Frankenstein - Close-Analysis

Written Assignment:

Close-analysis Paper: For this paper, look closely at a single passage from Frankenstein. You don't need to refer to anything outside the scope of the sentence(s) you choose. Depth and clarity is more important here than breadth or comprehensiveness. However, if you want to draw connections between two or more passages, feel free, but don't end up saying too little about too many things. In general, I find the shorter the passage you choose, the more careful your analysis will be. And don't worry about using your analysis to make more far-reaching remarks about the novel as a whole (that's what the next paper will be for).

While I would ask that you revise (so your language is as clear as possible), this is not a formal essay, so don't worry about having an introductory paragraph, thesis statement, etc. Instead, dive right in and analyze. Leave no stones unturned. Ask questions. Answer questions. Consider the various definitions of words. Go out on a limb. Have fun. Shoot for about 500 words, but don't get too caught up on the length of your work. Choose a passage and write until you feel like you've said all there is to be said about it. Note: You will use this close-analysis as the basis for your next paper. Submit your completed assignment to the assignment Dropbox by the scheduled due date.

“We were brought up together; there was not quite a year difference in our ages. I need not say that we were strangers to any species of disunion or dispute. Harmony was the soul of our companionship, and the diversity and contrast that subsisted in our characters drew us nearer together. Elizabeth was of a calmer and more concentrated disposition; but, with my entire ardor, I was capable of a more intense application and was more deeply smitten the thirst for knowledge. She busied herself with following the aerial creations of the poets; and in the majestic and wondrous  scenes which surrounded our Swiss home —the sublime  shapes of the mountains, the changes of the seasons, tempest and calm, the silence of winter, and the life and turbulence  of our Alpine summers—she found ample scope for admiration and delight. While my companion contemplated with a serious and satisfied spirit the magnificent appearances of things, I delighted in investigating their causes. The world was to me a secret which I desired to divine. Curiosity, earnest research to learn the hidden laws of nature, gladness akin to rapture, as they were unfolded to me, are among the earliest sensations I can remember.” (Shelley,  p. 22 (Chapter 2 – Paragraph 1) 

            In this passage, the background of young life of the main character, Victor Frankenstein and his adopted sister and also future bride, Elizabeth Lavenza are discussed. Victor Frankenstein has led a blessed life. He grew up surrounded by people who loved him. Elizabeth had a zeal for life itself. Victor and she grew up together as best friends.  “We were brought up together;” he said.  This friendship not only complements each other’s lives but it was also an integral part of their lives.  He also described the perfect serenity of his relationship with his beloved sister as inseparable companions. This kind of relationship was mutual between the both of them and perfectly fine for them to have this kind of relationship in the family because they were not related by blood.

            As a child, Victor was extraordinarily intelligent, with a powerful aptitude for the sciences; he seems destined to bring great things both to himself and the family name.

He became increasingly fascinated by the mysteries of the natural world, and was  the kind of person who  communicated  himself intensely to only few people. His pursuit of knowledge eventually leads him to try to create the monster. He was a stubborn and curious boy who wanted to figure out the  mysteries of  creating life. He was the scientific. While Elizabeth was soothed, gentle and literary; she was fascinated  in the study of poems and poetry.  It was in their personal relationships that the reader encountered the first clear difference between the characters.  The characters of Elizabeth provided great support to the passive women theme. As well, the consistently visual and beautiful settings add a whole other dimension to the topic of nature. Victor, all of whom consistently contribute to the idea of dangerous knowledge. With all of the knowledge he had gained about nature as a child and through his readings and lessons, the search for even more knowledge drove him to insanity. 

            Two characters have opposite childhoods, which contribute to their educations, ambitions and shape their viewpoints of life. Frankenstein’s important goal was to pursuit of a forbidden quest, an irrepressible desire to push back the boundaries of current human knowledge; especially the creation of life from non-life. His ambition or ultimate goal was to move beyond which was well known, both in terms of their family and the boundaries of science. Victor has always been egotistical. He worried about fame and glory.  At his early age, he became interested in natural philosophy or science and  never learned to be happy with limited resources.  On the other hand, Elizabeth was comforting and soothing qualities of nature .   She was humble and cared for everyone without any discrimination and self-satisfaction.  Shelly described Elizabeth character through Victor voice, “Elizabeth was a calmer and more concentrated disposition.” Though it was probably not the strongest theme of the novel, it could be seen that female roles in the novel Frankenstein are anything but practical.  It was interesting to note how the characters differ in their reaction to their despair; Elizabeth was behaved inactive but her lover, Victor, active manner.  Shelley really had important things to say with the introduction of such obviously passive women, making this idea the closest to any sort of social commentary.

            By contrast, the female characters in the Shelly’s novel generally lack any determination to move beyond the realm of the family. Elizabeth, as Victor comments, “busied herself with…the aerial creations of the poets; and in the majestic and wondrous scenes that surrounded our Swiss home”  Elizabeth in most other respects seems to be a satirical portrayal.  She is the idealized woman of the nineteenth-century, ‘submissive, supportive and beautiful’.  In that century, men are represented as complex decision makers rather than the female characters.  Society of the day saw women as powerless.

            Education today has become the desire for both men and women;  where men and women are schooled at the same facilities and taught the same subjects, especially science no longer exclusive to man, contrarily to the type of education that Frankenstein obtained.  Mary Shelley gave an example in this passage as to how the educations of men and women differ; the readers also could see the differences in the education which each gender is privileged to. Victor saw the world around him through a different lens than Elizabeth, as he explains:  While my companion contemplated with a serious and satisfied spirit the magnificent appearances of things, I delighted in investigating their causes.  With these two characters put into view, it was easy to see how significant female character is truly reflected in the novel.

            Gradually, the readers were introduced to all aspects of Victor’s character that would lead  his action to down fall. Victor Frankenstein told readers that he is enticed by world and won’t give up on his dream of being successful in science.  This ambition or dream became his strength and weakness.  His strength and weakness were more or less the same thing; they were both linked together. His strength was his determination to succeed in creating life and desire to understand  and explore some of the deepest mysteries of the human condition. Victor became so obsessed with bringing a creature to life that he failed to think of the possible consequences;  he had never thought about the result of his ambition and his responsibility if his dream would failed.  He did not recognize that knowledge of natural sciences is the price of his entire life.  This was also his weakness. To achieve this ambition,  he has risked everything and ignored his family advices to create the monster, therefore,  he did not realize this raw ambition led to the destruction  of his family and himself;  it was like a madness that blinds men to dangers of their actions.  This point of views helps towards the realism of the novel; and characterization enable the reader to interact with the characters and feel sympathy. 

            Frankly, I feel quite sorry for him but also sympathize with him.  As a child, I had a different point of view about nature, science, and life. Today, I realize scientists can be motivated in several ways.  One is a desire to understand why the world is as we see it and how it came to be; this exhibits a strong curiosity about reality; the other is the recognition by their desire to apply scientific knowledge for the benefit of people's health and nature.

             Marry Shelley, established the relationship between the scientist and nature as a harmony one.  She wrote, in the voice of her character, Victor Frankenstein, "The world was to him a secret which he desired to divine. Curiosity, earnest research to learn the hidden laws of nature, gladness akin to rapture, as they were unfolded to him, are among the earliest sensations he can remember.”   He had this ardent desire to learn about life, and to find the answers.  Science gave him his success, and that success gave him power over life.

            Throughout history, humans have had a thirst for knowledge and development. From the very beginning of humankind, the discoveries made by our race have shaped our futures forever. We have always wanted to know why things happen, and to push the boundaries of what's possible.  Passion is another important point Frankenstein brings up. Almost every major character had an obsession that he or she allowed to drive their existence. The novel puts forth the opinion from an early age, Frankenstein had a desire and thirst for knowledge. The novel also clearly presents the main character, Frankenstein, as the most classically educated one in the novel; and displays the struggles he copes with because of his mental acuity and desire for knowledge.  Frankenstein said of his own education, “I was capable of a more intense application, and was more deeply smitten with the thirst for knowledge.”

           

            Knowledge in itself is a powerful tool of unimaginable capabilities if used by someone who does not fully understand its full potential; if used unwisely may convey a harmless rumor or cause the beginning of a war. If used properly  it is may establish new opportunities or receive commendations for having just means of applying it. The novel, Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, is a riveting story with many comparisons of the great powers in life. Being one of the greatest gothic novels ever to be written, it contains many themes of today. It contrasts science and literary, nature and unnatural, life and death, and most importantly knowledge and stupidity. The pursuit of knowledge is at the  Frankenstein‘s mind, as his attempts to surge beyond accepted human limits and access to secret of life. 

            In this passage, I came to understand why Victor becomes obsessed with his search for knowledge and he decides to take upon the responsibility of delving into classical books that challenge his thoughts on life. At the moment he understood what his destiny of how to be a scientist and to create something that the world has never seen before. He was truly showing his dire need for scientific freedom and the chance for new discoveries. He has only one goal in his mind of ability of creating his beast with the knowledge. This knowledge was also his downfall. Instead of using it in a positive way, which he may thought he was doing at the time, he decided to gamble and used it very negatively by creating a monster. This monster would lead to the loss of his loved ones and eventually himself.   Without a question, Shelly is positing a morality of science, that  is a necessary limit not on what humankind should know.

            The story of Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, focuses on the outcome of one man's idealistic motives and desires of dabbling with nature, which result in the creation of horrific creature. Even though Victor Frankenstein was doomed to failure from his initial desire to  build the creature,  but his spirit was not failed. The reason, Victor’s knowledge is still positive because his failures allow others to learn from him. If he were not the one to make this mistake, someone else would, and they would suffer the same consequences.  People learn from Victor that an overwhelming sense of hubris that breaks the golden mean is recipe for calamity. The development of knowledge, no matter what its restrictions was better than ignorance because it helped the characters grow and explore.

            Mary Shelley's novel portrays many different possible ideas that are relevant in society today.  Many unpredictable behaviors happen in Frankenstein that provides the readers encounter with that would not happen in everyday life, yet can still be relevant in today's world. Frankenstein introduces unexpected events and creates a sense of relentless horror for the readers. Shelley gives her audience a taste of unimaginable happenings that can occur from something as harmless as the dream of a man. Noticeable from beginning to end are the themes man's appetite for absolute knowledge and the disaster this appetite can hold. Victor's thirst for knowledge started as a young child and only became greater as he was introduced to new teachings.

            I learned a lot of from reading this story about a mad scientist who created life out of death. I have to take a moment and ask myself, when I am experimenting in the realm of science and technology, whose interests do I have in mind? How will these advancements affect society, and most of all, what harm could my creation cause? 

            As a whole, this passage contains elements of many of the themes of the novel: friendship, relationship,  knowledge and glory, and overreaching ambition of mankind. I believe Shelley intended Frankenstein to show how this thirst for knowledge can go too far. Dangerous knowledge, nature, and passive women all played huge roles as motifs in Frankenstein. This novel is a great example of what happens when people take science too far, without considering the consequences of their actions. The deep moral issue of the 'science' used in Frankenstein has a huge effect on what the readers think of Frankenstein. We must realize that humans have limits. A ravenous ambition and our personal fantasy are something that does not harmonize with reality, and therefore is extinguished by it.