The life of victor frankenstein essay

Frankenstein is a novel of a man who was born in Geneva to a very well-known family. At a young age, Frankenstein’s parents took in his close childhood friend, Elizabeth to live with them. This came about when Elizabeth’s mother passed away. Frankenstein’s mother had decided while on her death bed that Elizabeth and Frankenstein should marry. It would seem that his life was laid out for him.

As a teenager, Frankenstein becomes interested in the study of the natural world. This intense interest is peaked when Frankenstein witnesses the damage to a tree after it if struck by lightning during a storm. The process of electricity is then explained to Frankenstein by a family friend who at the time was a natural philosopher. When Victor Frankenstein is 17 years old he leaves his family and life to attend the university at Ingolstadt. There victor meets with a professor of natural philosophy, M. Krempe who tells Victor to pick another field. Disillusioned by the conversation with this professor, Victor turned to the study of science. Victor became so involved in his studies that he began to neglect his family in Geneva, his friends at school and his health.

As stated in the “ My Hideous Progeny: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein” Victor’s “ interest quickly turned into an obsession: he is completely dedicated to learning the secrets of heaven and earth. ” It is at this point that Victor realizes that he would like to see if he could make some new discoveries about the human body that no one else had yet to discover. Could you take the flesh or body parts of dead bodies and make a new body? This seemed to consume Victor to the point that he began to collect body parts to make what he hoped to be a new creation. Once he had the body of his new creation built it was time to bring life to his creation. With the knowledge of the electricity, Victor was able to bring the new creation to life.

Even though Victor Frankenstein spent several years building his creation, the emotion that ripple through Victor’s body at the moment his creation opened his eyes was not of joy. The feeling of guilt for what he had discovered caused Victor to suddenly become ill. Once Victor is nursed back to health by his childhood friend, henry, his brother was murdered. Victor becomes convinced that the monster is responsible for the murder of his brother. Victor becomes more despondent as time goes on; believing the monster hi created is responsible for all the bad things that are happening to him and his family. Victor can’t seem to escape the memory of the monster that he created. The monster that he created for the physical qualities also exhibits the ability to have the emotions of a caring individual.

Mary Shelley shows this in her novel, “ yet you, my creator detest and spurn me, thy creature, to whom thou art bound by ties only dissoluble by the annihilation of one of us. ” It is at this point that the monster becomes aware that his presence scares away any human that he comes in contact with. “ From the beginning the monster is rejected by everyone he meets. He realizes from the moment of this “ birth” that even his own creator could not be around him; this is when Frankenstein says “…one hand was stretched out seeming to detain me, but I escaped…” This reaction makes this monster understand that he is very much alone in this world. Through the years of watching the people in the village, the monster learned how to talk and most importantly how to read. One day when going through some papers that the monster had taken from Victor’s house, the monster was able to read how he was created and the horror that his creator felt about his creation. Feeling more alone than ever, the monster becomes angry with all humans and his creator. Finding Victor the monster convinces him that if Victor will make the monster a mate than he will leave victor alone.

At first Victor was very adamant on not making a mate for the monster, but the monster said that if Victor makes him a mate he would quit hunting Victor. This sounded good to Victor, as he wanted peace from the monster and the guilt Victor felt about making the monster. Victor began the process of the monster’s mate when he suddenly realized the possibility of the monster’s ability of beginning a race of monsters with the mate.

Victor decided to destroy the female monster by dumping her body in the ocean. Had I right, for my own benefit, to inflict this curse upon everlasting generations? I had before been moved by the sophisms of the being I had created; I had been struck senseless by his fiendish treats: but now, for the first time, the wickedness of my promise burst upon me; I shuddered to think that future ages might curse me as their pest, whose selfishness had not hesitated to buy its own peace at the price, perhaps, of the existence of the whole human race”. This infuriates the monster and he begins to destroy Victor’s life.

After the monster killed Elizabeth on the night of Victor and Elizabeth’s wedding, Victor will vow he was going to kill the monster. Following the monster north through the snow and ice, Victor falls ill and dies. “ On a voyage of scientific exploration, Robert Walton comes across the half dead Victor Frankenstein and pulls him aboard his vessel. Frankenstein recounts a nightmarish tale of having created a monster that caused destruction and murdered Frankenstein’s fiancee and a friend. Walton learns that Frankenstein is now searching for the monster, intent on destroying it in retribution, but the scientist demonstrates no sense of responsibility for what he has set in motion.

As soon as he has finished telling the story, Frankenstein dies. ” Frankenstein is an example of a good idea turning bad. Frankenstein thought his creation would be accepted and admired however the opposite happened. Even though people were not aware that the monster was made by Frankenstein, he was still very sorry for his creation.

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2002 Its’s Alive: Frankenstein www. neh. gov/news/humanities/2002-09/itsalive. html Shelly, M.

2005 Frankenstein Prestwick House Literary Touchstone Classics Clayton, Delaware Webmaster, 2010 My Hideous Progeny, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein www. Home. tiscali. nl/-hamberg/