteenth century setting of Frankenstein as well as the early nineteenth century to include the advancements that influenced Shelley’s creation. Most of the research consisted of identifying the timeline of innovation, especially as it relates to Benjamin Franklin’s lightning rod, the invention of Leyden jars, and the research of galvanism. This allowed me to identify the resources Victor could have used to harness, store, and direct electricity. Although I employed much of my knowledge and experience pertaining to batteries, capacitors, and soldering, which I greatly relied on in order to convey a realistic experimental process, significant creative liberty was used in designing a method to harness electricity from lightning. Inspired by Victor’s fascination with lightning and thunderstorms after a lightning strike split a tree in two, I specifically chose lightning as the source of the voltage in the …show more content…

According to the National Weather service, a lightning strike has an average of 300 million volts, and, in comparison, a typical household has 120 volts. The lab report was designed to suggest that Victor was handling a very high voltage in a workspace with unreliable safety conditions. Due to these safety concerns, Victor would have not survived connecting the electrodes to the figure and monitoring its development for the duration of the three hour experiment. Victor dying during the final step of his experiment acts as preemptive karma for irresponsibly parenting and guiding The Creature as his creator and father-figure. Similarly, the inclusion of religiously significant numbers, including the numbers seven, three, and forty, highlighted Victor’s god complex. I also decided to never capitalize “The Creature” in the report because capitalization suggests that “The Creature” serves as a name for a human or a living being. The narrative suggests that Victor did not recognize the humanity of his creation because he merely saw The Creature as a byproduct of scientific expiration. Victor’s disdain regarding his creation was emphasized as he describes The Creature as a “wretch” that caused the “beauty of the dream to vanish, and breathless horror and disgust [to fill] my heart,” which demonstrates the lack of humanity Victor gave The Creature (Shelley, 42).

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1424 Words | 6 Pages

The article discusses ways that “Frankenstein” should serve as a lesson and impact the actions of present-day scientists. Van Den Belt focuses on an overarching theme of the novel, which is the possible dangers of scientific exploration. He writes, “The story is commonly taken to imply a dire warning about the dangers of scientific hubris” (Van Den Belt). Victor Frankenstein, the main character of the novel, is an iconic example of a science experiment gone wrong. In many different aspects, the story should be studied by explorers to prevent the repetition of Frankenstein’s errors.

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960 Words | 4 Pages

Society today is greatly affected by science. Cell phones, computers, and social media are just some of the many facets of technology that we use in our everyday lives. To most people, this technology is wonderful, but Mary Shelley provides us with a caveat. In her novel Frankenstein, science and the pursuit of knowledge are recurrent themes. The novel starts off with Walden trying to make a discovery in the North Pole, and follows with a story about how Victor Frankenstein deals with his creation.

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398 Words | 2 Pages

In Mary Shelley's acclaimed novel 'Frankenstein,' making discoveries is presented through the scientific form of discovery, the alchemic nature in which the discoveries are made, their disastrous consequences, and highlighting the main issues of creating life. The presentation differs from that of Margaret Atwood's 'The Handmaid's Tale,' with the form of discovery focusing on personal identity, the methods being reflection and rebellion, and the consequences being resistance and terror. The concept of creating life contrasts sharply with Frankenstein, as it serves as the foundation of Gileadean society. One way which Mary Shelley presents making discoveries is through the nature of the discoveries. In ‘Frankenstein’, discoveries are often

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261 Words | 2 Pages

Maya Culjat Mrs. Hale English 10 Honors 4 February 2023 Frankenstein Thesis Plus One In Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, the thunderstorm scene is significant to Victor’s character because it uses lightning to connect his past to his present, and symbolize his guilt. In the beginning of the segment, Victor walks through the forest located outside of his hometown, admiring the thunderstorm that is beginning. “While I watched the tempest, so beautiful yet terrific…” (Shelley, 79). Victor views the lightning as something that is intriguing, yet he also recognizes it to be something horrific.

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1061 Words | 5 Pages

The relationship between the creature and Victor juxtaposed the relationship of God and man. Shelley displayed this where the creature said, “You must create a female for me with whom I can live in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for my being. This you alone can do, and I demand it of you as a right which you must not refuse to concede” (161). Just like Adam in the bible, the creature experienced loneliness

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1281 Words | 6 Pages

(Shelley 56). This is the reason that Victor did not realize he had gone too far until it was too late. Once victor brings the creature to life, he immediately realizes the hideousness of what he has done: “Now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart.” (Shelley 56). Furthermore, Victor struggles to cope with his creation throughout the novel.

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853 Words | 4 Pages

In Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelly in 1816, explores the power of science and its limitations in the natural world. In the novel, Victor Frankenstein, a narcissistic scientist, tries to create an army of reanimated beings. As the novel continues, Victor is disgusted by his Creature and rejects it. The rejection creates a cycle of hatred and misery, eventually leading to the death of Victor and his loved ones. The duality of nature is seen through the lens of Victor and The Creature.

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1112 Words | 5 Pages

Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein examines the moral dilemmas brought on by scientific advancement. Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist in the story, uses science in unnatural ways to create a creature. Shelley poses questions about the ethics of science and the potential effects of unchecked scientific ambition through the lens of Victor's experiences. Through the use of imagery, characterization and foreshadowing, Shelley is able to convey the potential consequences of neglecting ethical consideration.

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1266 Words | 6 Pages

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is a thematically engrossing novel that follows the treacherous narrative of protagonist Victor Frankenstein as he submits himself entirely to passion and the fervent desire to acquire natural knowledge and the resulting consequences that follow. The outcome of his ardent frenzy of discovery is a monstrous creation that he instantly regrets creating upon first sight. Throughout the Frankenstein novel, Victor and the monster engage in an everlasting mutual war that sets them at ends with each other through their personal pinings for the things that set them apart. It can be proven that throughout the novel the two protagonists come off as both intriguingly similar upon in-depth analysis and strikingly different on

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828 Words | 4 Pages

Joshua Chen In “It’s More Than Just Rain or Snow”, Thomas Foster explains that rain is more than just a “part of the setting”, instead it changes the characters, morphing them into a different version of themselves (Foster 70). In chapter three of Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein’s recollection of his experience of a thunderstorm is a powerful example of how on the outside, the thunderstorm just seemed like a normal occurrence, but it changed the course of Victor’s studies. This natural event sparked Frankenstein’s interest in the supernatural and is one of the catalysts in starting Victor’s journey of studying the laws of electricity, a crucial part of life. Without this study of electricity, it may be possible that Victor would not have

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793 Words | 4 Pages

The day after Victor destroys the second creature, he goes back to his lab: “the remains of the half-finished creature, whom I had destroyed, lay scattered on the floor, and I almost felt as if I had mangled the living flesh of a human being” (Shelley 165). The feelings Victor portrays illustrate that he is going insane causing him to lash out. Victor demolishing his second creature and comparing it to a human is a difficult idea for a reader to comprehend. In addition, both Victor and the creature show emotions that are hard to grasp separating them from

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1511 Words | 7 Pages

Victor is stirred by his work, but not in a positive manner. He goes on to explain his feelings towards the creature by saying, “… my heart sickened and my feelings were altered to those of horror and hatred” (136). Victor is so bewildered and repulsed by the creature that he misses key signs of violence, from the creature, that may have saved Victor’s family had he not been so

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1083 Words | 5 Pages

The classic novel Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley in 1818, displays the use of literary devices, foreshadowing, allusions and figurative language, which aid the reader in understanding the authors opinion on scientific exploration. These techniques are used to arouse anticipation within the reader, therefore engaging them throughout the text. Along with providing a greater understanding of the novel, by referring to other books, and using the novel to portray the authors own perspective on scientific exploration. All these devices are effectively used within the novel to provide a deeper understandings of Mary Shelley’s work. Add scientific exploration here-

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209 Words | 1 Pages

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is a cautionary tale of man's dangerous ambition when testing the boundaries of technology. It combines Shelley’s intuitive perception of science with the vast scientific discoveries of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, specifically the discovery of the nature of electricity. In Frankenstein, electricity serves as the technological tool which creates the monster, giving life to an assemblage of lifeless body parts. Medical experiments of the time demonstrated how a dead frog leg would jolted with the injection of electricity. This phenomenon served as a bridge between science (electricity) and nature( biology).

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266 Words | 2 Pages

A Book Report on Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Written by Sol Cruz, Aiven Go. 8A Febuary 22 2016 I.Introduction Mary Shelley was 18 years old when she wrote Frankenstein in 1816. Frankenstein is written epistolary format that of letters and journal entries of Robert Walton.

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