Moral ambiguity is lack of clarity in ethical decision-making. That is, when an issue, situation, or question has moral dimensions or implications, but the decidedly “moral” action to take are unclear, either due to conflicting principles, ethical systems, or situational perspectives. The desire for companionship is the main theme surrounding Frankenstein. The creature‘s loneliness is led by the abandonment of his creator Victor Frankenstein. Frankenstein was horrified upon the realization of the creature he has brought to life.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Frankenstein and his monster make many questionable decisions. It is controversial whether or not his decisions are moral. In one part of the book Frankenstein's monster informs Frankenstein about the events that followed his creation. The sorrowful tale, and threats of harming his loved ones convinced Frankenstein to agree to create a female monster companion, and in return the monsters would live isolated from humanity. Uneasiness about the monster following through with his promise, being unsure if the new monster would obey the promise, and in fear of them reproducing, Frankenstein broke his vow and did not create a female monster (Shelly 2014, P.104-107 & P.120-123).
Morally ambiguous characters make both good and bad decisions, making their character neither a hero or villain. The novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley conveys a morally ambiguous character through Victor Frankenstein. Frankenstein made choices that ended fatally for many but didn’t directly cause people harm. Victor Frankenstein’s moral ambiguity builds key events shaping the novel. Originally Frankenstein says that if he creates life the new creation would “owe there being” (32) to him.
Humans are very complex beings; their motives and reasons for being are always different and sometimes difficult to understand. In the novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, she depicts the monster created as a very curious and caring creature that soon discovers his inevitably lonely fate which, upon realization, turns him into a vengeful savage. Mary Shelley illuminates the idea that no one is entirely pure nor evil, but a complex mixture of both. In the beginning of the novel, Frankenstein creates his monster and abandoned it out of fear and disgust.
Moral Ambiguity in Frankenstein In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein creates a new species, but it backfires and turns into an ugly, evil monster. This “monster,” his creation, is firmly disowned by Frankenstein; because this was happening to the creature, at first does not know right from wrong, but eventually realizes his mistakes, which do cause Victor much pain. The creature is unable to be identified neither entirely evil, nor entirely good; he does many good things, he helps villagers and is innocent because he did not know bad form good. As soon as he does learn he becomes malevolent and exacts his revenge.
The actions of an individual defines the boundary between sympathy and wickedness. Their behaviors and thoughts change the plot of the story and character identity. Mary Shelley uses moral ambiguity to overlook the unrealistic nature of her story. In Frankenstein, this concept incorporates itself into Mary Shelley’s characters. Ambiguity invokes an attachment between the figures and readers.
In the novel, Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, the two main characters, Victor Frankenstein and his creature, both display a sense of moral ambiguity. Each character has committed both good and evil alike, and neither knew the consequences of what they had done. However, Victor Frankenstein is generally the morally ambiguous character by his treatment of his creation and his own imperious personality. He wanted to be able to help science by recreating life or bringing it back, but at the same time, he did not want to consider the consequences of doing so. Victor tries to prove himself as a good moral character in the relationship between his creation and himself.
The novel Frankenstein brings to light many problems and situations that shed light on the faults of mankind. Cruelty was a huge factor in the novel; throughout Frankenstein is cruel to his body and to his creation. When he first makes the creature he runs from it, leaving the creature to fend for himself; even when reuniting with the creature he continues displays cruelty. The creature, in turn exhibits Victor cruelty right back. Within Frankenstein cruelty can be attributed, often affecting both Victor and the creature; serving as a crucial motivator and revealing their anger, pain, frustration till eventually both die.
Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, displays various emotions and reactions to death and loss- one of the many being guilt. After Victor broke his promise of creating life to the monster, the monster went and killed his Victor’s friend, Henry Clerval. Later, the monster kills Elizabeth on her and Victor’s wedding night. After hearing of this, Victor’s father becomes sick and soon dies. Frankenstein constantly shifts the blame of the murders from the monster to himself, causing him to become depressed and more and more desperate for revenge from the monster.
In the novel "Frankenstein" the moral conscience of the main character Victor Frankenstein can be questioned several times. In several instances Victor Frankenstein puts his loved one's lives in danger throughout the entire novel. Also Victor Frankenstein sometimes feels little or no remorse from his actions that harm the people close to him. Victor Frankenstein never fully realizes that all of the horrendous events that happen to him and his loved ones stem from his creation of the monster he made at Ingolstadt. It is Victor Frankenstein's lack of a balanced moral conscience that leads to much of the tragedy in Mary Shelley's novel, "Frankenstein".
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein openly propounds the co-existence of good and evil that yields to inexorable carnage and unrelenting revenge. A maniacal devotion to reason makes Victor the true antagonist of the novel and therefore the real villain in Frankenstein. Victor’s ability to create a life out of lifeless matter unbounded the pious, circumscribed view of God as the creator. Nevertheless, this infringement of propriety leads Victor down a path of revenge, which ultimately sets forth his destruction. Lastly, Victor and the monster are two aspects of the same person.
Frankenstein Essay Frankenstein shows us the importance of understanding others. Discuss. (Belonging and Acceptance) Nathanim Gebremedhin 215261 8I ‘Frankenstein’ is an award winning novel by Mary Shelley that was published in 1818. It tells the story of a committed young science student, Victor Frankenstein, who performs an unorthodox science experiment, consequently creating a malformed but sentient creature.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein uses the conflict between Victor and the creature, specifically their predatory relationship in their pursuit of revenge, to emphasize how revenge will consistently push or even exceed moral boundaries. The conflict between Victor and his creature is outlined in Frankenstein through the monster’s attempt to hurt Victor through the killing of William and Victor’s destruction of the creature’s future mate, representing how revenge often cultivates a normalization of immorality. Before William’s murder, the monster had been rejected by the DeLaceys and shot at for saving a young girl from drowning. As a result, the creature’s wish for revenge upon all
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.
A Key Passage Analysis: The Ascent is Precipitous… This passage taken from Mary Shelley’s horror novel, Frankenstein, on page 66-67 describes the atmosphere and ponderings of Victor Frankenstein as he solitarily ascends to the summit of Montanvert. After feeling grievance and despair as he blames himself for the death of both his brother, William and his servant, Justine, Victor attempts to find solace in the majesty of nature to repair his emotional state. However, his descriptions of the environment are somewhat grim and bleak, contrasting the pleasant and peaceful mood that being in the natural world typically evokes.
