1.2

Assignment 1.2
As the monster yearns for acceptance into human society he strives to learn the language of the cottagers. The monster realizes that his form is so hideous that in order to gain this acceptance from the cottagers he must first become appealing to these people in soft speech and kind feeling. “I imagined that they would be disgusted, until, by my gentle demeanor and conciliating words, I should first win their favor and afterwards their love.” The monster knows he must use language as a vehicle towards acceptance. In this instance language gives the monster hope and therefore excites him. “These thoughts exhilarated me and led me to apply with fresh ardour to acquiring the art of language.” The fact that he is so ugly has driven him to learn a possibility for overcoming such deformities and hope of human acceptance.
When the monster learns of human history and its contradictory behaviors he realizes he has none of the qualities that humans apparently appreciate and accept. He has “no money, no friends, and no kind of property.” These thoughts only drove him further on his quest for acceptance. “I admired virtue and good feelings and loved the gentle manners and amiable qualities of my cottagers, but I was completely shut out from intercourse with them, except through means which I obtained through stealth, when I was unseen and unknown, and which rather increased than satisfied the desire I had of becoming one among my fellows.” The monster now knows the language and history of humankind and with that comes the understanding that he is missing more components of humanity’s acceptance, money, friends and relations, which only further drove him to seeking out this acceptance. Although with knowledge comes pain and fear. “I cannot describe to you the agonies that these reflections inflicted upon me; I tried to dispel them, but sorrow only increased with knowledge.” He even goes on to regret leaving his wood and feeling sensation. Clearly he is a tortured soul who is in a desperate mood forced to find more fault and lacking in his essence due mainly to language and knowledge.
When the monster learns how to read books he is almost overwhelmed with the similarities he had to the human condition. But he also felt detached and by nature, alone in the world cut off from civilization as well. “I sympathized with and partly understood them but was unformed in mind; I was dependent on none and related to none.” This great conundrum is present through these pages where he learns language and writing. He doesn’t immediately turn more violent but it creates a struggle that was absent before when he was solely admiring the cottagers expressions and actions. Given this knowledge of these technologies the monster has the ability to understand humans but is ultimately frustrated and eventually maddened by the shortcomings he possesses. In his comparison to Adam the first man he relates such frustrations. Like Adam, I was apparently united by no link to any other being in existence; but his state was far different from mine in every other respect.” Again this struggle with comparison is evident and the monster can only face this problem with a calm demeanor for so long. Like a powder keg this building tension will explode at any moment and was made possible by the knowledge of technologies of language and writing.

Jason Chambers
Eng F108
January 20, 2006

Motives in Exploration

Walton and Frankenstein are both explorers in their own sense. Walton is the more literal form but Frankenstein, being a scientist seeking life from death, is exploring the bounds of humanity. Walton’s motives for discovering a Northwest Passage are for fame and recognition. He also hints at doing a service to humankind in his letter to Margaret. “You cannot contest the inestimable benefit which I shall confer, on all mankind, to the last generation, by discovering a passage near the pole to those countries.” Walton sees himself as an enduring hero to humanity if he should be successful in his endeavor. He also states motives of a more personal tone a few paragraphs later. “And now, dear Margaret, do I not deserve to accomplish some great purpose? My life might have been passed in ease and luxury, but I preferred glory to every enticement that wealth placed in my path.” This explorer wants personal credit and fame for his life long ambition. He feels he has been slighted by putting in the hard work and devotion and not receiving the acclaim he undoubtedly deserves.
These motives ring true for Victor as well. He had devoted much of his life to chemistry, anatomy, and other sciences necessary for the creation of life and feels some great recognition from society is in order. Victor goes even further to say he deserves to become the creator of another race of life. “A new species will bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me.” Frankenstein sought to become this creator above all odds and was driven with a maddening force to accomplish his task. “With unrelaxed and breathtaking eagerness, I pursued nature to her hiding-places.” Victor is seeking not only glory and eternal recognition lasting in the hearts of countless generations but to conquer the mysteries that nature has kept secret. He represents the toiling spirit in humanity to overcome her environment and unlock all the knowledge nature holds.
Both explorers are seeking fame beyond their lifetimes. Both explorers seek to in some way triumph over nature. The mindset of both Walton and Frankenstein is that by crossing over the bounds nature has laid out for humanity they are proving to the world the worth and resilience of the human race. Shelley has intentionally made their motives alike to compare science to exploration. And like exploration, science can be treacherous. If one is on the brink of discovery a great responsibility must be recognized. Can humans be able to undertake such a responsibility? This question is still alive today in people like Bill Gates. His innovations in computer technology and business marketing has led him to be one of the wealthiest men on the planet. But if his motives were for money I would say he would be out of the game a long time ago. No, Gates would seem to be striving for what Walton and Frankenstein are after, eternal glory and recognition of their accomplishments from society.

1.1

I think scientists should be limited to what they are allowed to research. There should be some kind of committee held up by the people of the world to decide if future experiments are not meant for human hands. Cloning would become a real mess if it was allowed to occur. A lot of social and moral problems arise from such discoveries. I think these science fiction writers, Shelly and Hawthorne, warn society of playing God. The outcomes in both stories are signs of this. I think Hawthorne does not say to limit research but to merely have scientists be more careful in their proceedings. The last line states “The momentary circumstance was too strong for him; he failed to look beyond the shadowy scope of time, and, living once for all in eternity, to find the perfect future in the present.” He was too hasty in making his tonic. Such elixirs are not meant for his hands. His means were good but his timing was bad. He should have had other scientists check his work out to see if it would have any lethal properties. As for Frankenstein, Shelley is warning us to stay away from creating man that is God’s job and his alone. The function of a storyteller is to be open to all fronts and raise ethical questions to seek and destroy such killer cats as playing God and elixirs of life.

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