Comparing Frankenstein And The Creator In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Sacrificing. Suffering. Despising. The novel Frankenstein by Marie Shelly tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a grotesque creature in an experiment trying to invent life of his own. Victor regrets his action so turns the creature lose to the world and closes himself in his abysm of thoughts.

Frankenstein In most fiction stories, there are always two characters that do or do not represent different sides of the same character. Frankenstein is a short gothic horror story written by Mary Shelley. Shelley writes about a scientist who created a being from dead body parts. Victor Frankenstein as the protagonist of the story created a monstrous character that was a reflection of himself.

Young Victor belonged to a very happy family and had an amazing life. He was smart and had many that loved him. From a young age, everyone saw potential in him due to how much he loved to learn. Instead of taking in the beauty of nature, he would first want to find out what made things tick. Everything was great for him and then one day he went to go study at Ingolstadt.

In the novel, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, ambition evolves into a form of obsession with revenge. But the result of vengeance is a curse to human life and its longevity. Both main characters in the novel, Victor and the monster become obsessed and let vengeance be their downfall. Victor was a very ambitious character who longed for knowledge and the presence of new life. He soon became obsessed with his creation and said,“I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body.

In the book, Frankenstein, Victor and the creature are similar to each other because they both seek revenge for one another. Victor states “urged by this view, I refused, and I did right in refusing, to create a companion for the first creature. ”(Shelley 2-165). In this statement, Victor explains that he refused to create a mate for the first creature because “they included a greater proportion of happiness or misery.” (Shelley 1-157).

Change is the one thing that nothing is immune to. This is clearly shown throughout Mary Shelley’s, Frankenstein. The novel tells of a scientist, Victor, who just wanted to make something with his life. Victor spends many years of his life in college where he figures out he has the ability to give life to an inanimate object and sets off on a path of creation. A few years later, Victor completes his task and gives life to his grand creation.

Dangerous Minds- Rough Draft Knowledge has the capability to be used for both good and evil. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, there is a consistent message throughout the novel showing the dangerous and destructive power that knowledge can have. Two key characters, Victor Frankenstein and his monster, are shaped through their obsessions with knowledge and the power and responsibility that it brings. Ultimately, Victor’s downfall is a result of his uncontrollable thirst for knowledge, and is brought about through the monster which is the embodiment of his obsession. Victor is a brilliant scientist who figures out a way to create life from death using galvanism, or electricity.

---ADD NEC’S NOTES --- According to A.C. Bradley, “There is not a syllable in Macbeth to imply that [the witches] are anything but women,” if one were to take a psychological perspective of Macbeth’s behavior, as if he is a patient on Freud’s psychoanalytic couch , one can conclude that Macbeth wasn’t in control of his own mind and, therefore his actions, ---ADD NEC’S NOTES --- Furthermore, assuming that Macbeth being a tragic hero, caused his own doom, as well as the braeakdown of his psyche leading to it, one can state that his tragic flaw was, indeed, his unchecked ambition and suppressed desire, similarly to Victor Frankenstein, as well as his inflated sense of self-worth, his narcissistic behavior, and his impulsive actions, he asserts:

Knowledge is power and power is what leads to self destruction of Victor Frankenstein; an easily influenced man who sows he is not the male figure he wants to be. Victor lived a simple life, starting as a child who has everything he possibly could possibly want; a family, a house, an above all happiness. However, it all alter when he loses his mother, the traumatic event causes the family to switch gear and face he heart ache to something else. Escapism through knowledge is what led Victor's secrecy. " The world was to me to secret which I desire to divine, curiosity, earnest research to learn hidden laws of nature, gladness akin to rapture, as they were unfolded to me, are among the earliest sensations I can remember.

“ Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings.” -John F. Kennedy. Like JFK, Mary Shelley believes that a person’s fate is caused by a person’s actions. Fate, due to a person’s actions, are suggested all through her book Frankenstein as a theme.

In the book Frankenstein, Mary Shelley used distinctive techniques to draw the reader in and find themselves to be similar, as well as dissimilar, to characters in at least one way. Shelley knew how to tie some characters together, even if they seemed to be complete opposites. Victor contrasted with the monster he created is one of the most prominent examples of her work. Throughout the book, some similarities and differences between the Victor and the monster consist of their relations to nature, desire for family, the reactions of those around them, and as well as their reactions to difficult situations. Frankenstein is beautifully written and deserves all the recognition it receives.

Religious Parallels in Frankenstein Victor Frankenstein’s pursuit of knowledge and personal glory drives him to create a new human being. He suffers from a god complex as he is completely unaware of the moral ramifications for creating life out of an inanimate body. Mary Shelley creates a dark parody between God and Adam, and Victor and his monster. In the creation of Adam we see God, the creator reach his hand out to Adam, his creation. We see a parallel of this in Shelley’s novel after Victor’s creature is complete.