Frankenstein Versus Frankenscience Essay -- Mary Shelley Frankenstein

Frankenstein Versus Frankenscience The story of Frankenstein. A story that I, myself, have been familiar with for a good part of my life. It is most popular among horror film fanatics and becomes one of the most desired stories to be told around Halloween. Some see it as a well-told story of a man and his monstrous creation. But is there something deeper? Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, gives light to many truths about the era of modern science. She is using Victor Frankenstein and the monster to play out the roles in a drama that can become all too real. In this paper I would like to focus specifically on the story of Frankenstein and the three integral parts; knowledge, power and the notion of a god-complex; that can be related to the modern era of science. As the story begins (in the excerpt that is to be focused on in this paper) Victor Frankenstein is telling his story. Victor is a young man who, with great determination, spends two years of his life working to create a being in the likeness of man. He decides that the nature of the being should be tall and large in stature and then, in the pursuit of ultimate success, collects the necessary items to begin his project. With these "fibers muscles and veins," he begins his work (Shelley 231). Victor is determined to create "animation upon lifelessness."(Shelley 232) And yet, he doubts. He doubts himself as being capable enough to take on such a gargantuan task. Yet, he presses on. As the years pass, Victor becomes confined to his work space. Seasons pass and family and friends are left by the wayside. His determination keeps him from giving up in a multitude of failures. It is not until one November night that Victor to life. The thought of renewing l... ...l and scary thing. It has the potential to save lives, cure diseases and, now, create new lives through the act of cloning. Humans are the ones who make these advances possible. They are the creators of science. Therefore, it is relevant to take a closer look the qualities that force humans to act a certain way. Knowledge, power and the notion of a god-complex are three qualities that can posses humans to a capacity that can be both healthy and deadly. Victor Frankenstein provided us with a scenario that can only serve to make us think about our own knowledge about science, the power we hold, and the way in which we let those qualities rule our lives. Works Cited Shelley, Mary. "Frankenstein." The Presence of Others: Voices and Images That Call for Response. Eds. Andrea A. Lunsford and John J. Ruszkiewicz. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2000. 231-235.