The Creation Of A Monster In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
In the book, Frankenstein, Dr. Frankenstein attempts to undue the natural process, and transcend humans beyond the bounds of death. This leads to the creation of a monster, the death of almost everyone close to him, and eventually, his own death. It is a haunting statement about the dangers of attempting to go beyond nature without properly thinking about consequences, and failing to take responsibility for your actions.
His entire life he pursued to unlock the secrets of nature. He loved the ideals of the old philosophers and their promises of great things. The idea of alchemy, turning common metals to gold, the search for eternal life. Their grandeur attracted him, and at first he was upset by the lack of such lofty goals in modern science. …show more content…
In the case of Frankenstein, he worked on his project so devotedly, and with such fever, that he fail to fully grasp what he was doing. In the end, he was horrified of what stood in front of him at the end of it all. He rejected it as a monster, and left it to fend for itself. In turn the creature, rejected by people and rejected by its creator, truly became a monster. This brings up an important question: How would things have turned out if Frankenstein had taken responsibility for his creation? Would it have killed at all if he had shown it love? Is there a chance it could have been accepted if he had taught it how to behave and integrate? At the time of its writing, this story urged us to use the processes that we discover responsibly, and take care of them. Nowadays though, it can be translated into an even more literal meaning. As the possibility of truly sentient machines is on the horizon, we should look to Frankenstein as an example on how to treat the life we create. We, not just as individual inventors, but as a society must be ready to take in our creations, and be responsible parents for our creations. We should show them love, and teach them what it is to be sentient in this world. If we are not, we risk what we make being the end of
His entire life he pursued to unlock the secrets of nature. He loved the ideals of the old philosophers and their promises of great things. The idea of alchemy, turning common metals to gold, the search for eternal life. Their grandeur attracted him, and at first he was upset by the lack of such lofty goals in modern science. …show more content…
In the case of Frankenstein, he worked on his project so devotedly, and with such fever, that he fail to fully grasp what he was doing. In the end, he was horrified of what stood in front of him at the end of it all. He rejected it as a monster, and left it to fend for itself. In turn the creature, rejected by people and rejected by its creator, truly became a monster. This brings up an important question: How would things have turned out if Frankenstein had taken responsibility for his creation? Would it have killed at all if he had shown it love? Is there a chance it could have been accepted if he had taught it how to behave and integrate? At the time of its writing, this story urged us to use the processes that we discover responsibly, and take care of them. Nowadays though, it can be translated into an even more literal meaning. As the possibility of truly sentient machines is on the horizon, we should look to Frankenstein as an example on how to treat the life we create. We, not just as individual inventors, but as a society must be ready to take in our creations, and be responsible parents for our creations. We should show them love, and teach them what it is to be sentient in this world. If we are not, we risk what we make being the end of