Research Proposal
The novel Frankenstein, although a work of science-fiction, sheds light on many of the issues and questions that we face in our world such as the idea of a creator and their obligations toward their creation as well as whether a person’s actions and reactions are defined by our genetics or rather it is our environment that yields the person we are today. Mary Shelley’s monster is often the focus of these questions in that the actions of the monster are often seen as a result of Victor’s behavior towards it, and that through his negligence tragedy would result; however it is important to view Victor through this same lens in order to further understand this phenomenon. Victor grew up in a house of a family that was quite well off, but even the rich can undergo tragedy, and for Victor this was losing his mother at a very young age due to disease. This moment can be seen as the moment that would trigger the events that would lead to his persistence to seek the answers to the creation of life and further lead to his creation of the monster. Victor’s negligence to the monster can also be viewed as a reaction to how losing his mother at moment’s notice lead him to feel numb toward leaving his own creation.
In Mary Shelley’s science fiction novel Frankenstein, the idea of nature verses nurture can be analyzed through Victor, the monster, and Mary Shelley herself, which further allows the understanding of how the benefits that come with a scientific discover can yield threatening results if their creators neglect their obligations towards their achievements. Through understanding these events one can visualize how the characteristics that make up a person’s personality are merely the result of the series of events that a human goes through in their life, revealing how little control one can actually have of who they are.
Annotated Bibliography
- Hoeveler, Diane. Frankenstein, Feminism, and Literary Theory. Cambridge University Press, 2003.
This readings give many examples of how Mary Shelley’s life influenced her to write the novel Frankenstein but also how the tragedies of her life that lead her down certain paths. I believe this article will provide further incite on how the events that take place in a person’s molds them into the person they are today which will further be compared to Victor and the monster.
- Shellenberger, Michael, and Ted Nordhaus. Love Your Monsters. Breakthrough Institute, 2011.
In this reading the method in which the monster learns from his environment is analyzed and the importance of his environment is highlighted with respect to the actions that that follow. The author also describes how Mary Shelley chose to make the monster competent and how this allowed for other to relate to this monster as we follow through the story allowing us to understand the events through his eyes. Allowing the monster to be competent gives the reader the sense that the monster has the ability to make rational choices, however the writer further describes how regardless of his intelligence the monster could not fight passed the negligence he is nurtured by.
- Willinsky, John. The Educational Legacy of Romanticism. Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2012.
In this final reading the writer describes or obligation toward the technology we bring to the world as it creators, because many creation can be used for harm if not attend to. The author attempt to prove this concept in light of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstien explaining how through the negligence of Victor, the monster that could have been a breakthrough in science turned, became a threat to the world. Further examples are given such as how nuclear technology could how been the future of a sustainable energy source by its creators allowed it to be used for the evil that took innocent lives. Overall this article make various points about obligations toward our discoveries that will make for great points in this research paper.
