Ambition in Frankenstein and The Wolf of Wallstreet.
Monsters have been a significant part of human history, culture and literature. From mythical creatures like Medusa or supernatural creatures like vampires. To more modern interpretations like Victor Frankenstein and his creature also The Wolf of Wall Street’s Jordan Belfort. Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein and Jordan Belfort’s memoir The Wolf of Wall Street are two popular books that explore the theme of ambition through monsters. In the books both the characters Victor Frankenstein and Jordan Belfort have a lot of common even though they were written in vastly different contexts and time periods. Both Victor and Jordan experience the destructive nature of ambition on relationships, the
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In Frankenstein, Victor is consumed by his ambition to create life that he pays no attention to his personal relationships with his family. Mary Shelley writes, “I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body. For this I had deprived myself of rest and health. I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation” (35). Victors ambition drove him to isolate himself for two years he pursued his goals to such extremes that he disregarded his own health and relationships. Similarily in The Wolf of Wall Street we see Jordan Belfort’s ambtion for money and power destoy his marriage with his first wife Denise. Jordan Belfort writes, “It was a sight I found so alluring that I ended up leaving my kind first wife, Denise-paying her millions up front in one lump sum plus fifty thousand a month in non-tax-deductable maintenance, so she would walk away quietly” (25). Belfort’s ambition causes him to chase money to such an extent that once he has money he disregards his first wife. We see the money change him into a monster that has no regard for his wife’s feelings. Both characters unrelenting ambition leads them to disregard their relationships and priotize nothing but their