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Sympathy For Victor In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

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The desire to discover what has not yet been discovered or to know what remains unknown often causes destruction and misery. In the Gothic novel Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley during the Romantic Era, the protagonist Victor Frankenstein experiences anguish after creating life. Victor shares with the reader the anxiety he suffers and the grievous events that permanently alter his perspective after creating a monster. Throughout the novel the reader develops sympathy for Victor due to his dedication to do the right thing, admirable purpose for his creation and the consequences he endures. One is compelled to show affection toward Victor because of his determination to perform noble acts despite the hardships he faces. Victor feels responsible …show more content…

Victor can no longer be who he once was. He lives in constant fear of losing another loved one because the monster is not yet finished his work. After his union with Elizabeth his creation kills her as well and his father who, overwhelmed with depression passes away. By creating this being Victor brings suffering upon himself which changes his personality and perspective. All aspects of his health are diminished and he becomes an isolated individual with no family to encourage him to keep pushing …show more content…

Throughout the novel the reader learns that he does not create the monster to kill others, but to restore life to inanimate objects. The monster causes Victor to face several mental and physical challenges, but he is still able to warn Walton about his creation. Victor wishes to create life and accomplishes his goal, but the creation deprives Victor of his family, identity and life. Throughout her novel, Shelley teaches the reader the dangers of knowledge and that the acquirement of knowledge can come with negative

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Victor Frankenstein's obsession with creating life is fueled by his desire to unlock the secrets of the universe, but he fails to consider the consequences of his actions. He becomes so consumed by his research that he loses sight of the humanity that should guide scientific inquiry. As a result, his creation becomes a monster that threatens the very fabric of society. Furthermore, the novel also highlights the dangers of the pursuit of knowledge without regard for the consequences.

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Victor is tormented by the creatures ambition and this leaves Victor a void of his former self, subject to anything he puts his mind to and it is this form of himself that leads him ever so closer to the end of his days. Left a hollowed out version of himself, Victor is unable to cope with the loss of all of his friends and family through the hands of his own creation and seeks to right all of his

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Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, shows how a character who is portrayed as a tragic hero, in the beginning, can become the monster in the end. Victor and the Monster in Mary Shelley’s captivating novel showed how rival enemies share striking similarities. The similarities between the two tragic characters are driven by their dreary isolation from the secluded world. A large difference is that they were both raised in two completely different environments but understood the meaning of isolation. Physical differences are more noticeable rather than their personalities.

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Frankenstein by Mary Shelley has been an American classic for almost 200 years, which contains both philosophical and moral themes in the text, making the reader question the limits of humankind and its desire for power. For every character presented in the story their independent desire to overcome their intentions becomes so intense that the future that lies upon them is nothing close to what they can imagine. Victor Frankenstein´s desire to quench his thirst for power ends up clouding his judgement and making him elude the future that awaits him. As Victor´s intention to succeed in natural sciences grow to an abnormal point, his judgement about what to do with that knowledge didn't let him contemplate the future consequences

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In the novel, Shelley uses Victor and the monster to exemplify the effects that knowledge has on an individual's mental health. This ruthless desire for knowledge portrays how perilous it can be, while “exploring themes of risk, responsibility and accountability,” as Victor’s act of creation ultimately leads to the demise of everyone close to him while the monster’s act of learning results in him despising himself and all of humanity (Hammond). Throughout the novel, Victor Frankenstein encounters a great amount of psychological suffering in the early years of his adult life due to his ambition to seek forbidden knowledge and create a living being. Even more, his mental health begins to decline as a result of the artificial being he created and his heedless pursuit for knowledge, which ultimately leads to the demise of everyone close to him. Ironically, Victor loses the people he truly cared for in the process of his research into "the hidden laws of nature" (Shelley 18).

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When people hear the word “monster”, most people imagine a massive, horrid, and grotesque figure that haunts people. While pondering what a monster is, mankind thinks of the outward appearance. Seldom do people think of man’s internal qualities as being barbaric or gruesome. Authors allow readers to create their own images of these terrifying beings. Frankenstein is a thought-provoking novel that empowers readers to have their own opinions about who the actual monster is and what it looks like.

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In the novel “Frankenstein”, written by Mary Shelley in 1818, illustrates the human nature in which consists of ambition versus responsibility as well as innocent versus evil. At the beginning of the story, Captain Robert Walton is introduced as the first character by narrating in the series of letters that he writes to his sister, Margaret Saville. Walton functions as a foil character for Victor Frankenstein, the protagonist and main narrator. By contrasting and highlighting Victor’s characteristics in the book, they have similarities in the desire of acknowledgment in achievement, loneliness, and differences in the realization of life.

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“Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change.” (Mary Shelley Quotes). Mary Shelley publishes Frankenstein in 1818. The novel includes many interesting events. By her choice of words readers are hooked to think Victor is the antagonist.

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Beginning with Victor abandoning the creature at birth, the series of revenge and hatred-filled events begin to occur as both attempt to find justice and retribution. The creature stole the lives of everyone beloved by Victor, and Victor stole the monster’s chance at happiness by abandoning him. As the characters continuously harm each other, their isolation increases as well as their sanity. In the end, numerous family members perish, Victor Frankenstein dies of physical exhaustion, and the creature conveys his desire to

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Dr, Frankenstein is the true victim of the novel Frankenstein The term victim describes anyone who suffers as a result of one or multiple unfortunate incidents. In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley portrays a number of different characters as potential victims, in particular: the creature, and Dr. Frankenstein. The similarities among the two in initial experiences create difficulty in labelling one as the true victim. However, as the story progresses, it is evident that the creature is able to overcome his fate of victimization by actively responding to his unsuccessful experiences.

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The fictional horror novel of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is driven by the accentuation of humanity’s flaws. Even at the very mention of her work an archetypal monster fills one’s imagination, coupled with visions of a crazed scientist to boot. Opening her novel with Robert Walton, the conduit of the story, he also serves as a character to parallel the protagonist’s in many ways. As the ‘protagonist’ of the story, Victor Frankenstein, takes on the mantle of the deluded scientist, his nameless creation becomes the embodiment of a truly abandoned child – one left to fend for itself against the harsh reality posed by society. On the other hand, Walton also serves as a foil to Victor – he is not compulsive enough to risk what would be almost

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Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is a gothic novel that tells the story of scientist, Victor Frankenstein, and his obsession with creating human life. This leads him to creating a gruesome monster made of body-parts stolen from grave yards, whom upon discovering his hideousness, the monster seeks revenge against his creator, causing Victor to regret the creation of his monster for the rest of his life. Shelley uses the literary elements of personification, imagery, and similes to give a vivid sense and visualization of Victor Frankenstein’s thoughts and feelings as well as to allow us to delve deeper into the monster’s actions and emotions. Throughout the novel, Shelley uses personification of various forces and objects to reflect the effect in Victor’s actions.

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He swears to take revenge on his creator, Victor, so he killed Victor’s friends and family one by one. In the end, the monster also killed Victor’s wife Elizabeth. It wanted Victor to know how it felt during its life, lonely and misunderstood. In the middle of the novel, Victor makes a statement to Walton about his destiny, trying to use his own experience to exhort, change, and prevent Walton’s desire and passion for adventure.

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The gothic fiction novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley centralizes on humanity and the qualifications that make someone human. The content of the novel Frankenstein depicts a monster displaying human traits that his creator Victor does not possess: empathy, a need for companionship, and a will to learn and fit in. Throughout the novel Shelley emphasizes empathy as a critical humanistic trait. The monster displays his ability to empathize with people even though they are strangers. On the other hand Victor, fails to show empathy throughout the novel even when it relates to his own family and friends.

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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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