In the novel Frankenstein, by Mary W. Shelley, it shows that both the creature and Victor have done some horrible things but morally what Victor has done is worse than the stuff done by the creature. Victor's horrendous actions start almost instantaneously in the novel; In chapter 5 pages 48, paragraph 4, it states “Oh! No mortal could support the horror of that countenance. A mummy again endued with animation could not be so hideous as that wretch.
In the novel, Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, the two main characters, Victor Frankenstein and his creature, both display a sense of moral ambiguity. Each character has committed both good and evil alike, and neither knew the consequences of what they had done. However, Victor Frankenstein is generally the morally ambiguous character by his treatment of his creation and his own imperious personality. He wanted to be able to help science by recreating life or bringing it back, but at the same time, he did not want to consider the consequences of doing so. Victor tries to prove himself as a good moral character in the relationship between his creation and himself.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Frankenstein and his monster make many questionable decisions. It is controversial whether or not his decisions are moral. In one part of the book Frankenstein's monster informs Frankenstein about the events that followed his creation. The sorrowful tale, and threats of harming his loved ones convinced Frankenstein to agree to create a female monster companion, and in return the monsters would live isolated from humanity. Uneasiness about the monster following through with his promise, being unsure if the new monster would obey the promise, and in fear of them reproducing, Frankenstein broke his vow and did not create a female monster (Shelly 2014, P.104-107 & P.120-123).
The actions of an individual defines the boundary between sympathy and wickedness. Their behaviors and thoughts change the plot of the story and character identity. Mary Shelley uses moral ambiguity to overlook the unrealistic nature of her story. In Frankenstein, this concept incorporates itself into Mary Shelley’s characters. Ambiguity invokes an attachment between the figures and readers.
Moral ambiguity is lack of clarity in ethical decision-making. That is, when an issue, situation, or question has moral dimensions or implications, but the decidedly “moral” action to take are unclear, either due to conflicting principles, ethical systems, or situational perspectives. The desire for companionship is the main theme surrounding Frankenstein. The creature‘s loneliness is led by the abandonment of his creator Victor Frankenstein. Frankenstein was horrified upon the realization of the creature he has brought to life.
We believe Frankenstein is not guilty In the whole case, there are around 4 recorded deaths. The servant, Clerval, William, and Elizabeth. All these deaths are due to the Monster, not Frankenstein. This is not Frankenstein's doing as Frankenstein intended for the monster to be a peaceful creature.
Bella Privitera Professor Walls ENG 102 21 April 2023 The Representations of Good and Evil in Frankenstein: A Tug-of-War Game Between Dr. Victor Frankenstein and the Monster Every narrative has a protagonist and an antagonist, oftentimes known as a hero and a villain, and good and evil are typically balanced quite evenly between the two. While moral depravity is usually reserved for the villains, moral righteousness, in contrast, is reserved for the heroes.
An example of a whole story would be almost any cartoon or family oriented movie, such as Ice Age or Monsters Inc. They have a good outcome and the characters face some sort of struggle in order to get to that good outcome. For example, the movie Monsters Inc is about two monsters trying to return a human girl to her own world, rather than just leaving her in their own world. The two are very opposite in their views of humans and children: one is scared of the child and believes that what the rest of the world believes is true- that humans, children especially, are toxic and dangerous- and does not want to help return the kid; the other is very suspicious of everything they’ve been told, believing that humans are harmless, though he is also scared at first. Despite their opposition, the two help the child, challenging their own beliefs and better
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is a timeless novel that has left an indelible mark on popular culture and science. The story of a mad scientist creating a monster has influenced many genres, from horror and science fiction to medical ethics and feminism. Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein has left an indelible mark on popular culture, particularly in the horror and science fiction genres, as evidenced by the numerous adaptations, movies, TV shows, and books inspired by the story of a mad scientist creating a monster, such as the Universal horror movies and the TV series Penny Dreadful. The influence of Frankenstein on popular culture is reflected in the iconic themes of science gone wrong and the consequences of playing God, which have become staples
Responsibility is the state or fact of having a duty to deal with something or of having control over someone. In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the reader finds many examples of the importance, need, and especially lack of responsibility with characters like Victor and the monster. A reader of Frankenstein sees multifarious examples of Shelley’s theme of the dangers in not taking responsibility even today in the real world. In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Shelley’s portrayal of Victor as selfish suggests that not taking responsibility can lead to pain, death, and the suffering of others as we see in the novel which relates to today's society of powerful countries not taking responsibility for the weapons that they create, and the damage that is revealed as a result. Characters in Frankenstein not taking responsibility show the reader the potential dangers of pain and death in numerous situations in the novel.
Throughout the novel, the main character Frankenstein, made many poor decisions that I would consider to be morally wrong and unethical. Frankenstein’s research and discoveries are ethically wrong because he was taking dead bodies from cemeteries, cutting off their limbs, and body parts to create a human like creature. He did not have anyone's consent to do this study causing it to be unethical, and he also should not be able to do this because he is playing the role of god. In the beginning of the book, Victor Frankenstein described to Walton that he had created a monster using body parts from a graveyard.
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is a cultural critique that explores the dangers of science and technology, the limitations of human knowledge and understanding, and the negative consequences of societal norms and prejudices on the individual and society. This is a story about a young scientist, who spent months of his life working on an experiment that turned out to be wretched, and soon would lead to Victor’s downfall. Frankenstein is the karma that endures upon Victor as a result of this scientist breaking the rules of science and nature. Victor wanted to find his life’s meaning by creating a monster, and wanted to be seen as a God for constructing the monster he made. Frankenstein was created by a miracle, it had the mind of a human inside
A Monster’s Ethics Education and knowledge of society is critical to a person’s growing mindset. The four works the monster in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein all played a significant role in the monster’s characteristics of rage and loneliness. Firstly, the biographies Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans by Plutarch of Greek and Roman heroes with the virtues that came with battle inspired the monster’s mortality. The literature has given him “high thought” and he “felt the greatest ardour for virtue rise within me, and abhorrence for vice…” although it has sparked violence in him, believing that if he was introduced to “a young soldier, burning for glory and slaughter” the monster would be inspired for the same passion.
Mary Shelley’s, “Frankenstein,” is a thought-provoking novel that raises important ethical and moral dilemmas regarding Frankenstein’s creation of a female counterpart. Frankenstein’s experiment, the creature, embodies deontology, a belief system that relies on rules and principles to distinguish right from wrong. Opposing this mindset, the novel’s titular character, Victor Frankenstein, represents utilitarianism: a philosophy that prioritizes outcomes and consequences of actions. This thinking resulted in Victor changing his mind as he “tore to pieces” the partially constructed female. The dilemma revolves around this action.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein Critical Analysis About the author Naomi Hetherington is a member of the University of Sheffield, the department of lifelong learning. She is an early researcher in sexuality, religious culture, the 19th-century literature, and gender. She holds a BA in Theology and religious studies, an MA and a Ph.D. in Victorian Literature. She currently teaches four-year pathway literature degree at Sheffield University for students who have already attained foundation degrees. Among the books, she has written the critique of Frankenstein.
