Frankenstein -Literary Analysis Paper

Knowledge

The word “knowledge” was recurring many times throughout Frankenstein novel and attracted or forced the reader to find out the true definition of it.  Curiously, I decided to look up the definition of knowledge from the Webster's Dictionary.  It defines, “Knowledge: n. Understanding gained by actual experience; range of information; clear perception of truth; something learned and kept in the mind.” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)   I realized this word is very straightforward, but has many useful and different meanings to all of us. It is also powerful tool to determine and control the result of our judgment. “Knowledge consists in recognizing the difference between good and bad decisions”.  (Knowledge Intellectual understanding)  This statement seems to be one of the simple answers to the question of ‘what is knowledge?’ 

            Knowledge can be powerful if we use it wisely and properly, but its unwisely use may convey a harmless rumor or cause awful consequences. The novel, Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, was an interesting story with many comparisons of the great powers in life. It contains many themes of our society today. It contrasts science and literary, technology and human, life and death, and most importantly knowledge and ignorance.  It presents knowledge in both negative and positive ways.

In Frankenstein novel, three characters were used to search for one thing in common or important to them, the knowledge. Sadly the results of their search were completely different than they expected or anticipated.  Walton, blinded by his ambition, believed that search for knowledge of the route to the North Pole would bring fame to his name, but learned that he has ended up only with the danger to the  lives of his crew. Frankenstein, driven by his passion and unable to accept his own limitations, learned that this passion for knowledge harms his judgment, and the excess of his action leads to shocking consequences. The creature, driven by unhappiness, believed that knowledge would be the answer to his pain but only found that it increased his unhappiness and sadness.  Through each of these characters examples of successful and unsuccessful pursuit of knowledge, there is a tragic dignity in their sacrifices, suggesting that sometimes taking pride of aspiration would end tragically. 

Marry Shelly introducing the concept of knowledge to the reader for the first time was in a letter of Captain Walton written to his sister, Margaret Saville.  In this letter, Robert Walton described his desire for knowledge of discover native territory: “One man’s life or death was but a small price to pay for the acquirement of the knowledge which I sought for the dominion I should acquire and transmit over the elemental foes of our race.” (Shelly, Letter 4, p.16) This statement showed that in Walton’s mind this achievement of knowledge was a top priority, above life or death.  He was willing to die or risk everything in the name of discovery and to be recognized among those who are famous.  It also explained that the risks of search for knowledge of Robert were too dangerous to ignore and costly to human life. As the leader of a group, he will be responsible for the lives of other men; if he were make a ruthless decision in his pursuit of glory and knowledge, he would endanger those men. However, he was blinded by his obsession of knowledge to realize or disregard this sacrifice.  After listening to Walton’s goal of knowledge, Frankenstein apparently worried that Walton could sacrifice his life if he continues the journey; therefore, he decided to share his own advice. Walton remembered the most valuable piece of advice from Victor to him, "You seek for knowledge and wisdom, as I once did; and I ardently hope that the gratification of your wishes may not be a serpent to sting you, as mine has been." (Shelly, Letter 4, p.17)  Frankenstein was giving Walton a caution message because he did not want Captain Walton to follow in his footsteps of miserable and misfortunes by using knowledge in the negative way. Especially, Walton was pursuing a mission that could ruin his life or kill his crew.  Frankenstein was reflecting on his past when he shares his guidance of knowledge to Walton. He was thinking about his mistake and how different his life would be if he were not creating the monster. He was passing this helpful knowledge onto Walton, hoping that Walton would learn from his mistake or it would help Walton to understand the power of using knowledge unreasonably. Surely, Walton was able to learn from Frankenstein‘s advice and thus prevent his crew from enduring cruel death by turning back and leaving his ambition behind.  “I cannot lead them unwillingly to danger, and must return.”  (Shelly, Walton, in CONTINUATION, p. 161) Walton was a seeker who learned the limits of seeking.

            There are two sources for gaining of knowledge. One is through reading books and education, and the other through discovering from experience and practice.  This theory has been proved and supported by many examples in Frankenstein Novel.  From his early age, Victor Frankenstein had a desire and thirst for knowledge.  Frankenstein said of his own voice, “I was capable of a more intense application, and was more deeply smitten with the thirst for knowledge.” (Shelly, Chapter 2 – paragraph 1, p 22)   He was a curious boy who wanted to figure out the mysteries of creating life, and became increasingly obsessed with "natural philosophy"; he read book by Cornelius Agrippa, a sixteenth-century scholar of the occult sciences.  He studied the outdated findings of the alchemists Agrippa, Paracelsus, and Albertus Magnus with passion.  With all of the knowledge he had gained about nature and mysteries of the natural world as a child and through his readings and lessons Frankenstein's obsession of unnatural science continued and grew stronger.  At that moment Victor Frankenstein 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 awful need for scientific freedom and the chance for new discoveries.   Frankenstein’s important goal was desired for knowledge of how to create a life from non-life.  This ambition became his strength and weakness that were more or less the same things, and were both linked together. To achieve this desire, he decided to study how the human body built, and pursuit to create unnatural human or scientific knowledge by attending college.  While he prepared to leave home for attending University of Ingolstadt, his mother died.  He was suffered and felt lonely due to the lost of his mother; therefore, he planned to uncover the mystery of life.  He said, “I ardently desired the acquisition of knowledge.” (Shelly, chapter 3 p.26)  He conducted his experiments on creating of life from non-life alone by following the example of the ancient alchemists.  Clearly Victor's search for knowledge has driven him over the edge. He brought himself out of a safe and normal society and put himself in danger. Victor's knowledge, once a gift, had quickly turned into an undeniable crisis for him and for all of close society. Victor was so obsessed with bringing the creature to life that he failed to think of the possible consequences; he had never thought about the result of his goal and his responsibility if his dream would fail. He did not recognize that knowledge of natural sciences is the price of his entire life. This was his weakness or bad judgment. At the end, he was struggled to face the consequences of his own creation.

I learned a lot from reading this story about a mad scientist who created life out of death; especially, how the pursuit of knowledge that always comes at a cost or can either lead to destruction or wisdom. Sometimes the pursuit of knowledge would require a higher price than we imagine or predict.  The pursuit of knowledge was at Victor Frankenstein‘s mind, as his attempt to surge beyond accepted human limits and access to secret of life.  Eventually it led him to create the monster and to his death.   He successfully created a creature that had the ability to live and respond, but he had no real knowledge of what could happen when he made a bad decision.  Instead of taking responsibility on guiding the creature to become good person he abandoned it. The creature spent its life learning about human, how to take care of himself and take revenge on Frankenstein for having created and abandoned it. The creature destroyed his creator’s closest friend and family members due to two reasons; Victor did not comply with his demand; and the creature wanted Victor to understand his feelings of lonely; the feelings of having nobody to love or no one to be love. When his family was ruined, Victor decided to leave Geneva and all the painful memories behind him to chase and kill the monster, because he was mad at the creature for having destroying his life.  Finally, Victor died to escape his despair and remorse from his creation.  Victor Frankenstein's suffering was the result of his search for knowledge and its use as a tool to show that he could do better than God.  “The pursuit of knowledge is not necessarily an evil thing, but it can cause destruction when it is pursued beyond natural limits. Victor Frankenstein becomes a slave to his passion for learning in more than one way; first his life is controlled by his obsession to create life, and later he becomes a slave to the monster he has created.” (The Concepts of Knowledge and Happiness in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, p.1) This statement showed that there always a high price to pay or sacrifice for scientist who went too far in his pursuit of knowledge. Victor Frankenstein did not realize and consider his pursuit for knowledge would haunt and control his life until it became too late.

Obviously, the monster journey of discovery of knowledge was different than his creator.  The creature was created through an experience of a brilliant scientist and immediately rejected by his creator.  He has never been properly taught of how to survive around human and to distinguish between rights from wrong.  His pursuit to educate himself was the only way available to him. He was created as a grown man but has mind of a child.  He was curious about human life such as communication, feeling, behavior, and respect for each other.   First, he relied on his natural instincts to survive by collecting food and warming himself by abandoned fire pits. Eventually, he strived for more; therefore, he decided to learn how to speak, read and express feeling by observing and watching the families that lived in the cottages.  To achieve his goal of communication with human, he needs to learn the basic knowledge of the language.  He said, “I ought not to make the attempt until I had first become master of their language, which knowledge might enable me to make them overlook the deformity of my figure, for with this also the contrast perpetually presented to my eyes had made me acquainted.” (Shelly, Chapter 12, p. 80)  Through hard works, the creature has accomplished his goal eventually. However, this wishing to be more like humans costs the monster his happiness. As the creature admired human’s graceful minds and beautiful physical figures and was shocked by his ugliness when he caught sight of his reflection in a pool of water.  After realizing he was horribly different from human beings.  Painfully the monster cried and spoke of sadness for his investigation of knowledge.  He said, “I cannot describe to you the agony that these reflections inflicted upon me; I tried to dispel them, but sorrow only increased with knowledge.” (Shelly, chapter 13, p. 87) and “Of what a strange nature is knowledge! It clings to the mind, when it has once seized on it, like a lichen on the rock.”  (Shelly, Chapter 13, p. 87)  This knowledge took away the creature hope for happiness and filled his heart with hatefulness and bitterness.  He decided to take revenge on his creator because he was angry and blamed his creator for having brought him to life as a monster.   This revenge was taken over the creature’s mind, leaving him unable to made wise judgments.  Many innocent lives were destroyed due to the creature attempted to ruin his creator life.  Narrow-minded, the creature thought he would be happy when other people live was ruined; knowledge would bring him happiness and community acceptance.  However, at the end, the monster realized his revenge still did not satisfy his own natural desires and knowledge only increased his sadness and unhappiness.  Admittedly, he was the victim of his wrong doing: “You, who call Frankenstein your friend, seem to have knowledge of my crimes and his misfortunes.” (Shelly, Walton, In Continuation, p. 165)  The creature was unusually minded; his actions were motivated by spirit, pure and simple.  His hunger for his created reason drove him to search for knowledge of his origins and existence on this world.

The references of unruly knowledge are spread throughout the book; it may not all be totally relevant to any sort of social importance but it still provided strong mean to the story.  This theme is strengthened by Shelley's impressive and innovative style. It presented through a perfectly planned and laid out narrative from the perspectives of Walton, the Monster, and Victor, all of whom consistently contribute to the theme of knowledge. 

             Frankenstein is a tale about man's obsession to acquire knowledge at all costs.  Mary Shelly provides examples of the different ways to gain knowledge and explores how characters are successful and unsuccessful in their quest for knowledge.  The book Frankenstein shows a man's life that is ruined by his thirst for knowledge.  It is a great example of what happens when people take science too far, without considering the consequences of their actions.   I learned a lot from reading this chilling story.  I have to take a moment and ask myself, when I am working in the area of technology, whose interests do I have in mind? How will these developments affect society?  What harm could my creation cause?  One most important question I ask myself is how much am I willing to sacrifice in return for knowledge?

                                

Works Cited and References

1.      The new Merriam-Webster Dictionary

2.      Knowledge Intellectual understanding (electronic copy of text: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/knowledge)

3.      The Concepts Of Knowledge And Happiness In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (electronic copy of text:  http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Concepts-Knowledge-Happiness-Mary-Shelleys-Frankenstein/21088)

4.      Shelley, Mary (2008) Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus (Electronic copy of text: http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/s/shelley/mary/s53f/

5.      Science Mysteries (electronic copy of text: http://www.world-mysteries.com/sci_knowledge.htm)

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.

First Sentences Exercise

So strange an accident has happened to us that I cannot forbear recording it, although it is very probable that you will see me before these papers can come into your possession.

There are three words that immediately caught my attetion when I read the first sentence of Frankenstein’s letter.  These words directly and briefly tell an unexpected story or event that must not be forgotten  and should be shared with others.  These words also have left me with many questions such as why, where and what did happen.
The word  “accident” makes reader such as myself feel concern and eager to read more about the story; it is also the first word that I noticed and was interested in reading the openning sentence. The words “forbear recording” are second words that I was wondered why Frankenstein wants to record and share this unforgettable story with readers.
Also two separate and distinct messages are presented in Frankenstein’s fisrt sentence. One message is clearly used to announce a bad new.  The other message of the same sentence is prepared for his arrival and something important.  Personally, the second message has reminded me of my moving experience three years ago. When I prepared and was ready to move back to Colorado from Texas.  Few days before my departure  to Colorado I called my family and said “ that you will see me before” . 
In my opinion the first sentence in Frankenstein’s letter is brief and clear which helps the readers fully understand what the writer is talking about.  The language is simple but leaves reader with unusual reaction. Reader will feel worry and anxious at first; however, after read the senetence reader will feel calm and relax.  The letter is  a story of an unforgettable accident.