FREE ESSAY ON FRANKENSTEIN

FRANKENSTEIN

Frankenstein - Ambition 30/5/00
The character named Victor in the book Frankenstein written by Mary Shelly, is a likeable
figure. His demeanour on the whole was very pleasant as he grew from a boy into an adult.
Victor's passion for the sciences is very strong, and had stayed studious in his youth.
Victor's mother died when he was age 17, and that is when he decides that he will
discover a way to rid the world of sickness and death, so people could stay with each
other forever. Victor is a likeable character because his intentions are good, all he
wanted to do was conquer death and illnesses. This idea by itself comes from a man that
is caring and doesn't want anybody to go through what he went through and also to keep
himself from going through the same ordeal again (referring to his mother), but we must
also never forget that this kind man is a man that is driven by ambition in its purest
form. Victor went on to medical school, and after many intense years of research and
study Victor gathers enough parts from cadavers to begin creating life which he believes
will be much better than our existence.
Morality. It has been questioned by people, honoured by people and revered since the
beginning of time. Yet even today not one person can say what is morally right. It is a
matter of opinion. It was the ambition of Dr. Victor Frankenstein's opinion that it was
all right to create a monster. After his creation, the result of his toils comes to
reality, he neglects it, in turn pushing it far away from him. After the bitter lashes of
revenge from the beast, (namely the death of Victor's brother William), it asks our hero
a favour. He wants a companion. Victor had let his ambition, which is so powerful, it
could be described as inhuman, create a monster, not only capable of wonderful talents,
but also of horrible tragedies. Possessing such a great mind the doctor is able to
realise that a greater evil will be released upon the earth then upon himself if he were
to oblige to the request of the monster and create a mate for him. Although we saw him
driven by ambition and curiosity in the beginning of the novel, after feeling and seeing
the consequences of it, his morality and sensibility take control, and he refuses to
create a second being. Your threats cannot move me to do an act of wickedness,(pg. 162)
says the doctor as he argues his point with his creation. The doctor sees that a greater
and more horrible result can come from him making the second monster than not. However,
in the eyes of some, the creation of the first monster, where Victor is trying to play
God, and toy with nature makes society's labels for these two extremely different
characters on the exact opposite side of the scale from where they are supposed to be.
Dr. Frankenstein is sometimes considered more of a monster while the monster is the more
decent of the characters.
As I have stated above, Dr. Frankenstein, the so labelled decent, no-fault man, could
actually be considered an irresponsible and stubborn man, who is extreme in his actions
throughout the novel's plot. His irresponsibility shows through many times in his
feelings (or lack of) towards his creation. It is almost as if the ambition that was
ever-present throughout the germination of this thing, had suddenly vanished upon it's
arrival. While he was in the process of shaping his creation, Frankenstein is so caught
up in his work and his yearning to be remembered for all time that he does not ponder
about what will happen after life is breathed into this being. He is blinded by the
ambition that he had instilled in himself after the death of his mother. He is so
consumed by his work he does not sleep for days on end, go outside, eat meals, or write
to his family with such frequency as he had before he commenced. After his creation comes
to life, he refuses to accept his obligation as the creator (or maybe even father) to his
creation. He does not care for it, shelter it, provide it with food or love, nor teaches
the creation. Eventually all the monster wants from the doctor is a companion like
himself(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 a filthy type of yours, more horrid even
from the very resemblance. Satan had his companions, fellow-devils, to admire and
encourage him; but I am solitary and abhorred.). After the doctor refuses this motion,
the monster kills his son and frames Justine, and yet Frankenstein still will not change
his attitude toward the monster. He still does not want any association between himself
and the monster even after what has happened. Frankenstein is so convinced that he
monster will kill him next, he does not stop and think about what else the monster could
have meant by, I will be with you on your wedding night. The thought does not enter his
head that the monster is foreshadowing the death of his bride. All of this after he had
been warned. This shows me that Victor was somewhat immature at the time of this sequence
of events, as he has in metaphorical terms, impregnated the earth, and left her without
any child support! 
His initial ambition is one of intensity, and makes him keen to anatomically perfect this
being. This concentration in making the monster live is direct contrast to his later wish
to kill the beast. The source of ambition swings, and is shifted in to a will to hunt and
destroy this monster, going through forests, mountains, and glaciers, and depriving
himself of people, food, and sleep. There is no grey area in Dr. Frankenstein's head.
There is only black and white. He either loves the monster totally or wants to slay it.
He has to fully devote himself or not to his task. There is no just liking the monster,
or doing a task half-heartedly. This could all stem back to his days of studying in
Ingolstadt, where his toils were so highly praised, (My Ardour was indeed the
astonishment of the students, and my proficiency that of the masters page 49), and this
could be a factor that caused him to really devote himself to his tasks. I think that
this is a perfect way to describe the ambitious capability of Victor. When he devotes
himself to something, he literally goes to the ends of the earth to try and achieve it.
The monster on the other hand has got the worse end of the deal. The creation, or as
society has labelled the monster, is actually one of the only characters in the novel
that actually has rationale behind his thinking. Society has mislabelled this creature
who shows us some sort of ambition in his willingness to try and be accepted by the
family in the woods. They are seen by society as the lower-class. They work every day on
their garden to make food for meals because they do not have enough money to be able to
buy food. They are viewed as poor and unfortunate, but are actually rich... in spirit.
They are good people. They do not complain with the status quo but enjoy what they have,
which is an admirable trait for people in any standing. The old blind man sings songs to
the others, plays a musical instrument, and adds a sense of experience and content to the
family. The children do their daily work without griping as well. Just because they are
looked down upon by society that still does not stop them from enjoying what has been
provided for them. The difference I see between these people and the rest in the book, is
that they have no noticeable ambition, which in this case seems like somewhat of a good
thing, as ambition so far, has been the source of immorality and evil.
The monster in the book is unlike the other predecided characters, in that he has flaws,
and does not possess beauty, charm, or intellectualism (that we see). He does seem to try
and become accepted by all, and only when this ambition is shunned does he truly expose
the world of Victor to his wrath. Today society respects the handicapped and accepts them
in today's world. 
Frankenstein can be seen as a prophetic statement against the pride that accompanies
ambition and technological or scientific knowledge. In the novel the 
power of science is linked to metaphysical goals and aspirations by Professor Waldman and
Victor. They believed that the scientific method had superceded theology or philosophy in
yielding the truly miraculous. Science had in effect replaced spirituality as the means
of the miraculous.This is because they saw that the ancient teachers of this science,
promised impossibilities, and performed nothing. It is this belief that I consider to be
the fuel for the ambition of Victor. These philosophers, whose hands seem only made to
dabble in dirt, and their eyes to pore over the microscope or crucible, have indeed
performed miracles. They penetrate into the recesses of nature, and show how she works in
her hiding places and ascend into the heavens, and it is this that helps Victor's
ambition on it's way. Victor Frankenstein becomes intoxicated with the possibilities of
modern science. He is so inflated and consumed with the knowledge of how to animate a
human creature that he doesn't consider the morality or even the aesthetics. He is so
absorbed in the minutia of his experiments that he creates each section of the Creature
with care without considering the total effect.(Although I possessed the capacity of
bestowing animation, yet to prepare a frame for the reception of it, with all its
intricacies of fibres, muscles and veins, still remained a work of inconceivable
difficulty. As the minuteness of the parts formed a great hindrance to my speed ... ) .
Not unlike the Monster, our modern atomic bomb was stitched together bit by bit with a
great deal of care taken to ensure scientific accuracy but with little concern for its
use. The Modern Prometheus has unleashed a fire that is capable of vicious destruction on
an entirely different and impersonal level. 
Conclusively, I feel that the ambitious scientist becomes the hunted and the haunted as a
result of overstepping his boundaries.
Bibliography
MARY SHELLEYS FRANKENSTEIN
FRAANKENSTEIN- A COMPREHENSIVE STUDY BY J. GILLESPIE