Mary Shelley’s book Frankenstein is a frame narrative of the life of Victor Frankenstein recorded by Robert Walton. It is circled around his creation of a monster that suffered a lonely life and wanted revenge for being created. In Frankenstein, Shelley portrays many big ideas but, one that continues to show importance is the idea of Human Needs and Desires. so, in the novel Mary Shelley presents the idea that all creatures have a basic need for friendship and love.
The novel Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley depicts certain ideas that can not be described or written within novels. For example, the telling of the story between three different narrators can teach the reader about putting together “pieces of a puzzle” in order to understand the plot of the story. The three narrators in Frankenstein are Victor, Walton, and the Creature, all with very distinct personalities and character traits. Of these storytellers, Victor could possibly be debated as the most extraordinary. The qualities that make Victor pictured as this unique character, that the fact that he is a dynamic character, and that he is an unreliable narrator.
It is often said that the more you learn, the more you realize you don’t know. Even Aristotle said, “The more you know, the more you know you don 't know.”. This can often lead to a yearning for more knowledge and sometimes, can be somebody’s downfall. In this case, it was Victor Frankenstein’s downfall. His love for science and his ever-growing quest to learn about the human body ultimately destroyed him, his family, his wife to be, and his best friend.
Childhood is a time in a person’s life where the most growing occurs, not only physically but also mentally. The human brain is nourished and maintained by the love and affection children receive from both parents and it continues to do so for the rest of their lives. The creature’s inability to build up courage and try to interact with society as well as his constant questioning of his existence is a direct result of an inexistent childhood as well as the absence of a loving family. Frankenstein’s mother and Elizabeth were both orphans so he was well aware of the importance of love and nurturing for people of all ages, yet he denied the creature the opportunity to receive affection of any sort. “No father had watched my infant days, no mother had blessed me with smiles
In the novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, Robert Walton is on a voyage to discover unexplored knowledge. While on this journey he finds Victor Frankenstein, who tells the reader of his own journey to discover the unknown. In this novel, Mary Shelley employs literary devices such as repetition, imagery, and rhetorical questions to provide meaning to the audience. For example, the author uses repetition to emphasize Elizabeth’s confidence. Expressing her frustration with the situation Elizabeth repeats, “But she was innocent.
The Monster and Exile Every person in life is created with a strong sense of belonging. Whether the belonging is to a person, a place, or a moment in time, they still feel connected and influenced by it. Exile is an action that separates a person from this connected belonging, and can suffer great consequences, but can also enrich their lifestyle. In Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, the creature creaked by Victor Frankenstein is forced, from the very beginning of his existence, away from his creator and society as a whole. This type of exile turned the creature into what he is, shaping his ideas and mentalities.
This foreshadows that once Walton hears Frankenstein’s story, he will change his mind about his expedition. Also, during the thunderstorm that happened in Victor’s childhood, Victor sees a tree get struck by lightning. He becomes interested in the idea of electricity, and he starts to study its
As a young child, his education was pushed aside; however, he managed to develop a love for reading. He often read about other voyages to the Pacific. This journey had been a dream of Walton’s since he was a child. His dream became a reality when he failed as a poet. Around this same
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.
This quote makes it apparent that Victor regrets his decision to heavily pursue knowledge and create his monster, clearly showing that the path that he embarked on was one that resulted in severe suffering. In conclusion, it is clear that Victor Frankenstein’s intentions are pure, however he is unaware that his pursuit of knowledge directly leads to his personal suffering. Robert Walton, similar to many explorers during his time, is ambitious to discover land beyond the North Pole. However, to reach this goal, he has to walk the dangerous path of acquiring knowledge. Walton’s goal, which is to reach the North Pole, requires him to captain a ship which travels through thick and thin.
It is quite telling that the most severe punishment in our society other than the death penalty or torture is solitary confinement. Although, isolation is in itself a form of torture, it can drive someone to the brink of insanity. Although published nearly 200 years ago, Mary Shelley clearly understood the potential detrimental effects of isolation, as demonstrated in her famous novel, Frankenstein, where both main characters, Victor Frankenstein and his creation, suffer from and cause isolation for the other. Mary Shelley directs the reader to believe that isolation is the true evil, not the monster, Victor or any emotion inside of them. At the beginning of the novel, Victor is isolated from other people, causing to forget his scientific
Oftentimes people are too afraid of what people might think to show their full potential. This is not the case for Victor in Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein. In Frankenstein we see the journey of Victor and his creation as they separately get rejected and misunderstood by society. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein supports Emerson’s ideas of self-reliance because Victor shows that fearless people can achieve greatness.
In the novel, Frankenstein by Mary W. Shelly, Victor Frankenstein creates a creature. The creature and Victor Frankenstein have conflicts between each other, which is why Robert Walton is necessary to help the reader relate to Frankenstein, by having many of the same attributes are Victor Frankenstein does. Robert Walton has many similar traits to Victor Frankenstein, ultimately helping the reader greater relate to Dr. Frankenstein. Even though Frankenstein is viewed as a monster himself and Walton is considered a normal person.
Frankenstein conjures up an image of a mindless, green monster running and grunting with its arms straight out! Readers that study Frankenstein by Mary Shelley do find a monster like and frightening creature, but it is definitely not mindless. This creature, created and rejected by victor Frankenstein, teaches himself human language and thereby comes to understand and experience human emotions. The most prominent emotion, which directs the choices he makes, is loneliness, and this has tragic results. Then there is victor Frankenstein who is plagued by the secrets he keeps and therefore leads a joyless life.
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
