The Role Of Perfection In Frankenstein

People always question themselves, they are always trying to perfect everything they do. Everyone does it, because everyone wants to be better. They want to achieve their goals in life and be successful. They will also do almost anything to gain perfection. Whether it’s gain in wealth, jobs, friends, relationships, or anything you could imagine. They will perfect themselves and what they do until this all manifests. So when you see characters in movies or books you also see that they indeed do it too. In the book The Wednesday Wars you see this is the main character’s family, especially the father. The main character Holling strives to become better, but his father will do almost anything until he gets it right. That’s understandable until

‘The strange case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ is a novella by the scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, first published in 1886. Stevenson, born November 13, 1850, is also the author of the well known book; ‘Treasure Island’. Robert L. Stevenson, who died December 3, 1894,, was said to be influenced by authors such as Charles Dickens and Edgar Allen Poe. This book is part of the gothic genre, a genre of literature that combines fiction, and horror, death and at times romance. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, or simply Jekyll and Hyde is about a London lawyer named Mr, Utterson who investigates strange occurrences between his old friend Dr. Jekyll and the evil Mr. Hyde.

Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Ed. Hunter, Paul J. Norton Critical Edition. New York: W.W. North & Company, 2012. Print.

When doing a literary analysis using the psychoanalytic type A criticism, the reader must solely look to the work itself and exclude externalities. One may interpret, “Dr. Frankenstein and the monster as embodying Sigmund Freud’s theory of id and ego” (Telgen). The theory is based upon the idea that a character’s personality can be divided into three parts. The id which is the basic desire for what each person wants. The superego which is the opposite of id, it houses our sense of guilt. Lastly, there is the ego, the balance between the id and superego. The ego represents reality. Focusing on Victor Frankenstein and the monster he created, one can better understand their personalities by examining the three parts of their subconscious; and determining parallels between the two characters.

When the story opens, a story is being told about how Hyde trampled a young girl. Rather than stay on the scene, he retreats. It is Jekyll who provides the family with a check in order to keep them silent about the tragedy. Mutual friends of Jekyll’s, Mr. Utterson and Dr. Lanyon, are suspicious of the possible individual who could be terrorizing London, and they begin to investigate on their own. Jekyll wanted to separate his good side from his evil impulses creating a potion that would allow him to do that physically. After drinking a potion, he could change into Hyde, a person with no conscience. Soon, Jekyll is metamorphosing without taking the potion. Hyde later kills Sir Daniels Carew by beating him to death. Hyde continues to struggle with Jekyll and Jekyll continues to struggle with Hyde. In the end Dr. Jekyll must decide if he should take the life of both he and Mr. Hyde or if he should face the consequences for the evil that HE ultimately has committed. In the end, Dr. Jekyll chooses

The author of “The Literary Panorama, and National Register, N.S., 8 (1 June 1818): 411-414.” uses the critical analysis to point out the flaws of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein story. Although there have been many re-printings of Frankenstein, Mary Shelley originally wrote and published her book Frankenstein in 1818. When Frankenstein was first published in 1818 it was met with mixed reviews like any good book is. I found my critical analysis on the website Romantic circles run by the University of Maryland under the The Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Chronology & Resource Site by Shanon Lawson. The website itself had a couple different critical analysis options to choose from. Unfortunately in all the the information I was able to locate about these posts I was unable to find even one author name in any of the critical analysis that I looked at. With that I decided to do some research and try and find the author anyway. Sadly I still came up empty handed even after finding the article listed or mentioned on a couple different websites. However I do not believe that diminishes the importance of this critical analysis as many sites seem to use this analysis. All things considered the author has some good points of opposition for Mary Shelley 's Frankenstein.

The description Jekyll portrays upon taking the potion is illustrated to the reader as if he is being re-birthed but into a whole new perception of life. Physically, he is in such a pain because his bones are grinding, horrendous spirits are among him, and he is overcome with nausea. When it subsides, he is self-aware of his new mentality of wickedness (Stevenson 1710). Hyde sees himself in a mirror as the smaller, less robust side of Jekyll, and this is probable due to the facts of evolution because Jekyll, as a public figure, practiced more good in the world, as to Hyde, who is now getting to release his evil (Ferrer-Medina). Hyde, having an aggressive instinct, no moral or social standards, takes pleasure in violence ultimately leading to his own destruction (Singh). Jekyll wanted to release his inner self, but in doing so, he released a madman that murdered Sir Danver Carew. Hyde also indirectly caused another death in the novel; when Dr. Lanyon seen the transfiguration in the park and Hyde insisted that he go retrieve the ingredients for the potion to turn him back to Jekyll, he was traumatized by the whole incident. Not only did the appearance of Hyde begin to consume Jekyll, but also Jekyll began to grow weak and sick while Hyde grew stronger (Moss). Jekyll knew that Hyde was bad, but in the end, the power of Hyde and the overwhelming guilt from Hyde’s choices was too

“I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend.” (Shelley 69) Said by Frankenstein’s monster, this quote truly defines him: initially an affectionate, love-seeking creature, he transformed into an enraged killer, angry at humanity for the undeservedly poor way he was treated. Victor Frankenstein is an unique, complex individual who encounters a similar change of nature for similar reasons. The quote—though spoken by the monster—encapsulates the evolution of Victor Frankenstein’s personality; misery—a product of isolation and loneliness—aroused a deterioration of temperament from an initially benevolent Frankenstein.

While Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley, and The Prestige, directed by Christopher Nolan, are both works of art that distinctly follow the codes and conventions of an epistolary story, they contain several other similarities and differences within their elements of fiction that can be used for analysis purposes. In both the novel and film, there is a strong overarching theme of appearance vs. reality, which, when studied closely, can tie in to other elements of fiction in each text. Appearance vs. reality could, arguably, be the main reason for both Victor and Angier descending into obsession, as well as being a primary source for the character relations establishing in the way that they do.

“The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde” by Robert Louis Stevenson is a book that intrigues one’s mind, because it makes us question ourselves about the balance between the two opposing forces. The story starts out with Mr. Utterson, a lawyer and a great friend of Dr. Jekyll, hearing about Hyde for the first time, who is very shady and somewhat misconfigured. Mr. Utterson hears about Hyde’s bad reputation, and his usage of Dr. Jekyll’s laboratory; therefore, Mr. Utterson suspects some kind of relationship between Hyde and Dr. Jekyll. Mr. Utterson’s friend Lanyon, who is a doctor, dies after Dr. Jekyll goes into seclusion; Mr. Utterson goes to Dr. Jekyll’s house to seek the truth behind Lanyon’s death, but he instead sees Hyde dead. Mr. Utterson

In Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, Frankenstein’s Monster experiences a sense of self-actualization after coming to terms with his “monster” identity. In chapter 13, after Frankenstein’s Monster learns about human history and social norms, he conducted a self-analysis of his current self. He stated, “I possessed no money, no friends, no kind of property. I was, besides, endued with a figure hideously deformed and loathsome”. Moreover, when he “looked around, he saw and heard of none like [himself]. Was I then a monster, a blot upon the earth, from which all men fled, and whom all men disowned” (138). Through the knowledge he acquired from spying in on the Felix family, he gained the understanding that his grotesque look doomed him to be marginalized within human society; therefore, his understanding of human history destined himself to be a monster. Although, this self-realization of a monster identity plays a huge role in the general plot and character development of Frankenstein’s Monster, it hints at a subtler interpretation of the nature of knowledge.

Dr. Jekyll is viewed as a smart man with a lot of knowledge, however, due to Jekyll not being satisfied with his life, he is determined to get more out of his live and is willing to do anything to fulfill his determination. Dr. Jekyll expresses this when he states, “[A] grinding in the bones, deadly nausea, and a horror of the spirit that cannot be exceeded at the hour of birth or death. Then these agonies began swiftly to subside… [t]here was something strange in my sensations, something indescribably new and, from its very novelty, incredibly sweet. I felt younger, lighter, happier in body within I was conscious of a heady recklessness, a current of disordered sensual images running like a millrace in my fancy, a solution of the bonds of obligation, an unknown but not an innocent freedom of the soul.” (Stevenson 57). Dr. Jekyll is in a state of happiness at this point of the text. He is being very positive and is describing how he feels to be free of the bonds of obligation. He is implying that he had left all the prior obligations he had as Dr. Jekyll, but now knows that he is a completely different person and is able to do the irregularities that he was able to do as Dr. Jekyll. Victor Frankenstein throughout the text played god and misused science in many ways. He attempted to make a beautiful human being but due to lack a skill, he made a monster unintentionally and

Society views those who are aesthetically pleasing in a positive way and those who are less pleasant to the eye are immediately judged in a negative way. In the novel Frankenstein, author Mary Shelley shares the comparison between Victor’s actions and how a man should not sacrifice his humanity in the pursuit of knowledge. Mary gives us many examples as to when Victor did not remain engaged in the real world and how that backfired. Victor’s creation slaughters his cousin, younger brother, and best friend. Victor’s actions become the characteristics of a monster to which he kills the monster’s potential mate and causes the death of the most important people to Victor.

This in itself is answered and directly bought up by Jekyll in the book, with the quote: I believe that this quote explains that Dr. Jekyll feels that although Hyde is pure evil, he knows that there is also an evil side to Jekyll – he allowed Hyde to exist, fully well knowing that Hyde would be dangerous.

All individuals are not born perfect. Every individual has their flaws that has a positive or negative impact to those around them and the society. All individuals have flaws that can or cannot hide from the rest of the world. Scholars of psychology argue that obsessions cause individuals to achieve perfection and can have a positive or negative aspect to an individuals’ life. Perfection is the conditions, state, or quality of being free as possible from all flaws or defects. These scholars’ arguments contribute to the story, “The Birth-Mark”, Nathanial Hawthorne expresses the common personal issue that individuals possess. The Birth-Mark was about a man named Aylmer and his obsession of science and the birth mark on his wife’s face. The birth