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The Importance Of Humanity In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

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In today 's society, with the growth of scientific and technological advancement, a growth of concern over whether or not people will attempt to play God with such advancements also appears as well as a worry over what consequences may result. Advancements such as genetic modification, cloning, and the creation of self-administrating robots all draw to mind the familiar science fiction tale of the creation that has rose to overcome its master. They also bring to light the question of one 's own humanity and what it is that makes us human. Just as in Shelley 's fictional universe, today 's society struggles with artificial intelligence and the rights and responsibilities that must be imposed on it. When Mary Shelley wrote her supernatural novel, …show more content…

In the novel, Victor spends so much time thinking through and preparing for the process of giving life to an inanimate being, however, when the creature is finally brought to life, Victor takes one look at the "yellow skin" and "watery eyes… if eyes they may be called" and runs from his responsibility (Shelley 35-36). As the creator of the giant, Frankenstein should have assumed responsibility for it and, if nothing else, disassembled it before it could wreak any havoc on human civilization. As it is, he ran away and let the creature run rampant. There exist so many movies and books about robots taking over the world and turning their creators into submissive beings because, once allowed to take control of themselves, they realize that they are stronger. Again, this has become a real possibility as the science of cloning and bestowing individual intelligence to robots becomes more and more popular. Just as in Shelley 's fictional universe, today 's society struggles with artificial intelligence and the rights and responsibilities that must be imposed on it. Perhaps the reality of cloning, genetic engineering, and robotic intelligence makes this theme more relevant today than when Frankenstein was first published. If someone were to create a robot, or clone a human, and it became smart enough to realize that it was stronger or smarter than its creator, what would happen? Would Frankenstein 's story become a reality? These questions have been tossed around inside the heads of scientists since the idea of AI became a real possibility. Now that people are truly cloning animals and genetically modifying everything from crops to living beings, the issue of whether or not it is socially acceptable or morally ethical to create something or change the way that something evolved has

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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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In Frankenstein Victor creates the creature to help mankind and improve their lives, but eventually, the creature ends

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Mary Shelley’s book Frankenstein is a frame narrative of the life of Victor Frankenstein recorded by Robert Walton. It is circled around his creation of a monster that suffered a lonely life and wanted revenge for being created. In Frankenstein, Shelley portrays many big ideas but, one that continues to show importance is the idea of Human Needs and Desires. so, in the novel Mary Shelley presents the idea that all creatures have a basic need for friendship and love.

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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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511 Words | 3 Pages

The Creature sees himself as Frankenstein's master, and by ordering Frankenstein to obey him, he attempts to assert his authority over his creator despite Frankenstein being the one who brought him to life. Another quote that highlights the complexity of their relationship is when Victor says, "I had created a monster; and I was responsible for him. He was helpless and I was his god.” In the first part of this quote, Frankenstein acknowledges his responsibility over the creature and recognizes the helplessness of a creature he created that should have never existed in the first place.

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In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein brings his creation to life and has to endure the repercussions of his actions. While Victor is in fact human, the question of whether the creature or Victor is more human still stands. Humanity is demonstrated as compassionate in the book and monstrosity is the opposite. The creature is more human because of his developed personality and desire to be human. Victor, although born into a humane family, evolved into everything bad about humanity; he developed obsession, resentment, and manipulated life to conform to his idealities.

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He is so invested in his work that he ignores his personal life. Although, when Victor finally succeeds at achieving his goal, it is not what it seems. Victor’s creation has lead to tragedy and destruction. Hence, Victor Frankenstein is responsible for the outcome of his fate because of his fixation with being god, his disregard to humankind, and his selfishness. Despite some critics statements that the creature Victor created is responsible for the tragedy and destruction that results after the experiment, it is Victor who is accountable because of his fixation

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494 Words | 2 Pages

In the novel Frankenstein, the monster created by Frankenstein shows some human qualities. Some qualities that make people human are reason, pain, anger, sadness, growth, and ultimately being made by God; the monster expresses the human qualities of pain, anger, sadness, and reason, but he does not have the quality of being made by God, and growth. One of the first qualities that the monster exhibits is reason. When the monster is sharing his story with Frankenstein, he explains how he discovered the rules of fire by saying, “ I quickly collected some branches; but they were wet, and would not burn.

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Monte Aladadi Professor Jennifer Rodrick English 114A October 20 2015 What Makes us Human? Humans are very complex beings. Philosophers, social scientists, and natural scientists have been searching to find the answer to this question for centuries. One thing we know for certainty is that humans are fallible, meaning imperct.

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Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is closely related to the current issue of genetic engineering. Shelley’s main character, Victor Frankenstein, is a scientific engineer who brings different parts of people’s bodies together to make a new creation. This new creation at first seemed good to Victor however, he was eventually overcome by it. Genetic engineering is not only gene manipulation; it is a desire to take parts of an organism and create a new living thing. Shelley was 17 years old when she wrote Frankenstein almost 200 years ago and although young, her perceptions of what is good or evil, what is beautiful or monstrous, are topics today that are discussed in relation to genetic engineering, gene manipulation and mutation.

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Even if that means he has to ask a stranger or a friend to finish the job for him. In the quote he claims not to be selfish, even though all he cares about is killing his creation to make himself feel better. Since these are Frankenstein 's last wishes, it foreshadows his death and makes it so he won 't be the one to kill the creature. This quote also tells us that even in his delirious state Victor is still enraged with the creature, which means that he will not die in peace, but disturbed and unfulfilled.

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1246 Words | 5 Pages

Frankenstein: From Benevolent to Feind “I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend.” (Shelley 69) Said by Frankenstein’s monster, this quote truly defines him: initially an affectionate, love-seeking creature, he transformed into an enraged killer, angry at humanity for the undeservedly poor way he was treated. Victor Frankenstein is an unique, complex individual who encounters a similar change of nature for similar reasons. The quote—though spoken by the monster—encapsulates the evolution of Victor Frankenstein’s personality; misery—a product of isolation and loneliness—aroused a deterioration of temperament from an initially benevolent Frankenstein.

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672 Words | 3 Pages

In Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the idea of the natural world is recurring and helps relate many characters with nature. Victor Frankenstein, the protagonist in the novel, has a very close and unique relationship with the natural world. In Victor’s life, the idea of the sublime or the natural world comes up in emotional and significant moments. Nature changes Victor’s mood, forms his character, and shows his growth through poetic devices. In Frankenstein, nature directly affects what Victor sees and feels.

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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

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556 Words | 3 Pages

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.

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