At this point in the story, Dr. Jekyll has not completely accepted Edward Hyde as being a part of him. He recognizes that Edward Hyde is “pure evil” but needs further proof that so much evil can be part of a person that is good. The story describes his transformation after drinking the potion as mental, physical, and spiritual. The spiritual part is very interesting because Dr. Jekyll in part always thought he was a fraud and even though he did walk the line of good he expected he was not truly good. I think Hyde was a manifestation of his thoughts of impurity because deep down he believed to have a good soul he must never have impure thoughts. I think this was his true…
Frankenstein is a novel book in which the mistake of Victor leads to the death of his loved ones. A scientist decides to interfere in the plans of nature and nature represented by the creature severely punishes him for that. Only “God” should take responsibility of creating a human form of life. Victor and the monster both die.…
Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’ explores a deeper understanding of disruption through questioning the morality and consequences of creating human life. Written in 1818, Shelley both reflects and foresees the dangers scientific exploration could bring if it advanced too far. This period of scientific advancement (seen through Darwin and Galvini) is mimicked through her…
Frankenstein is a book written in the early 1800’s that references technology that is just now being created. These technologies present the human race with a multitude of ethical issues that would not even have been thought of when this book was written. However, most are brought up throughout this book. Other ethical issues that have to do with this technology are also prominent in the story, although most of them originate from the creation of the monster. The monster is created by Frankenstein and it kills some of his close friends and family, but the retaliation by the monster stems from Frankenstein abandoning it after it was created.…
In Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, she attempts to bring to light the dangers and the amount of responsibility a then new-found age of scientific exploration and discovery could bring to the table. When Technology and Power are used for self-beneficiary reasons, the process in which man tries to move forward with their pursuit of knowledge becomes complex, ending in the corruption of the self. In his attempt to make life, Victor unleashes a ‘Monster’ unto the world, oblivious to the responsibility it comes with. Being ignorant to this, and believing it to be a mere monster, he rejects any responsibility, sealing their fate in death.…
I think the risks outweigh the benefits. He could not start bringing back people from the "dead" and he had to face a lot more risks. Experimenting on corpses, living animals, living people were big risks they took that led to nothing but failure. And tonic bombs killed 100,000+ people. They caused more damage than benefit. I think they shouldn't have tried to bring back people from the dead, I think there were a lot of…
No longer were monsters a product of supernatural forces, monsters were created. Yet, in order for a monster to become a monster, it cannot exist in isolation. Relating my idea of the connection between knowledge and morality in the Scientific Revolution/Enlightenment period to the monster and his body in Frankenstein, I argue that society’s knowledge of the monster is formed in one of two ways; one, through scientific creation or two, through social construction. Now, it is through (1) physical features which differ drastically from others or (2) immoral actions that one becomes a monster in their own society. In part, “monsters” are products of their own environment. What makes the creature in Frankenstein a monster is that he is both a scientific creation and his physical features and his actions of murder deviate from society’s expectations. Throughout the novel Frankenstein’s creation is never given a real name. Instead, he is called; a “demoniacal corpse, wretch, daemon, devil, monster, ogre, the being and creature” (36, 68, 102, 164, 165). Besides not having a name, Frankenstein’s creature is also described using the term deformity and monster. After society’s constant negative response to his physical appearance, the creature himself…
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?…
Frankenstein’s actions have modeled the effects of power and the consequences of it, in particularly creating life. Although Frankenstein’s desire for power brought him to the creation of a monster, his reasonings parallel with common themes for the rise of power. Victor Frankenstein’s desire for power is based on his lack of concern for legal issues, his troubled past, and the inability to overcome his…
Human dreams of achievement, recognition, wealth and the pursuit of happiness often bring misery, rejection, irresponsibility, unethical choices and sometimes death. Attempting to fulfill those dreams can bring arrogance that blinds our vision to reality and the choices made eliminate right and wrong from our hearts or minds. In Frankenstein, the monster learns to be human by reading, _The Sorrows of Young Werther_, written by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. "Must it ever be thus, -- that the source of our happiness must also be the fountain of our misery?" (von Goethe, Book I, August 18). Frankenstein went beyond the boundaries of science…
Transhumanist ideals and human enhancements find themselves under great scrutiny again and again because of ethical concerns over whether humanity should possess the capability to alter what it naturally is. Bioethical attacks jump on new and controversial procedures and are quick to compare them to the experiments of the Nazi Mengele or the fictional Victor Frankenstein. The two are quite similar, performing unnatural experiments kept away from the public eye. Both played God in their own ways, but only because their actions were deliberately gruesome and unnecessary in nature. It is not truly understood if these scientific tragedies and those similar are performed for the sake of experimentation with a dangerous lust for what is seen as…
Victor Frankenstein’s demise stemmed from his infatuation with the balance of nature and science. Even as a child, Frankenstein longed for answers that no one could give, “ I confess that neither the structure of languages, nor the code of governments, nor the politics of various states possessed attractions for me. It was the secrets of heaven and earth that I desired to learn” (28). From that moment Victor’s fate was determined, and his pursuit for these answers soon became an obsession with playing God. However, moments after the birth of his creation, his entire deanor shifts; he suffers remorse, “breathless horror and disgust filled [his] heart” (51). This horror only worsens with his later encounters with the monster and the knowledge of the several murders of his most beloved. Victor Frankenstein gave life and now longed for…
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein there are a lot of examples of how she is warning the readers about the perils of modern science. One of the biggest examples is the creator of Frankenstein, and Frankenstein himself. The fact that someone was taking the role of “god”, and trying to create life is a very scary factor in life. If someone of our kind can gain the power to create their own human life from machines, science, and electricity then they could have the ultimate power. Power is something that all human kind wants to achieve, but also fear. Power goes along with the perils of modern science, which Mary Shelley warns the readers about.…
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Doctor Frankenstein continues to use and implement his knowledge, which seems to go against nature and is called ‘dangerous’. This knowledge, when used to create his hideous monster, deeply affects his mental and physical state of mind. Shelley showcases this in chapter four of Frankenstein. In the novel, Frankenstein acquires knowledge, then causes detrimental harm to his mental and physical health.…
The story of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde contains a strong motif of good versus evil. This good versus evil is represented…