Topic > Depiction of Victor's obsession in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

IndexIntroductionThemesSymbolismIronyCharacterisationPoint of ViewConclusionWorks CitedIntroductionMary Shelley's Frankenstein is a book about a boy named Victor Frankenstein who created a creature. The main conflict in Frankenstein revolves around Victor's inability to understand that his actions have consequences. Victor focuses solely on his own goals and fails to see how his actions might affect other individuals. The creature Victor brought to life serves as a constant reminder of how he failed to take responsibility for his actions in defiance of the laws of nature itself. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayThe first signs of conflict appear as Victor embarks on his studies at the University of Ingolstadt. When he throws himself into his studies, he ends up neglecting his family and girlfriend. Victor becomes obsessed with the idea of ​​creating a monster. He doesn't think about the consequences or the impact this creature might have on other people, nor is he bothered by the fact that he ignores his family to continue his work. He is so determined that he doesn't consider anything else. The rising action of his quest to create life reaches a climax when, immediately after animating the monster, he reacts with horror and disgust and flees the room. This incident illustrates the conflict between Victor and moral responsibility: he was responsible for creating the monster and bringing it to life, but when he doesn't like the result, he simply rejects it. After Victor rejects his creation, he learns of his younger brother William's death and that Justine had been falsely accused of William's murder. William's murder creates another situation in which Victor can choose to act or not take responsibility. He raises the conflict by allowing Justine's execution, rather than revealing what he knows about the monster. The conflict escalates further when the monster meets Victor and tells him the story of all the suffering he has experienced, as well as his feelings of loneliness and isolation. The meeting between Victor and his creature is another moment where Victor could potentially stray from his selfish path. The plot hints at a potential resolution when Victor agrees to create a companion for his original creature in exchange for the two leaving somewhere remote. However, the conflict is renewed when Victor is too disgusted to carry out this plan and destroys the female monster before completing it. It. Once again, he doesn't think about what this reckless choice will mean, even as the monster vows revenge if Victor doesn't complete the task of creating his mate. Victor is surprised when his friend Henry Clerval is killed, and then again when his fiancée Elizabeth is also killed, despite the creature's statements about how he strives to make Victor's life miserable by killing everyone he loves. Elizabeth's murder moves the conflict into its final phase, in which Victor vows to hunt down and kill the monster to avenge all the deaths. This vow partially resolves the conflict as it gives the monster what it wants: it now has its creator's undivided attention, and the destinies of the two individuals are intertwined. After chasing the monster around the world, Victor arrives in the Arctic. and meets Walton, bringing the story full circle to the point where the narrative shifted from Walton to Victor. Victor's travels exhausted him so much that he died on board the ship after telling his story, his role in the story fulfilled. The novel culminates with Walton finding the creature he watches theVictor's corpse and cries. Victor never admits the role he played in creating the chaos and tragedy that resulted in the deaths of innocent people. Unlike Victor, the creature is seen to be remorseful, suggesting that he has become more "human" than his creator. Walton is able to see and hear the creature from its perspective, and is able to feel "a mixture of curiosity and compassion." The novel's falling action quickly concludes with the monster's plan to kill himself, and then set off alone to carry out his plan. Themes In the novel Frankenstein I noticed four main themes that I thought were important. The four themes I recognized were family, sublime nature, monstrosity and secrecy. I chose family because in the preface Frankenstein claims to be a novel that provides a flattering illustration of "domestic affection." This seems like an odd statement in a novel filled with murder, tragedy, and desperation. But, in reality, all that tragedy, murder, and desperation occurs because of Victor's lack of connection with his family. Victor went to college and became so obsessed with his studies and creating his creation that he lost contact with his family. When Victor got lost in his studies, he distanced himself from society, thus losing sight of his responsibilities and the consequences of his actions. The sublime theme of the natural world, embraced by Romanticism as a source of unbridled emotional experience for the individual, initially offers characters the possibility of spiritual renewal. Consumed by depression and remorse after the deaths of William and Justine, for which he feels responsible, Victor heads to the mountains to lift his spirits. Likewise, after a winter of cold and abandonment, the creature feels his heart lighten when spring arrives. Nature's influence on mood is evident throughout the novel, but for Victor the power of the natural world to comfort him diminishes when he realizes that the creature will haunt him wherever he goes. Ultimately, as Victor obsessively pursues the creature, nature, in the form of the Arctic wilderness, merely functions as a symbolic backdrop for his primal struggle against the creature. The theme of monstrosity pervades the entire novel, as the creature is the center of the action. Eight feet tall and hideously ugly, the creature is rejected by its creator and society. However, his monstrosity comes not only from his deformed appearance but also from the unnatural way in which he was created, which involves a mix of stolen body parts and strange chemicals. The creature is only the most literal of a number of monstrous entities in the novel, including the knowledge that Victor used to create the monster. It can be argued that Victor himself is something of a monster, as his ambition, secrecy, and selfishness alienate him from human society. Ordinary on the outside, he may be the true "monster" on the inside, as he will ultimately be consumed by an obsessive hatred for his creation. Victor thinks of science as a mystery to be explored. He considers M. Krempe, the natural philosopher he meets at the University of Ingolstadt, a model scientist: “a rough man, but deeply imbued with the secrets of his science”. Victor's entire obsession with creating life is confined to secrecy, and his obsession with destroying the monster remains equally secret until Walton hears his story. While Victor continues his secret out of shame and guilt, the creature is forced into isolation by his deformed appearance. Walton serves as the final confessor to both of them, and their tragic relationship is immortalized in Walton's letters. By confessing everything shortly before dying, Victor escapes the secrecy that ruined his life; similarly, the creature takes advantage of Walton's presenceto create a human connection, desperately hoping that someone will finally understand and empathize with his miserable existence. Symbolism The first symbolism I wanted to include is light and fire. “What could not be expected in the land of eternal light?” asks Walton, showing confidence and optimism towards science. In Frankenstein, light symbolizes knowledge, discovery and enlightenment. The natural world is a place of darkness, secrets, and hidden passages; Victor the scientist's goal is to reach the light. The creature's first experience of fire, which occurred with a burning flame, reveals the dual nature of fire: he discovers with emotion that it creates light in the darkness of the night, but also that it hurts when he touches it. The presence of fire in the text is also reminiscent of the full title of Shelley's novel, Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus. The Greek god Prometheus gave humanity the knowledge of fire and was severely punished for this. Victor, attempting to become a modern-day Prometheus, is certainly punished, but unlike fire, his "gift" to humanity remains a secret. The second symbolism I noticed was that Victor Frankenstein referred to his creation as Adam, which symbolizes creation and duality in nature. of man. Victor refers to his creation as Adam because in the Bible Adam represents God's creation of man. Victor had made his creation which had horrified him and made him reject the creature he had created. God created man in his image and perspective and Victor did the same with his creature. The creature tried to convince Victor to create a mate for him, as Adam did to suppress his loneliness and sadness. Irony There are three types of irony in this novel: verbal, situational, and dramatic. Situational irony occurs when there is an inconsistency between what the audience expects to happen and what actually happens. An example of situational irony appears early in the novel when Victor spends years determined and absolutely obsessed with a creation he ends up despising when it is brought to life, "the beauty of the dream faded and breathless horror and disgust filled my Heart". ” (Frankenstein page 70). Victor put his life and his health on hold to create life and as if to mock him he manages to create a murderous creature. This brings out another example of irony because the creature was created to help humanity but instead ends up killing the four people closest to Victor to make him suffer and perhaps help him understand the misfortune experienced by the creature. Verbal irony is when words express something close to the truth or someone says the opposite of what they actually feel or mean, this type of irony is usually sarcastic. An example of verbal irony is that after Victor refuses to create a mate for his creature, he exclaims "You are my creator, but I am your master; obey!'' (Frankenstein page 154). This is ironic because Victor was considered very noble at the beginning of the novel for his attempt to save humanity from death, but his creation takes away Victor's divinity by torturing and providing him with real suffering and demanding Victor to obey his demands The irony dramatic is when the audience watching a show understands what is happening in a situation while the characters are unaware of what is happening example of dramatic irony within this novel is when Victor learned of the murder of his younger brother William. Almost everyone in Geneva blamed Justine for this tragedy, but Victor knew it was her creation because their paths had crossed the night before upon Victor's arrival in Geneva. Justine iswas falsely accused and found guilty because Victor had been selfish in admitting the truth about what he had done. Victor would rather protect himself like a coward than protect his loved ones. Characterization Characterization in a novel helps the reader and/or audience better understand the characters in the book. The whole point of the author's use of characterization is to create images of the characters for the audience. Characterization also helps readers understand the character's personality, morals, and beliefs. Knowing a character's personality helps readers understand what effect it might have on other characters as well. You can learn about characters from the narrator's description or from other characters describing them. Reading this novel was also interesting because you can see some characters change throughout the story from the people they were at the beginning. I really enjoyed reading about each character, regardless of whether they were described by the narrator or another character. The use of characterization in this novel is absolutely amazing to me because of the use of vivid details and very specific descriptions to provide a sense of imagery in the reader's mind. Using vivid details and specific descriptions, it was as if I could imagine every single character as if they were right in front of me. For each character in the novel, the author went above and beyond in creating a vivid image for each character. the public. One example is how he describes Victor Frankenstein as this boy who grew up in a loving, welcoming home who was amazed by science. Victor was a very thoughtful person and was full of compassion for others, especially his dear Elizabeth. However, when Victor went to college, he changed and I don't think it was for the best. He became self-centered and put his studies before family and friends. He became so obsessed with creating his creation, that nothing else seemed to matter to him. His selfishness turned into karma and by the end of the book the four people closest to him were dead. Another example of vivid characterization is the way the author described the creature Victor created. The creature was not perfect at all, it was deformed and for this reason it experienced many difficulties during the novel. His own creator rejected him because of his repugnance, as did many other people. The creature was described as eight feet tall, with somewhat proportional limbs and pale blue skin. The creature tells of his loneliness and how he is unwanted. The creature takes revenge on Victor by killing his closest loved ones. However, the creature changes its mind when Victor dies realizing that he has no one else left and is full of regrets. Point of View Frankenstein is narrated from the first-person point of view, which uses the combination of "I", "my", etc., by different characters at different points in the novel. The changes in the narrator and the alternation of points of view are crucial to the novel's theme of looking beyond appearances to reflect on what lies beneath. The novel begins with the narration of Walton, who is writing a series of letters to his sister Margaret. The point of view then switches to Victor Frankenstein, who tells Walton about his life and how he came to travel to the Arctic. When Walton first meets Victor, he wonders if the stranger is crazy, due to his wild appearance and sense of desperation. By listening to Victor's story, Walton comes to appreciate his experiences. When Victor reaches the point in his story where he describes meeting the creature, the point of view changes again, this time to the creature, which he narrates in the first person, describing his experiences. Both Victor and the...