At the beginning of the story, Walton is writing to his beloved sister. He talks about his big adventure to the North Pole. His dream is to see the sun going around and around, the campise spinning in circles, and to find a new passage. Walton explains to his sister of the loneliness he is feeling, but he is also very picky with who could be his friend. One day, Walton see a tall person on a slide pass by before find Victor. Victor, at first, looked like a savage. Though as he spoke to Walton turns out he was a very smart person that was also very romantic. Walton expresses his dreams to Victor, who thinks he is a fool like himself. As a warning, Victor tells Walton his story. His parents meet when his mother’s father died. His father, owed it to her…
Robert Walton a romantic arctic explorer who learns and records Victor's story in letters to his sister in England Margaret Saville. Victor Frankenstein the genius mind behind creating the monster that results in his life going downhill until he is found by Walton on an ice burg in the North pole between life and death. Finding that his savior is also running after an obsession, Victor lying on his death bed recounts his wretched life to his rescuer hoping that he would learn from his mistakes. …
Walton wanted to travel to the arctic, and even reach the northernmost area of the cold wasteland. Frankenstein, wished to accomplish something very abnormal and fantastic. He wished to create life and obtain the ability to bring things back from the dead. In Frankenstein, both men aim to accomplish great endeavors, but the author uses the characterization of Victor Frankenstein and Robert Walton to warn people of the dangers that fall upon those who seek knowledge of unknown ideas and concepts. An example of this in the modern era is the science that led to the development of nuclear and advanced military technology.…
In a series of letters, Robert Walton, the captain of a ship bound for the North Pole, tells his sister who is in England about his mission. Victor Frankenstein who was traveling by dog-drawn sledge across ice was very weak. Walton takes him in and nurses him. Frankenstein then tells him his story of how he created a monster. Victor had a great childhood with his parents and his cousin, Elizabeth, and friend Henry Clerval. Later, Victor enters the university of Ingolstadt to study natural philosophy and chemistry. He soon becomes obsessed with creating life. He soon accomplishes that but sees that he created a horrible looking monster and abandons the monster. He finds out that…
Through the characterization of Walton, the narrator, and Victor, Shelley’s Frankenstein depicts the passions fuelled by desire for renown, that drive people to discover, reflecting contextual concerns over scientific irresponsibility. In 1818, there was excitement about both geographical and scientific discovery, with Walton symbolising the former and Frankenstein the latter. Walton’s “great purpose” of discovering a northern passage to facilitate trade parallels Victor’s desire to, “banish disease…and render man invulnerable”. Ironically, despite their voiced altruism, neither are responsible. Imagery depicts Walton endangering his entire crew with his ship trapped in, “irregular plains of ice…no end”. Fortunately, Frankenstein’s story alerts Walton to his irresponsibility and he returns his men to safety. A Revenge Tragedy convention, the deaths of innocents, highlights the destructive capacity of scientific irresponsibility. Frankenstein’s failure to uphold his patriarchal responsibilities expected of a man of his era causes irreparable mistakes bringing William, Elizabeth,…
Robert Walton, I am imparting you with a full report on the creature whom you pursue. Much of this knowledge is already known to you as you have had a close encounter with this individual. We do have new developments and materials recovered from crime scenes and articles left behind by the monster. One particular article is the photo incriminating Justine under circumstantial evidence, the photo of Caroline, Victor’s mother. The purpose of this official document is to summarize what we all ought to know about the criminal to better aid us in our search for the monster.…
Both Mary Shelley and Ridley Scott warn of the negative impacts that can come of the need for excessive ambition and control. Shelley composed ‘Frankenstein’ at the time of the Industrial Revolution, witnessing the growth of technology. Through the novel Shelley demonstrates the consequences of personal glory and fame explored through the parallel characters of Walton and Victor. who are blinded by their dreams of glory. Walton’s quest for fame on his expedition to the North Pole threatens the lives of those in his crew. Similarly, Victor whose obsessive desire to challenge the laws of nature through the creation of another life leads to a life of disaster and depression. The consequences of excessive ambition is expressed through Victor’s advice to Walton:…
The pursuit of knowledge is at the heart of Frankenstein, as Victor attempts to surge beyond accepted human limits and access the secret of life. Likewise, Robert Walton attempts to surpass previous human explorations by endeavoring to reach the North Pole. This ruthless pursuit of knowledge, of the light (see “Light and Fire”), proves dangerous, as Victor’s act of creation eventually results in the destruction of everyone dear to him, and Walton finds himself perilously trapped between sheets of ice. Whereas Victor’s obsessive hatred of the monster drives him to his death, Walton ultimately pulls back from his treacherous mission, having learned from Victor’s example how destructive the thirst for knowledge can be.…
Walton expects to find the secrets of the universe unveiled in the North Pole, which he describes as "a country of eternal light." Light also accompanies nearly all of Victor's epiphanies. When he first discovers natural philosophy, he says, "A new light seemed to dawn upon my mind." When he discovers the secret to creating life, he describes his feelings as if "a sudden light broke in upon me." He envisions pouring a "torrent of light into our dark world" through the creation of a new species. Yet light that's too bright is also blinding, and both Victor and Walton fail to see or consider the dangerous consequences of their quests for enlightenment. Besides, fire is associated with human life. “Fire” is vital for human beings, not only it use for food it also use for protection and warmth particularly in the cold weather. But, fire is used differently in Mary Shelley's novel, “Frankenstein.” In Frankenstein, fire appears throughout the novel as a dangerous force used for survival and punishment. As describes by the monster, first fire gives him warmth and light in the darkness of the forest, and then when he extends his hand out to touch the fire it burned him. Subsequently, he wants to use to burn his enemies who outcastes him. Victor attempts to give the gift of the secret of life to humanity, but he ends up suffering grave punishment as a result of the monster he creates destroys his family, his life, and his happiness when the monster discovers fire. The monster hates the people around him who tease him for his appearance and when he is rejected by the people from the cottage he sees no option but to burn down everything that reminds him of how outcast and left alone. The fire may be a metaphor for science destroying nature; it comes up again in the lighting scene when the fire strikes the tree to a…
For instance, Autonomous University of Madrid professor Manuel Aguirre, sees him as representing the “threshold guardian” archetype found in folklore. He describes this kind of figure as someone who is “an ambivalent figure who watches over the established boundaries but who, through the gifts of higher wisdom or divine enthusiasm, may grant access to a new zone of experience” (7-8). Similarly to Aguirre, Augustan College professor Jonathan Crimmins sees Walton as a mediator and a more reasonable middle ground between the extremes that the monster and Frankenstein represent. He writes, “[Shelley treats] both Frankenstein and his creature as the fallen angels of conflicting value systems and [sets] the two against each other as antagonists. Except for Robert Walton … [they] have no mediator” (562-563). Both of these scholars draw upon the idea that Walton is the lens through which readers experience Frankenstein’s story. It is perhaps his role as chronicler that makes the grave aspects of the story more palatable because we can remember that at the end of the story, Walton’s frame narrative will resume; this tells us that all the horrific happenings of Frankenstein’s life are in the past. This is a perfectly valid analysis; however, it does not seem to acknowledge the negative implications that Walton’s mental state may have on his role as mediator or…
Walton” reassuring his sister, Margaret, of his well-being and informing her of his desire to navigate to the North Pole. His desire – as the reader will soon discover that is paralleled with Victor’s – is based on scientific curiosity and to achieve some “great purpose” (Shelley 53). In the second letter, Walton is seen complaining about his lack of companionship. Upon discovering Victor, whom he initially refers to as a stranger, however, Walton regards the stranger as the potential companion he never truly had; this is an example of foreshadowing, in the sense that the creature also longs for a friend or a mate. As told in chapter two, Victor’s adolescence was described to be rather eccentric due to his scientific curiosity eventually becoming fatal for his loved ones. Similarly, Walton’s scientific curiosity has led to dangerous situations, as manifested in the third of his letters, which states: “Last Monday (July 31st), we were nearly surrounded by ice, which closed the ship in on all sides, scarcely leaving her the sea room in which she floated” (Shelley 58). The entirety of Victor’s narrative spoken to Walton is set in the frozen waters of the arctic, where Walton is faced with a stranger relaying his personal past, and finds himself identifying with this stranger’s perilous scientific…
trrtdddddddddddddddddThe first character that we are introduced to in Frankenstein is Robert Walton. Walton spent a couple of years in preparation for his voyage to the Arctic in isolation. During his voyage, Walton sends letters to his sister sporadically to tell her how lonely he is out there by himself. He is on a ship with many deck hands and crewmembers, but in his letter to Margaret, his sister, he states, " I have no friend, Margaret: when I am glowing with the enthusiasm of success, there will be none to participate my joy" Although Walton has a boat full of men, he still feels lonely and friendless, and wishes he had a friend on the boat to keep him occupied. Once he rescues Victor, his feelings of loneliness slowly disappear.…
In his letters to his sister, Walton is clearly aware that his ambition travel to the North Pole is mostly for his own personal fulfillment. He writes, "And now, dear Margaret, do I not deserve to accomplish some purpose? My life might have been passed in ease and luxury, but I preferred glory to every enticement that wealth placed in my path" (12). When he and his crew encounter danger, Walton hesitantly decides to abandon his mission, and he and his crew are able to safely return home, unlike Frankenstein who dies before he is able to see his creature again and exact his revenge. Although Walton never realizes his ambition, he is able to learn from the story Frankenstein and his creature about what is truly important in life. He understands…
Frankenstein’s monster is most frequently seen as, of course, a monster. He is fearsome naturally, but he has the mind and spirit of a developing human child. The creature’s youthful demeanor exhibits itself through many examples. The most prevalent childish behaviors he has are; the creature’s fear of being alone and seeking attention and love, being completely unbiased and not judgmental at the dawn of his creation, and his lack of knowledge of the world around him.…
Another important theme is the double. In Frankenstein the three main characters are linked by that idea: in fact both Walton and Frankenstein have the same ambitions, the wish to go beyond the limits of Nature travelling towards the unknown, the wish for loneliness and pride of being different; the monster is Frankenstein’s negative side, they are complementary, initially they are both good but then they become obsessed with hate and revenge. One sure sign of the double is the haunting presence of the monster: although at the beginning Frankenstein flees from his creature and their direct confrontations are few, the monster is always present in Victor’s…