Knowledge and Ethical Considerations - Essay Example

Knowledge and Ethical Considerations Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is one of the most important and influential novels from the nineteenth century as a result of its uniqueness. The story of the Frankenstein monster is one which brings about considerations about man’s quest for knowledge and the ethics surrounding it. As a novel which attempts to show man’s folly for not only being a highly intelligent creature, but also one whose creations tend not to be perfect, it helps in the development of a better perspective of man’s true nature. It promotes the need for individuals to exercise caution in all that they do because it is the only way through which they can be able to ensure that that they live lives without regrets. Knowledge and ethical considerations are major themes in Frankenstein and the themes related to them will be discussed in this paper. Victor Frankenstein’s creation of his monster is an example of how man has the knowledge to become a creator yet does not have the will to take responsibility for his creations. This is especially the case when after Victor creates the monster and realizes that it is ugly; he is repulsed by it and instead flees from his creation. Victor’s actions show a lack of ethical responsibility towards that which he has created and instead of working towards ensuring that he corrects his mistakes and help the monster to achieve a sense of normalcy, he rejects it and leaves it to live alone in the world without any companionship (Badalamenti 428). Victor fails to realize that the creature he has developed is more or less human and that it has human needs and emotions which if not fulfilled have a negative effect on its development. Instead, his utter rejection of it makes him a worse monster than the creature itself because he lacks the courage to confront what he has created. His inability to take responsibility for the creature eventually leads to the latter’s developing a negative attitude towards its creator and it actively seeks to make his life as miserable as its own. As a sentient being, the creature is able to make judgment concerning what is best for it and it realizes that it cannot associate with other human beings or achieve a sense of belonging in human society because of the way it looks. The only person with the capacity to understand it and its origins is Victor Frankenstein, but the latter is not willing to acknowledge his role as a creator. Victor’s quest for knowledge is the reason why he ended up making the creature and this is the reason why it is necessary for him to take responsibility for it. However, he chooses not to; leading to a series of events that not only bring misery to its creator, but to the creature itself. The lack of a guiding hand for the creature leads it to become ever more isolated and makes it become wilder because as a sentient creature, it is able to realize that it will most likely not be welcomed into human society and would instead end up being forced to defend itself from the hostility that it will encounter. Therefore, it eventually turns hostile to humans, especially its creator, who ends up being the target of its desire for revenge through its targeting of his family and friends (Fredricks 179). The creature’s hostility comes about because it is the natural instinct of sentient beings to become hostile towards those who are hostile to them; meaning that the creature is justified in its hostility towards its creator. While this may be the case, there are instances where despite its knowledge of human society as well as its seeming intelligence, the creature fails to live up to the expectations that it has of its creator. This is especially the case where it ends up killing Victor’s brother, friend, and bride in an act of malice towards its creator. The result is that instead of getting his attention in a positive way, Victor ends up hating the creature to such an extent that he actively seeks its destruction as a means of atoning for its sin. The human ability to create and the knowledge of how to do it is brought to question through the relationship that Victor Frankenstein has with his creation. Victor is unable to provide the creature with the guidance it needs to ensure that it lives a highly moral life while at the same time helping it to adjust its perception of the world so that it can be at peace with what it is. Instead, he makes the fateful decision to reject it and all that it stands for; hence absconding on his responsibility as a creator. As a creator, it is the ethical responsibility of Victor to make sure that the creature has an opportunity to experience the various emotions that come through living within a close relationship with a parent. Victor, as its parent, fails to realize what the likely consequences of his rejection are going to be and he instead believes that his rejection of the creature will be enough. In his quest for knowledge as well as his development of the creature, he should have realize what its final look would be and chosen to end the process before the creature became whole. It is this failure that led to the creature seeking its sense of identity because it had been rejected by the only person who would have given it the identity that it needed to ensure that it was comfortable with itself. Therefore, in man’s quest for knowledge and perfection, he fails to acknowledge that there are instances where knowledge does not serve any purpose other than going beyond his capabilities and can sometimes lead to undesirable results. Frankenstein is a moral story whose main lesson it that individuals have to accept the consequences of what they do and make sure that they make it right. This is especially the case where Victor, despite being the creature’s creator, makes a conscious decision to abandon it even though it is his responsibility to become like a father to it (Shelley). Such an action can be considered to be an example of the conflict which takes place between human beings and what they create. This conflict can only come about in situations where humans put themselves in the place of God because while human beings are imperfect, God is perfect and all that he creates is perfect. Despite his attempts to become the creator of life, Victor ends up creating something that he hates with all his heart; making it difficult for him to see the goodness that is part of the creature (Badalamenti 419). The lack of empathy that is displayed by Victor is what eventually leads to his downfall because despite being a creator, he does not have the capacity for love that he should. Under such circumstances, he leaves the creature to go into the world alone and despite having had the ability to become truly human, the creature instead ends up taking on his outside appearance on the inside and truly becomes a monster. All of its actions thereafter, especially concerning the murders that it commits, are as a result of the lack of guidance in its life that it has experienced. The need to inflict pain of Victor is born out of the pain that the creature has felt all of its life and this is the reason why despite having the needs that all regular humans have, it ends up attempting to make Victor’s life a misery. The creature can be considered to be a reflection of the darker side of Victor Frankenstein because despite being a creator, he is an individual who seeks to conduct forbidden acts. While the human race can be considered to be the epitome of creation, they are not fit to become creators themselves and can instead only create the simplest of things. This is an aspect of life which has come to be accepted by most individuals in the world, with many of the things which cannot be explained being left to religion or speculation. However, Victor goes beyond mere speculation and takes direct action to develop a humanoid creature in a bid to replicate the life-giving power of God. The consequences are dire indeed because instead of being happy after achieving his goals, he ends up regretting his actions and become so horrified by what he has done that he denies his creation. The lack of wisdom in handling the situation that he himself has created is what can be considered to be a reflection of Victor on the creature. Not only is the creature remorseless in what it does to hurt Victor, but it does so for the mere purpose of inflicting pain on Victor’s conscience (Lew 255). It is not able to make rational conclusions concerning the actions that it is taking and instead works with the assumption that all will be well once it attains its revenge on its creator. This is a reflection of the way that Victor himself treats the creature because instead of welcoming it to the world as would have been the case, he is gripped by fear and chooses to despise it rather than love it. In conclusion, this paper has sought to show that knowledge and ethical considerations are major themes in Frankenstein and the themes related to them. The discussion above has shown that there is certain knowledge that human beings are not meant to have because they are not capable of handling it constructively. Furthermore, humans do not have the capacity to preside over their creations as seen through Victor’s actions where he utterly rejects the creature despite having taken so many pains to make him. The lack of remorse on the part of Victor for the way that he treats his creation is a sign of the inability of humans to consider the ethical consequences of their actions beforehand before making decisions to undertake them. Frankenstein is a story of how Victor comes to terms with being a creator after the events leading to the deaths of his loved ones and decides to take the necessary action to ensure that the creature is destroyed. Therefore, man’s quest for knowledge might lead to his getting involved in unethical actions which, instead of bringing about the good that was intended become a constant reminder of the failure of human beings to achieve perfection through their own efforts. Works Cited Badalamenti, Anthony F. "Why did Mary Shelley Write Frankenstein?" Journal of Religion and Health 45.3 (2006): 419-39. Fredricks, Nancy. "On the Sublime and Beautiful in Shelleys Frankenstein." Essays in Literature 23.2 (1996): 178-89. Lew, Joseph W. "The Deceptive Other: Mary Shelleys Critique of Orientalism in Frankenstein". Studies in Romanticism 30.2 (1991): 255–83. Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus. London: Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor & Jones, 1818. Print. Read More