T.F Hodges once wrote, “What surrounds us is what is within us.” Hodges implies humans are impacted by their surroundings, especially their thoughts and actions. This concept is prevalent in the book Frankenstein, as Mary Shelley uses death and pain to influence her characters’ actions. Using these events, Shelley proves that individuals change through their experiences.
The Dangers Of Responsibility Responsibility is the state or fact of having a duty to deal with something or of having control over someone. Responsibility is something that every human needs. A lack of responsibility can be harmful to the person and the people around them and a plethora of responsibility can change a person 's life. 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 the reader sees 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.
Throughout the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Victor acts as a lousy creator and father figure toward his creation. The Monster consistently makes it known that all of his struggles are at the hands of Victor Frankenstein, even though he does not accept this burden. Responsibility and blame are proven characteristics of Victor Frankenstein as he allows Justine to take the blame for William and accuses The Monster of the murder of his loved ones, when Victor is ultimately liable. The Monster kills William in cold blood out of spite toward Victor not taking care of him as his creator. With the idea that nobody will believe him about The Monster committing this murder, Victor refuses to confess and take responsibility, allowing his
Internal Conflict in Frankenstein Frankenstein. A name that is known around the world. Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, wrote this classic in 1818 when she was 19 years old. Mary Shelley did not anticipate that her book would grow to be this well known. Though she did plan how the book’s motifs and themes would be significant, including internal conflict.
Have you ever been held responsible for the tragedies caused to others? For most the answer is no, however, for some, their actions have led to the misfortune of guiltless lives. In the novel, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, because of the absence of attention and teaching, the reanimated creation Frankenstein is unstable; Victor Frankenstein is who to blame. Two events that he should be accountable for are not training his creation to know right from wrong and abounding the monster which led to the murder of innocent people. Firstly, Shelley uses conflict of “human” versus nature to demonstrate the major idea that Victor Frankenstein is responsible for the loss of innocent lives.
Although the question of “who is to blame” Is up in the air, it’s quite obvious that the monster was directly to blame for the murders. But, when you think about the fact that he was merely created and not born, so he wasn’t able to differentiate right from wrong, or how to control his feelings. His anger was stemmed from his hate of his creator Victor. The wrongs that Victor did unto the creature is what caused the creature’s anger to overtake whatever bit of logical thinking and ability to reason and in a way, throw it out it out the window. So, physically speaking, the creature was to blame.
The novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley says a person is responsible for their actions if they do not weigh the possible consequences of their actions before making their final decision. Throughout the novel, Mary Shelley shows the consequences of actions that are done without proper thought beforehand. Victor Frankenstein wants to create life, he wants to be god, and his lust for this goal overtakes his common sense. Victor rushes into making his creature and then makes rash decisions which also contributes to his demise and the death of several of his close friends and family. The monster should be held responsible for his actions to a certain extent, however, his actions are influenced by Victor’s initial impetuous decisions.
Ambition as propelling it is, however can lead to the demise of the person influenced by it. Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, informs the reader of the consequences of ambition, by telling a story of man named Victor Frankenstein who is overwhelmed by his ambition to see the atrocities he commits. In his ignorance created a monster who served to be Victor’s mistake as he slaughtered his family members. The novel illustrates the dangers of ambition because it is the main reason of Victor’s downfall. Pursuing a desire too strongly as to cause obsession is what destroyed Victor.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein may be one of the most popular novels of the 1800’s. In her novel, it can be seen that it was, in fact, meant to be a horror story. One of the elements she uses to convey the horror of her story in through the use of manipulation of the creature. Manipulation and the use of manipulation is a great detail that most glance over when looking in a horror story. Manipulation is a common tactic used by many people who want to get another person to commit an act they want them to do.
Failures and successes in life have led many people to believe that destiny plays a role in one's future life outcome. Some say destiny, the “hidden power believed to control what will happen in the future”, is unchangeable; fate has already decided how one will live their life. Although in some cases this may be true, one is able to change their destiny by the deeds and actions they commit during their lifetime. Many people disregard the idea that actions play a large role in forming one's future.
Passion and Destruction As W. Somerset Maugham once said, “Passion doesn’t count the cost... Passion is destructive.” In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein leaves Geneva, his home town in the pursuit of knowledge, ding so he created a creature. Frankenstein gets frightened after the created the creature, so he leaves the creature in fear, only when he returns the creature is no longer there.
In Frankenstein, Victor wants revenge on the monster so greatly that it becomes an obsession. Victor states, “Again do I vow vengeance; again do I devote thee, miserable fiend, to torture and death” (Shelley 152). Victor Frankenstein wants revenge against the monster because the monster was the cause of the deaths of Victor’s family and friends (152). He is threatening death on the monster and swearing revenge on him. This is the beginning when he wants vengeance on the monster, which then immediately turns into an obsession.
An eye for an eye or the law of retaliation is the principle most people live their lives by. For the characters in Frankenstein, this concept is apparent as the main character, Victor, creates a monster and instantly abandons him which sets off the chain of events revolving around revenge. However, as Gandhi once stated, “an eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind” (Gandhi). Throughout the novel, the creature and Victor engage in a recurring cycle of vengeance, but these acts of revenge are bittersweet as in the end it destroys both of them. In the novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley reveals how revenge consumes and destroys those who surrender to it.
“...We often take responsibility in a way that goes beyond what we can reasonably be held responsible for”(Sherman 154), says Nancy Sherman in “The Moral Logic of Survivor Guilt.” Sherman believes that people blame themselves too much when something goes wrong in a dangerous situation; and even when something happens that is out of their control, they cannot forgive themselves for the outcome of the event. Should people in life-or-death situations be held accountable for their actions? Someone might argue that people should take responsibility for what they do, even in survival mode. However, in life-or-death situations, people should not accuse other, and make them feel remorse for their actions, because, in survival mode, a person wants to save themselves before anyone else.
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.
