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Essay / Vengeance and desire in Prometheus and Frankenstein
In the broad spectrum of humanist characteristics, that of desire is one of the most important. It is an emotion that is difficult to resist, as it tends to control many aspects of life due to the strength it possesses. However, in the realm of non-human emotions, similar feelings emerge; whether a mortal being or not, lack of contentment always leads to new desires to fill the void. In the gothic and science fiction novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, it explores the desire for self-gratification and revenge when the monster wants Victor to create a new female monster, but when Victor's family and friends begin to fall victim to murder, he wants revenge. the creature he had so diligently created. Frankenstein's alternate title is The Modern Prometheus. In the famous Greek legend of Prometheus, the god wants to help mortals by stealing fire from Zeus, he succeeds, and Zeus, to avenge his pride, creates Pandora, a human woman to bring about ruin. Through a common bond of pure aspiration, Victor, Prometheus, Zeus, the monster and Pandora convey common desires despite physical differences and the determination to achieve personal ambition. Showing that human enlightenment is desirable and that destruction can follow when limits are exceeded. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay To quench his thirst for knowledge, Victor ignores his father's requests to ignore the works of Cornelius Agrippa while his father had says, “Don’t waste your time on this; it’s a sad piece of trash” (Shelley 46). Instead, he goes in search of other content from Agrippa, ignoring the fact that this scientist's theories have been disproven. After spending many sleepless nights devoted to his studies, Victor states: “I succeeded in discovering the cause of generation and life… I myself became capable of giving animation to lifeless matter. » (Shelley 57). Victor's ambitious personality leads him to create a creature of sorts himself. He would soon view the creature as hideous, causing conflict between several of the novel's characters. As Harriet Hustis says in her assessment of Frankenstein, Victor “flees his creation with “breathtaking horror and disgust, apparently because it does not overtly embody the sublimity of his creative intentions” (Hustis). This shows his naive reaction to an unexpected turn of events. events that emerged from one's own actions to achieve a distant goal. Likewise, the monster he creates also has a specific desire. Since Victor abandoned him because of his appearance and out of fear, the monster has run away. and began to suffer the judgments of society. He was targeted particularly because he had major physical differences, what humans might have called flaws, and began to feel alone and excluded since no one would accept him or be his friend. he remembers everything he has experienced and explains: “I am alone and miserable; the man does not want to associate with me. My companion must be of the same species and have the same faults” (Shelley 128). see happiness, from which I alone am irrevocably excluded. I was benevolent and good; poverty has made me a demon. Make me happy and I will be virtuous again” (Shelley 129). The monster's desire for a companion seems more reasonable, especially since he has no one else to rely on and must be completely independent in a world that rejects him. As smart as Victor may seem, he makes the unwise decision to refusethe creature's request because he thinks that two monsters will bring double destruction and soon the monster's murderous rampage begins because of his anger. By murdering William, leading to Justine's execution, and killing Clerval and Elizabeth, leading to the untimely death of Victor's father, Victor's family is torn apart not only by the monster's wishes but also by their own. maintain your inner pride and not get carried away by your creation. Victor is filled with hatred after being informed of the death and says: "When I reflected on his crimes and his wickedness, my hatred and my vengeance exceeded all limits of moderation...I wished the to see again...and avenge the deaths of William and Justine” (Shelley 87). Despite knowing the root cause of all the trouble, Victor refuses to acknowledge that he himself is the dilemma and continues his quest to seek out the monster and achieve some form of justice. In the Greek myth of Prometheus, which explains how man and woman were created, there are many instances where desire and revenge are also present. To illustrate the links between a Greek legend and science fiction, Hustis states: "Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley is responsible for a creative transformation worthy of her mad scientist prototype, Victor Frankenstein: she thus reconfigures, recontextualizes and modernizes the myth of Prometheus by means of a “tedious and unlucky ghost story” (Hustis). Contrary to Victor's intentions, Prometheus, one of the gods of Greek mythology, wanted to help humans and became a benefactor to mortals. He stole an exclusive gift from the gods, fire, to give “intelligence and technology to man” (Spatz). This illustrates his benevolent desires towards others, especially those of lower rank. In turn, Zeus wants revenge on Prometheus for going against his wishes, making something public that was private and valuable, and diminishing the value of an item he considered his own. He is also furious that Prometheus won't say who will dethrone him, which he claimed to have. Zeus' punishment is twofold since he wants to make both humanity and Prometheus suffer. However, the latter had seen his own human mortals defeated by more powerful wild beasts and was willing to help them in any way possible. As Hustis puts it, "Prometheus understands that revulsion at ugliness can only be overcome by an indulgence of benevolent pity, and he accepts the fact that such 'audacity' can come at a considerable price" (Hustis). Prometheus was known to have been chained to a rock where a culture ate his immortal flesh every day. This reflects the willingness to sacrifice oneself despite the consequences because mortals were indeed beings who came and went while gods would last forever. The most significant example of revenge in ancient legend is the creation of woman. Zeus sends the first female, Pandora, to earth as a magnificent being that men cannot resist, and she has a box with her. Disregarding specific instructions given not to open the box, she does so anyway and pours out disease, crime and all the evils of the world that will torment humanity. Illustrating the effects of desire, one can successfully be benevolent, while simultaneously bringing about ruin. There are similarities between Prometheus and Frankenstein linked by emotions of desire and revenge. With the many versions of the creation story, a common theme holds true: human enlightenment is desired and destruction can ensue when limits are exceeded. The desire to help people is also present in both stories. As Virginia Brackett stated in her commentary,[Prometheus was a popular immortal, an immoral trickster who came to be seen as a champion of the proletariat, the common man” (Brackett). Thanks to his help, humans were able to live prosperously with fire in their possession, whereas before they had neither a source of light nor an ultimate weapon to defend themselves. The monster Victor creates is also a good-hearted creature and, while recounting his experience with the DeLaceys, tells Victor, “The more I saw them, the greater was the desire to claim their protection and kindness; my heart longed to be known and loved by these kind creatures: to see their gentle glances directed towards me with affection was the utmost limit of my ambition” (Shelley 118).The human family with which the monster resides does not know that it exists or learns from them, he appreciates their presence and wants to help them in any way possible. For example, he tells Victor, “During the night I often used his tools…and brought home enough fire for several days' consumption” (Shelley 102). This would allow the family to spend more time addressing more pressing needs, making their lives easier. It is clearly depicted that knowledge leads to conflict, as John Thorburn states: “The knowledge of Prometheus is nothing compared to that of Zeus. Knowledge of Prometheus brought him into conflict with Zeus” (Thorburn). Prometheus knowing which of his children would dethrone Zeus infuriated Zeus, leading to an argument between the two. Victor Frankenstein also explores the phenomenon of bringing a human back to life. Crocker comments: “Having made this wonderful discovery, he hastened to put it into practice” (Crocker). This would ultimately bring about its own downfall as a minor miscalculation created an ugly monster that was supposed to be beautiful. On the other hand, desire and revenge also illustrate the differences between the two stories. When Prometheus disobeys Zeus, he is aware that there will be consequences and is nonetheless willing to help humans, because revealing the information Zeus seeks will force Zeus to return the fire to the people. In the end, Hercules also sacrifices his life to free Prometheus from imprisonment, which illustrates his selflessness. When Victor finally confesses his experience to his father, he declares: “A thousand times I would have shed my own blood, drop by drop, to save their lives; but I could not, my father, in fact, I could not sacrifice the whole human race” (Shelley 160). Although he does not have to make the ultimate decision to die, Victor refuses to admit what the underlying causes of these strange deaths were because he fears for his own reputation and his life. Victor is the opposite of Hercules in that he wishes to preserve his own dignity while allowing tragic events to occur despite the monster's warnings. Physical appearances may not seem important or be considered insignificant, but these characteristics also affect the plot and therefore the resolution. One of the main reasons why the monster started killing innocent people is his anger towards society because of his appearance. As he explains his life thus far, he tells Victor: “God, in mercy, created man beautiful and attractive, in his own image; but my form is a filthy type of yours, and still more horrible because of the very resemblance. Satan had his companions, demonic companions, to admire and encourage him; but I am solitary and abhorred. (Shelley 117). The creature claims it is hideous and even the devil has followers who love and adore him, which fills him with jealousy since he feels no one's affection. On the other hand, Pandora is made with a lot of..