Theme Of Selfishness In Frankenstein

Responsibility is the state or fact of having a duty to deal with something or of having control over someone. In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the reader finds many examples of the importance, need, and especially lack of responsibility with characters like Victor and the monster. A reader of Frankenstein sees multifarious examples of Shelley’s theme of the dangers in not taking responsibility even today in the real world. 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 we see 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. Characters in Frankenstein not taking responsibility show the reader the potential dangers of pain and death in numerous situations in the novel.

Beginning with Victor abandoning the creature at birth, the series of revenge and hatred-filled events begin to occur as both attempt to find justice and retribution. The creature stole the lives of everyone beloved by Victor, and Victor stole the monster’s chance at happiness by abandoning him. As the characters continuously harm each other, their isolation increases as well as their sanity. In the end, numerous family members perish, Victor Frankenstein dies of physical exhaustion, and the creature conveys his desire to

Simultaneously, Victor failing to take responsibility for his own creation leads the creature down a path of destruction that manufactures his status as a societal outcast. The creature's dissolution from society, his search for someone to share his life with, the familiarity with intense anguish, his thirst for retribution, each of these traits coincide with Victor as he is depicted throughout the novel. Victor unknowingly induces his own undoing through his rejection of the creature. Shelley foreshadows his downfall by stating that “the monster still protested his innate goodness, blaming Victor’s rejection and man’s unkindness as the source of his evil” (Shelley 62) The creature essentially places Victor at fault for the creature becoming an outcast of society, by expressing this Shelley constructs a very austere portrayal of man’s contact with outsiders.

I dread the events of the future, not in themselves, but in their results”(117-180) In this quote he his referring to the fact that he would rather die than live deprived society as he sees it coming. Poe does not kow to interpret society corruption and falls into the dark and negative way of acting and making decisions. Poe Uses internal conflict to portray the bigger image that is happening inside of Roderick’s mind

However, in “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”, events beyond the mariner’s control result in his isolation. The mariner slaughters the albatross, a symbol of fortune, which destroys his crew, “Alone, alone, all alone, / Alone on a wide wide sea! / And never a saint took pity on / My soul in agony” (Coleridge 231-235). The mariner evokes nature’s destructive powers which devastate his crew, leaving him stranded on a deserted ship. The mariner’s punishment is similar to Victor’s because both characters witness death but survive and live in solitude.

In the novel Frankenstein,by Mary Shelley, the mysterious and unnatural origins of the character of Frankenstein’s monster are an important element. The Monster, having been created unethically and haphazardly, is at odds throughout the novel, resulting in his alienation from society and prolonged feelings of anger, desertion, and loneliness. Shaping his character, his relationships with other characters, and the meaning of the work as a whole, the Monster’s origins are what define him. The Monster faces rejection and violence every time he attempts to make contact with the new, foreign world he has been thrust into.

Frankenstein created a Creature that later resented him for his creation. The unnamed Creature believes that Frankenstein should have to pay for the damage he has done. The Creature and Frankenstein develop a contrasting relationship throughout the novel and end in somewhat compassionate relationship. Frankenstein created a Creature out of recycled parts which resulted in the creature not being highly appealing. This created the Creature and Frankenstein to have an intense hostile relationship from the

“Feel very sad, down, empty, or hopeless have very little energy have decreased activity levels. ”(NIMH). Victor felt rage, “Villain! Before you sign my death-warrant, be sure that you are safe. ”(Shelley 158).

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.

Shelly is therefore claiming that one's own nature and forms in which they were nurtured (Frankenstein) have an effect on those of others, and can even cause someone else to be more inhumane than the original person (the daemon). This is seen in human nature, where one who experiences abandonment from a parent because the parent's nature causes them to flee, this person will be more likely to commit crimes due to their loneliness and lack of direction by a parental figure. This translates directly into the plot of the story,

In many novels throughout literature, enemies often share striking similarities. They push and pull at each other to the point where they lead to the each others undoing, yet they share tremendous likeness. In the novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelly Victor Frankenstein and his creature are two sides of one person. Both despise each other, and in doing so they are despising themselves. There is a power struggle between the two adversaries, which leads to both Frankenstein, and his creature ending up alone.

Nature definitely was an important part which makes up Frankenstein’s thought process and what he enjoyed. Your view on Frankenstein’s selfish nature is a downfall of our scientist who doesn’t consider what would happen after he creates the monster. He has no consideration for the monster’s feelings and should of made an effort to connect with his friends and colleagues on what his intentions were for the experiment and the outcome he expected once it came to life. The human monster may not have even turned out so ugly if he would of consulted with others during the process of his experiment.

Some of the risks of ambition is that it could be a mistake for working yourself too hard or your achievement could just be your worst mistake. For example, in the book of Frankenstein victor was working to hard on his creation he was working day and night. When finally he finished and his work was done victor regretted in working on it because it didn't turn out the way he thought it would be. Also the risks of ambition is that one worlds too hard and sometimes it won't turn out the way the think it would turn out to be therefore it could be a waste of time as well.