Alejandro Cruz Period 3 English 04/23/24. Each day science expands its horizons, and the realm of scientific knowledge is constantly growing alongside the ambition of scientists striving to make discoveries possible. In Mary Shelley's book Frankenstein, Victor plays a pivotal role as he delves into forbidden experimentation, ultimately creating a creature like no other. Shelly masterfully illustrates the profound dilemmas, consequences, and anxieties surrounding scientific progress. In this essay, we will examine how Mary Shelley's Book Frankenstein serves as a warning of the dangers of science.
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.
In Mary Shelley's Novel Frankenstein, the main character Victor Frankenstein blames his tragic fate entirely on his search for knowledge, when that is not entirely the case. In the novel, one of the underlying messages is that although knowledge can be beneficial, it is also dangerous which is prevalent throughout other aspects of the novel but Victor Frankenstein was not just in pursuit of knowledge. His fate was also caused by his high ego and ambition. Victor claimed to be a man of science but in his pursuit of creating a life, he was not careful, or precise. He stated that “The materials at present within my command hardly appeared adequate,”(pg32) and “at last my work be imperfect.”
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.
Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein wrote the novel as an attempt to be involved into a group ghost story writing competition what she did not know was the effects it would have on literature for the rest of time. The story Frankenstein is about a young man named Victor Frankenstein who is obsessed with discovering something that has never been seen or done. In seeing a tree being stricken by lightning he gets the idea to create life out of dead skins and body parts of the dead to create this being. What he did not know was going to occur was that this monster would be the death of him. Mary Shelley uses the idea of progress which is the consequences or effects of a person or a thing in another one’s doing.
What would you do if you can invent anything that could come right out of your imagination? Would you do it? In these articles and novels, that's what many of the people tried to conquer, but as a result it had many consequences. In the novel Frankenstein, it is about a scientist named Victor Frankenstein who is eager to learn new ideas and thinking from his professors. Victor Frankenstein is the main character is introduced by an explorer named Robert Walton who has similar personalities as Victor.
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
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is one the most iconic books ever made. And with beautiful diction, vivid imagery, subliminal philosophy: it’s evident Shelley had experience in storytelling. Within those philosophical undertones, the idea that knowing too much is more malevolent than it is benevolent. A single scientific discovery—like learning how to create life—can lead to either domestic or international unextinguishable anguish. Are smarter people typically more depressed?
Sometime, long ago, it was decided that the scientific arts were evil hidden amidst the tutelage of religion; when in reality they had developed into a window set before a picturesque landscape of which scientists (that of which are truly just spectators) and curious simpler folk alike could simply gaze at the wonders of humanity and creation. Man, dating back long before the publication of Mary Shelley 's "Frankenstein" in 1818, have held the desire to play God. To create and destroy as life does, to alter the creations of nature as "God" himself would. This complex breeds a multitude of issues and fears that many scientists, distracted simply by the wonders they are beginning, are blind to. Within itself, this is dangerous.
Mary Shelley was an English novelist, short story writer and was best known for her book “Frankenstein”. The book was written in 1816; but was not published until 1818. The main reason why she wrote this book was because of a contest between her and 3 others that were also on vacation, with Mary and her husband Percy. As a result, she won the contest and therefore was urged to publish the story, in which she did in 1818. All of them were at Lake Geneva, it was the coldest summer on record that year, that is what sparked Lord Bryon to start the contest.
“If we value the pursuit of knowledge, we must be free to follow wherever that search may lead us” Adlai E. Stevenson. The politician explains his perception of creativity in this quote along with its connection to ambition by relating determination and faith to the discovery of knowledge. He believes that nothing can restrict our drive to seek information when one entirely devotes himself to the pursuit. Similarly, in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein, Robert Walton, and the creature all attempt to acquire arcane knowledge at any and all costs. Their ambition drives them to take risks and even put the lives of themselves and others on the line.
The Dangers of Knowledge Frankenstein, a novel written by Mary Shelley, is notoriously accredited for its development and implication of multiple themes. Set in the 1700’s, Frankenstein is a gothic fiction telling of isolation, knowledge, and nature. The biggest of these being knowledge and inevitably its consequences. With knowledge comes question; What poses the most danger? The knowledge itself, or the journey to gain information?
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is like a cautionary tale against the powerful grasp that technology has over modern society as it continues to rapidly evolve. Throughout the book the monster has evolved from a confused being to a creature that is able to observe and adapt with its surroundings. Frankenstein’s monster says to Victor Frankenstein, “You are my creator, but I am your master”. Originally, Frankenstein created this monster to have control over it.
Shelley particularly criticizes the attempt of science to become greater than the power of nature. In the novel Victor Frankenstein is faced with the desire to
