Forbidden Knowledge In Frankenstein

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Term 1 Extension English Assignment Jean-Jacques Rousseau once commented on the theory of natural human, stating that the period of human development he dubbed as “savages” was the ideal stage in human development – a stage in between decadent civilisation and animalistic barbarian. In my novel ‘Frankenstein’, we see these two dueling extremities depicted in the two main characters, Frankenstein and the monster. Frankenstein, a scientist driven mad by his quest for knowledge, which leads him to create something unnatural and overall destructive; the monster, Frankenstein’s creation tainted by his and societies rejection to the point of only knowing revenge and spite. Today I present to you all a warning of what the dangers of enlightenment…show more content…
In examining both Frankenstein and Walter, we are presented with these two tandem characters connected by their thirst for essentially forbidden knowledge. Science is beginning to take off as we speak along side industrialisation, and I fear that this quest for unraveling the secrets of the world will prove to be inhuman and destructive to mankind. Walton and Frankenstein represent this path of forbidden knowledge humanity is going down as both seem to stop at nothing to achieve their goals. Walton in particular, as at the beginning of the novel he states that “one man’s life or death were but a small price to pay for the acquirement of the knowledge which [he] sought”. I use Walton as a frame narrator to truly depict Frankenstein’s distraught life after he pays the consequences for stretching human knowledge to an extent it was not meant to…show more content…
Both deaths are caused by the monster, so Frankenstein sees this as being his fault and, finding no comfort in talking to humans, he searches for the solace that only the sublime could offer him, relying on nature to heal and nurture him. “I remained two days at Lausanne, in this painful state of mind. I contemplated the lake: the waters were placid; all around was calm, and the snowy mountains, "the palaces of nature," were not changed. By degrees the calm and heavenly scene restored me”. In Bronte’s novel, the term ‘Wuthering’ actually translates to roaring of the wind. Her entire novel is a representation of pathetic fallacy, as we see the turbulent, chaotic and ever-changing environment of the glades reflective of the inhabitance of Wuthering Heights. This idea of nature so strongly personified as emotions creates this dominating feel of nature over
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