Essay on Science, Technology, and Morality in Shelley's Frankenstein

Like most horror stories, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein has a wretched monster who terrorizes and kills his victims with ease. However, the story is not as simple as it seems. One increasingly popular view of the true nature of the creature is one of understanding. This sympathetic view is often strengthened by looking at the upbringing of the creature in the harsh world in which he matures much as a child would. With no friends or even a true father, the creature can be said to be a product of society and its negative views and constant rejections of him. Although this popular view serves to lessen the severity of his crimes in most people’s eyes, the fact remains that the creature is in fact a cold-hearted wretch whose vindictive nature

The most frightening horror story can only be called such if it is believable. Nothing is so unnerving as lying awake at night with very real fears. No monster can harm you, unless the monster was genetically engineered by a mad scientist. The theme of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein - scientific investigation without consideration of morality and responsibility - is a very relevant topic in today's world. This theme, along with the less obvious themes of revenge, prejudice against deviation from the norm, and fate all make Frankenstein one of the most unique and terrifying horror novels ever.

Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein cannot merely be read as a literary work of the early 19th century. It represents the workings of young Shelley's mind. Further, it represents the vast scientific discoveries of the time, combined with Mary Shelley's intuitive perception of science. She views science as a powerful entity, but also recognizes the dangers if uncontrolled. Shelley demonstrates this fear in the book as science drives Victor Frankenstein to create his monster. In the end, it is also his use of science that inevitably becomes his demise.

Frankenstein is a classic horror novel, but with a twist of many other genres. Written by Mary Shelley, it was a novel which mixed many exciting elements, such as horror, drama and romance. The story follows a young doctor named Victor Frankenstein, who has an obsession to reincarnate the dead, but his attempts at this fail horribly, and Victor finds himself in deep peril, as the monster stalks him throughout the world. I aim to investigate the issue, however, of who is the true monster in Frankenstein. The monster or Frankenstein himself?

Over two centuries ago, Mary Shelley created a gruesome tale of the horrific ramifications that result when man over steps his bounds and manipulates nature. In her classic tale, Frankenstein, Shelley weaves together the terrifying implications of a young scientist playing God and creating life, only to be haunted for the duration of his life by the monster of his own sordid creation. Reading Shelley in the context of present technologically advanced times, her tale of monstrous creation provides a very gruesome caution. For today, it is not merely a human being the sciences are lusting blindly to bring to life, as was the deranged quest of Victor Frankenstein, but rather to

In Mary Shelly’s “Frankenstein,” Victor Frankenstein became interested in the creation of life, but later became obsessed with the technological ability that he has. He used advanced technology to build a creature. The fact that Victor extended his

The science of electricity and its uses played a role in giving life to the monster. During the time period in which Frankenstein was written the use of electricity is an ongoing phenomenon in the medical field. In Frankenstein electricity is the implement that allows Victor to give life which creates his creature. According to the author of “Frankenstein: The Man and the Monster”, Suzanne Storment, “Early medical experiments demonstrated this phenomenon as a dead frog leg jolted with the injection of electricity, serving as a bridge between electricity and biology and chemistry.” (Storment 1). This quote explains that electricity can give life to the non living and electricity inspired Victor that he can create life using electricity. According to what Victory says, "I succeeded in discovering the cause of generation and life; nay, more, I became myself capable of bestowing animation up on lifeless matter.” (Shelley 31). Victor understands the power he has discovered in creating life. Thus, like God he can judge as to whether someone shall die or be given the gift of life by him. However, Victor’s creation would have a disastrous effect on him because it would be responsible for the deaths of his family and loved ones. This shows that when the ethics of science are broken and what has been done, while breaking these ethics, can be catastrophic when left

There is nothing more profound about the topic of science and technology than its ability to be a partner in helping to save lives. It is so influencial in coming up with the latest drugs to combat harmful and even deadly diseases and viruses such as AIDS, and some cancers. We are where we are today because of the remarkable innovations in science and technology. The idea that lives can be saved from such innovations as a new flu vaccine, or a new type of antibiotic that can battle chicken pox, and many other diseases. Its all about the advancements that we get from science and technology that let us live the way we do. Now, we dont have to worry about dying from the chicken pox or

The novel “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley involves the complex issues with the creation of life through an inanimate life. Shelley uses these character archetypes to develop a deeper meaning of the characters intentions. Shelley does an excellent job at allowing the reader to have a peak at the characters inner thoughts and feelings. The archetypes presented in Frankenstein allow readers to identify with the character's role and purpose.

Nineteen-year-old Mary Shelley didn’t know when she began it that her “ghost story” would become an enduring part of classic literature. Frankenstein is an admirable work simply for its captivating plot. To the careful reader, however, Shelley’s tale offers complex insights into human experience. The reader identifies with all of the major characters and is left to heed or ignore the cautions that their situations provide. Shelley uses the second person narrative style, allusions both to Coleridge’s “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” and the legend of Prometheus, and the symbols of both light and fire to warn against the destructive thirst for forbidden knowledge.

In this essay I will be discussing who really is portrayed as the monster in her gothic horror novel, Frankenstein or “The Modern Prometheus”. Frankenstein was written in 1816, (thought by many to be the first real science fiction novel) during the age of Romanticism and it tells the story of a selfish man, Victor Frankenstein, whose ambition conducts him to seek for supernatural powers and leads him to death. He is a young scientist, eager to discover something new, the key to life, help to make scientific advances and let other scientists get a better idea of how the body works and who after studying chemical processes and the decay of living beings, gains an insight into the creation of like, leading him to create a monster that becomes

Modern science has dramatically evolved over the past years, there is a concern on whether or not people will try to play God with such developments and what damaging consequences could occur. Body modifications, cloning, Genetic engineering, and various fields in biotechnology are prime examples of fields that are attaining great advancements in a swift manner that increase concerns over the consequences. Progress in science induces people to question what it means to be a human and their own human nature, just as it causes people to question the effects that scientific progress may have on their good fortune, happiness or common welfare.The protagonist of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein is incited to advance the field of

Science is defined as a study of the behaviour and structure of a natural and psychical world by experiments and observations. (Łukaszewski, 2003) According to Stanovich, science is consisted by three elements: systematic empiricism, testable hypothesis and publicly verifiable knowledge. The first element concerns the observation and examination of the world. Testable hypothesis with predictions of future results is necessary to solve the

This is what happened at the end of the Frankenstein story. The creature says “Onto the ice, where I shall build my funeral pyre. I shall rejoice in the torturing flames, and my ashes will be swept into the sea by the winds. Farewell, Captain and farewell to you, Victor Frankenstein. Doomed as you were, my agony was still greater than yours.” He gets onto that ice that sparkles like shattered diamonds in the night sky. He says that he will burst into flames because the sun is a fiery ball of fire, but the chill of the sea water keeps him crisp. Young frankenstein floats away into the distance. He floats for what seems like an eternity, he finally makes it to an island and he finds something there, he finds a young fragile, beautiful woman. He spends what seems like a decade with her so he decides to make her his wife. The ring he had carried with him for so long was absolutely beautiful, he’s waited so long to share this with the one he loves. The rock on that ring was worth enough to buy a magnificent house.  They soon come to the conclusion that they could have babies and had conceived triplets.1 beautiful baby girl and 2 handsome baby boys, It was the longest 9 months of both of their lives. The babies started out as sweet little angels but things soon made a drastic change. As they grew they became more and more rebellious, Not listening to their parents. They started acting out of control not realizing the world is much harder to live in then it seemed. They eventually

Many people think that it would be either amazing or terrifying if something like the creation of Dr. Frankenstein’s monster became real, but what they do not realize is that many of the ideas are already happening. The ideas of enhancing our natural abilities, satisfying curiosity and taking responsibility are all things that people were dealing with two-hundred years ago and that are still being dealt with today. Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein was just the beginning of addressing these ideas.