Preview

Victor Frankenstein Research Paper

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1144 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Victor Frankenstein Research Paper
Casey Scholl
Mrs. Schroeder
English IV
8 December 2016
Is creating a Frankenstein monster actually possible? Victor Frankenstein was one of the first on the list of people in history who were unsuccessful at creating a new and perfect human. Unlike others who experimented on live humans, Dr. Frankenstein took body parts from dead people and pieced them together. Although he successfully gave life to a creature, the ugliness of it terrified Dr. Frankenstein and many others. Throughout the story, the monster demonstrates its complexity by showing human-like attributes: feelings, ability to learn, and possibly the ability to reproduce. This brings up the question, did scientists and doctors have the knowledge and technology to have created
…show more content…
Frankenstein would have been important, but the tools and technology he had at his disposal would also be crucial to his success. He would have had the ability to use sharp equipment such as knives, scissors, saws, and needles. Forceps, tubes, levers, and hooks would have been some of the blunt tools at his disposal. Sutures made of hemp, cotton, animal hair, and animal muscles would have also been accessible (“History of Medicine”). One of the most important technologies he would have needed is electric stimulation in order to restart the heart which was in its early stages (Montillo). In order to create the monster, Dr. Frankenstein would have needed all the best tools and technologies available to …show more content…
Frankenstein was able to create a monster out of many body parts that he put together, it would not have been possible during the early 19th century. Even though they had a vast understanding of the human anatomy, the tools, and technology at the time was very limited. According to the Huffington Post’s article “The Gruesome, True Inspiration Behind Frankenstein,” the story of Frankenstein was based on Giovanni Aldini’s attempt to bring George Foster, how had been hung for murder, back to life. After hooking sensors up to Foster’s body, Aldini connected a battery which caused the body to twitch until the battery died (Montillo). Alidini proves bringing a full human body back to life during the early 19th century was not possible, let alone a pieced together body such as Dr.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In “Frankenstein” a gothic novel by Mary Shelley there is much suffering and affliction, some attribute this to victors search for glory, however it is by his ravenous search for knowledge that he meets his tragic fate. This novel often presents knowledge as destructive, and dangerous, but this does not only apply to Victor, all who wish to expand their knowledge find destruction eventually in this novel.…

    • 71 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The 19th century was a period known as the Enlightenment Era, which encouraged rational thought and science was pursued in search for the unknown. In reaction to the clinical nature of enlightenment, the Romantic Movement was born encouraging society, particularly authors, to use their imaginations and exploring the endless possibilities of nature. Shelley composed ‘Frankenstein’ in response to both of these eras and is reflected by the way the protagonist, Victor Frankenstein, combines his obsession with natural philosophy and his desire to achieve more than any other scientist, and use science to break the barriers of nature and create life. His desire is evident when he quotes “one thought, one conception, one purpose” and “Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first break through, pour a torrent of light into our dark world.” Other issues at the time of composure were the Industrial Revolution, where technology boomed leading to humans being replaced by machines, and the rise of Galvanism, where through electricity, life could be given to inanimate objects. Galvanism directly link to ‘Frankenstein’, as it is believed that is how he was brought to life. “I collected the instruments of life around me, that I might infuse a spark of…

    • 1261 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    From Young Frankenstein, the movie: “Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: For what we are about to see next, we must enter quietly into the realm of genius.” No, I am not really writing from “the realm of genius”.…

    • 531 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    frankenstein thesis

    • 1012 Words
    • 5 Pages

    In the novel Frankenstein by, Marry Shelly there is a unique narrative structure that uses characters telling stories to one another. There are three main narratives used in the novel. These narratives are; Victor telling Walton his tale, so that Walton does not make the same mistakes that Victor himself made. The second is the monster telling victor of his acquisition of knowledge and time spent with the cottagers and, the third is Walton writing to his sister to inform her of his journeys events, and the story of Victor. Shelly’s Narrative structure is significant in that it enables the reader to see how Victor and the monster effect one another and how this relationship impacts the plot of the novel, allowing the reader to create a deeper understanding of and connection with the characters, as shown through each narrative.…

    • 1012 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Mary Shelley published Frankenstein in 1818. At that time, the Gothic Horror genre was becoming increasingly popular. The Gothic Horror genre combined the genres of horror and romance and is often associated with dark castles, murder and monsters. The idea for the novel came about during a dream while Shelley and her husband Percy were staying with Lord Byron. She then used that dream as a basis for a story for a ghost story competition. At the time, the Industrial Revolution was occurring and science was being developed. Scientists carried out experiments with electricity, trying to bring frogs back to life. Shelley visited an alchemist’s…

    • 3235 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the chapters 4 and 5 from the book “Frankenstein”, explains how he creates the creature and the ideas that lead him to his creation. In the beginning of chapter 4, it made it pretty obvious that Frankenstein was interested in the idea of dead people. For example, Frankenstein stated that “to examine the causes of life, we must first have to recourse to death,”(Shelley 18). This proves to show that Frankenstein was already planning on making his creature apart of death. Another process that Frankenstein used to construct his creature was when he thought about the creature as himself. To further explain, he says that “I should attempt the creation of a being myself,”(Shelley 19). Frankenstein then created the creature with characteristics…

    • 350 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Isolation, Love, and Creation: proven in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein are human necessities to motivate one to reach their nirvana of happiness. Mary Shelley discusses many important themes in her famous novel Frankenstein. She presents these themes through the characters and their actions, and many of them represent occurrences from her own life. Many of the themes present issues along with Shelley's thoughts on them.…

    • 845 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    WILL BE WITH YOU ON YOUR WEDDING-NIGHT." That, then, was the period fixed for the fulfilment of my destiny. In that hour I should die and at once satisfy and extinguish his malice. The prospect did not move me to fear; yet when I thought of my beloved Elizabeth, of her tears and endless sorrow, when she should find her lover so barbarously…

    • 1028 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When Mary Shelly wrote her 1818 classic Frankenstein, she subtitled it “The Modern Prometheus.” She compared the character of Dr. Victor Frankenstein a highly intelligent scientist to the Greek Titan Prometheus the wisest of the Titans. There are numerous parallels between Dr. Frankenstein and Prometheus which could be the reason why Mary Shelly subtitled her novel “The Modern Prometheus”. Dr. Frankenstein and Prometheus both create a male human being, they both sought glory from their creations, and they were both very intelligent beings. In view of these attributes Mary Shelly used to create character Dr. Victor Frankenstein it is obvious to see why she would subtitle her novel “The modern Prometheus.”…

    • 1317 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelly tells the story of an obsessive scientist who pursues to defy nature and create unnatural life. Victor Frankenstein attends a university where he is introduced to natural philosophy and soon after becomes consumed with a project replacing all ties to the outside world and those closest to him. When Frankenstein succeeds in bringing life to an inanimate body he is set back immediately by the botched creation he has made. Without a word from the creature, Frankenstein throws a tantrum and ultimately abandons the brand new life he started. As the creature struggles on the search for love and compassion, he encounters continuous rejection because of his distorted appearance and is driven further into isolation…

    • 1601 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Abraham Lincoln once said, “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” Lincoln believes that to test one’s character, you must see how they handle power. In Frankenstein: A Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley, Victor Frankenstein is a man consumed by knowledge and power, and because of this, there is a gradual deterioration of character, starting from humble beginnings, eventually declines in moral standing, ultimately causing his death and many others.…

    • 639 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The human mind is something scientists have been trying to comprehend forever. Science can not alter how the mind communicates with one’s body, or even how it works. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein uses the creation of a fake being to emphasize the fact that the human mind cannot be altered or replicated effectively. Dr. Frankenstein thought he would be able to create and control the mind of a creature. He had tried many times, but to no avail. After talking with a professor, he finally figured out a way that he would be able to complete what he had been trying to for years. But does Frankenstein pass that natural boundary placed before us by our peers? To create life, a being with its own mind, had never been done before. What are the consequences of his actions and was it truly worth it to go beyond those limits?…

    • 1202 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dr. Frankenstein first had to acquire the required knowledge. In the beginning of the book we learn he reads books and goes to college. He first gets the idea to recreate life at school, then furthers the idea after with what his teachers have taught him. The mad doctor did, “posses the capacity of bestowing animation,”…

    • 525 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Mary Shelley 's character of Dr. Victor Frankenstein in Frankenstein, The Modern Prometheus, is driven to madness by his envy of women and their ability to reproduce so much so that he tries to reinvent the nature of reproduction without the female with disastrous results. Dr. Frankenstein 's scientific experiment, which produces a deformed, human from spare body parts is a commentary on male reproduction and predicts the bioethical consequences of the modern practices of selective breeding and cloning.…

    • 1615 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Sympathy for Frankenstein

    • 1444 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Frankenstein is the story of Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant Swiss scientist who discovers the secret of bringing inanimate things to life, eventually creating a human-like monster which proceeds to ruin his life. Victor created the monster with dead body parts that he got through grave robbing. Once he got all of the parts, it took him two years to build the body. Victor was very obsessed with his work because he would not let anyone help him or see him. The creature later became a disastrous scientific experiment. Mary Shelley has written Frankenstein at the age of fifteen and the novel was published when she was twenty-one years old. The life of Mary Shelley was very difficult and troubled as many of her family members had tragically died. Most of her life events are replicated in this book, which makes the reader to be sympathetic. In the novel Frankenstein, many themes are discussed and a major one is sympathy. Sympathy is defined as “feelings of pity and sorrow for someone else's misfortune.” –TheFreeDictionary. When sympathy is discussed in Frankenstein, we are mostly talking about having sympathy towards the monster or Victor Frankenstein. Different arguments and points support both sides, but it entirely depends on the readers’ perspective; a reader can feel the pain of the monster or Victor. Mostly any person would identify himself with Victor and sympathize with him because losing family members repeatedly, as a human being, can cause much agony and pain. This is also why the novelist also has a soft corner for Victor, however, Frankenstein’s creation/the monster should deserve more sympathy than the creator himself.…

    • 1444 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays