Frankenstein: Should The Consequences Of Endangering The World Or Society Be Worth It?

In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley tells a ghastly narrative of horrendous ramifications when man exceeds the boundaries of life, and manipulates nature itself. The young scientist plays God while learning the consequences of creating life, and the potential of permanent damage it can conflict on others. Mary Shelley, in her young adulthood, challenges both society and the individual to ponder the eternal question of whether being able to do something gives us the right to do it. Just because we have the potential to break science, and play the role of God; Should the consequences of endangering the world or society be worth it?
The creation of life itself is always a decision couples will soon eventually make. Most individuals know whether they are ready to reproduce, or bear a child. This decision is a big influence we as a society face for the rest of eternity. In the book, Victor knows he wants to create life, and after his success he comes to realize he doesn't want his creation. Why? Because he was ugly, or didn’t meet his expectations? It could just be the fact that Victor was ignorant in his making, and was not ready for the responsibilities he set himself up for.
This ties to the same issues society has
with abortion laws. In the years 2010-2014, fifty six percent of women globally had abortions. Many governments nationwide have debated what they believed to be the rights of the women, the fetuses, or God. The fact science now has the potential to end life before it has officially begun has enraged religion due to the fact it is acting as role of God. Abortion is about the empowerment of women and how it's supposed to free them from the responsibilities of bearing a child, but it also comes with many negative outcomes. According to Steven Ertelt, the editor and founder of LifeNews.Com, the U.S population has obliterated 55 million Americans. He states that the U.S population growth is at its lowest since the 1930’s. That takes out two full generations of possible lives.
Though abortion wasn’t even a thought in the 1800’s, there was a worry during that era that overpopulation was going to ruin the planet. A man named Thomas Malthus believed that the only solution was to get people to stop having so many babies. Mary Shelley expressed her idea on the idea of “family planning” in the novel Frankenstein through the monsters anger and rant. "Cursed, cursed creator! Why did I live? Why, in that instant, did I not extinguish the spark of existence which you had so wantonly bestowed? I know not; despair had not yet taken possession of me; my feelings were those of rage and revenge. I could with pleasure have destroyed the cottage and its inhabitants and have glutted myself with their shrieks and misery" (16.1). The expression, “the spark of existence which you had so wantonly bestowed”, seems to be the condemnation of people having children because of lewd behavior. Is it necessary for mankind to pick and choose who gets a life and who doesn’t? Is it necessary for mankind to take control over human growth, play the role of God and act as though the choice of someone’s life or two generations of lives are in their hands? Many would argue yes, but it is the fact people pick and choose what lives they feel that matter, not understanding the impact it has on the emotional health of others, as well as the economy.
“So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27). Would you say that Victor created Frankenstein in his own image because he decided to play the role of God? “Accursed creator! Why did you form a monster so hideous that even YOU turned from me in disgust? God, in pity, made man beautiful and alluring, after his own image; but my form is filthy type of yours, more horrid even from the very resemblance” (Ch. 15). Would you say that people in Frankenstein, discriminated against the monster because he was different than others? It is true that the monster did not fit in with the majority of society, which played a part in his deadly outrages and anger. The fact the monster wasn't welcomed anywhere due to his appearance can relate to today's issues with transgender men or women using public bathrooms that they label themselves by.
Members from the LGBT community are protesting over this “new racism”. Transgender men and women want to be able to use any bathroom they like and if they can’t, they want to have same sex restrooms. Many would argue this is a convoluted subject that no one can’t really determine what is right or wrong. A question to consider for same sex restrooms is, why is the comfort of people in public restrooms privileged over others? While people from the opposing side are question the rape of women and children because a minority of people want to feel comfortable in non-gender
restrooms?
Though I personally believe people should be who they want themselves to be, there is the question that people play God by picking and choosing their own gender instead of the one God set out for them to be. Society in this case needs to decide for themselves what they believe is morally right. People need to look at the big picture, and what other doors they are opening while allowing same sex restrooms. Discriminating against a whole new group of people is wrong, but fifty seven percent of the american population is against the transgender restroom debate. That is more than half of the population. But this doesn’t mean the American people aren’t open minded because more than seventy percent of Americans are for LGBT laws that protect them from discrimination in jobs, housing, and public accommodations.
The fact Victor had the capabilities of creating a whole new species of humans is astonishing. Though science still has yet to be able to create another human from scratch, it does have the capabilities of cloning. Dolly the sheep was the first cloned mammal in all of history. A very successful outbreak in science, but also a new threatening form of power. Since the discovery of cloning, science has also cloned pigs, deer, horses, and bulls. Are humans next? More than likely no. More than 70 countries in 2015 banned human cloning. Though it is likely biologically possible to clone humans, there is many ethical issues that play along with it.
We know Victor felt extremely powerful after his unlucky successful creation. He even expressed feeling godlike throughout the text. “Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first break through, and pour a torrent of light into our dark world. A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me (Ch. 4).” He shows a similarity with God given he is naming himself someone who can bring a “new species” to earth. He is putting himself above all mankind, proving he believes himself to be like God. The cloning breakthrough in science is nearly like Victor's own breakthrough. It is not morally right to recreate life or another being, just like how it isn’t right to use multiple body parts to master it into one human being. The power Victor has is the same as the power science has. It all just depends on what they plan doing with it. Frankenstein is the ideal example of low morals and bad consequences. Even in that time, the young thriving Mary Shelley, was able to depict what’s wrong and right when playing the role of God. These revolutionizing ideas pertain to every one's life’s. In today’s fast paced society, people might not stop and think of the following consequences that may lead to disaster. Whether it is ending lives, discrimination, or science, the power of God should be left only for God himself. In the attempt to make himself God’s equal, you can say that Victor paid for his actions by the hand of his own creation. People today still don’t understand that there will always be consequences. The majority of society today define their lives by the Christian ideologies. It is their policy. If society is trashes this ideology, then the creation of life, the dramatic changes of one's self, and the choice of death should be left only at our imaginations.