Selfishness Victor Frankenstein

Selfishness Victor Frankenstein In Frankenstein, both the film and novel portray Victor as a selfish character who is only concerned about his own well-being. In Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Victor is completely focused on creating human life and does not care that he is hurting his family, Elizabeth and the monster. The same is true in the film, what looks like a self-less act on Victors end by creating a wife for the monster he really wants to keep Elizabeth for himself when he brings her back to life after the monster kills her. The film by Kenneth Branagh and the novel both accentuate how irresponsible Victors character as he withholds information from his family and does not tell the truth to prevent Justine from being executed for a murder she did not commit. Both texts juxtapose Victors character with his monsters character as he helps out a family as he teaches himself how to read. We see how unselfish the monster is compared to Victor. (Fix after and add a quote from source) First of all, Frankenstein created the monster so he could manipulate the power of life, not to learn from the experience. He started the experience out of his own self indulgence as ignores his family back in Geneva. He is so immersed in his studies fascinated by the creation of life as he studies what the human body is made up of and how it falls apart. At first it appears that he is just an enthusiastic scholar, but later we learn that Victor has been going to gravesites collecting corpses to bring life to human parts which were once deceased. Victor completely disengages from the world when away at school after his mother dies of scarlet fever which he did not take very well. It is so long before the mind can persuade itself that she, whom we saw everyday, and whose very existence appeared a part of our own, can have departed for everà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦why should I describe the sorrow which all have felt.(Shelley 43) He completely devotes himself to creating this masterpiece still in pain over the death of his mother becomes obsessed neglecting the loved ones who are still alive as he becomes pale and lonely obsessed completely with the task. It is not until he experiences the pain of death that he is driven to try and control it. He wants new knowledge so that he can prevent himself from dying, to discover how to be immortal as he spends many sleepless nights in order to bring life to his monster. In the novel, each time one of his teachers show Victor something new he works hard to master it which is why it appears that he is just an excited student, whereas in the film Victors professors forbid him to talk about reviving human life. In the film it is clear what Victor is after so we are not surprised when he creates the monster since his obsession is obvious. As Lunsford argues: Victor has no real friendships when he goes to university and begins his quest for enlightenment. Although Victor says he will have to form [his] own friends in Ingolstadt, he never does, at least not in the traditional sense. Instead, he latches onto the prospect of his reputation and resolves to enter the worldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ which of course leads him to literally form his own friend-the monster (Lunsford) Secondly, once he finally succeeds at creating the monster he immediately runs away, claiming that he was protecting his life which adds to his selfishness. In reality, he is disgusted by the sight of his creation so he abandons it leaving it all alone in the world without any guidance and runs away to the next room. So not only is Victor selfish but he is shallow as well: I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature openà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦[h]is limbs were in proportion, and I had selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful! Great God! His yellow skin scarcely covered the world of muscles and arteries beneathà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate bodyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦but now that I had finished the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart. Unable to endure the aspect of the being I had created.(Shelley 57). Instead of realizing that he achieved his goal of bringing life to an inanimate body he runs way because of how hideous it is. As Hatch points out, even Walton is repulsed by the monsters appearance Never did I behold a vision so horrible as his face, of such loathsome, yet appalling hideousness. I shut my eyes involuntarily (Shelley 240). Fear and disgust are mixed in these reactions, but what is stressed is disgust. ( Hatch 35). Since the monster is so hideous Victor avoids any responsibility of caring or nurturing the (Hatch)monster like a father would have to, and he leaves his creation to fend for itself. He was so obsessed with creating life that he does not imagine what the final product will look like, he is blinded by his passion. Since the creature is reborn he is unable to care for himself similar to a young child and Victor disowning him forces him to figure out how to act on his own. As Lunsford points out, Upon discovering the secret to reanimating dead corpses, Victor endeavours to create a being like himself.( Lunsford) Victor is also very rude to his monster after the creature kills a few of his family member which I feel he deserved. He encounters his creature and instantly threats him calling him a [d]evil and vile insect(Shelley 99) that must stay away or be trampled to dust. Instead of apologizing for abandoning the creature he threatens him creating more anger. The monster replies explaining how he feels in a world that hates him: All men hate the wretched; how, then, must I be hated, who am miserable beyond all living things! Yet you, my creator, detest and spurn me(Shelley 99). A speech which would create some sympathy makes Victor even angrier which proves how selfish he really is. All he wants to do is kill the monster, forget he even exists, to rewrite his wrong. As Victor tries to erase his past he constantly withholds information or lies about his creation. This is shown in the film when he tells Elizabeth he must go away again to please the monster so he will leave Victor alone. Elizabeth objects wanting to marry Victor right away in the film, whereas in the novel throughout the text he continues to take Elizabeth for granted. Victor postpones the date of their union as he assumes she will comply. He uses Elizabeth whenever he feels like it expecting that she will marry him when he returns to Geneva which is emphasized in the film. Elizabeth suggests that Victor has changed and wants to know the secret he has been hiding which gives her character more depth in the film. In the novel she does not have much of a say for the decision must be approved by Victors father who insists he bring Henry along. He lies to his father requesting a trip to England before he marries Elizabeth. I expressed a wish to visit England; but, concealing the true r easons of this request, I clothed my desires under a guise which excited no suspicion (Shelley 152) Victor lies and also omits information that would explain the events which took since the monster was created. Withholding information occurs quite frequently especially concerning his family members deaths. When William is killed and he suspects the monster, he says nothing. Later when Justine is arrested, he once again keeps quiet about his creation. She is later found guilty and executed, he does nothing to stop the execution. What is more selfish then letting an innocent girl die for someone elses crime? In the film Victor does not speak up to save the life of Justine, the housekeeper, whereas in novel he tells his family that she is innocent but is too afraid to announce it publicly assuming evidence would surface that she has been wrongfully accused. My dear father, you are mistaken; Justine is innocentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦I had no fear, therefore, that any circumstantial evidence co uld be brought forward strong enough to convict her. My tale was not one to announce publicly; its astounding horror would be looked upon as madness (Shelly 81). Victor first of all assumes that her name will be cleared, and he had many chances to speak up to save the life of Justine by telling the truth about the monster he created, instead he wallows in guilt. Instead of saving the life of the housekeeper who has already been through so much, he keeps his secret to maintain his good image. Not only does Victor keep the creature a secret, but destroys the female companion he creates preventing the monster from being happy like he is with Elizabeth. He destroys the monster because he realizes that creating a second monster may lead to further problems, or pain to him. Later in the text, Victor begins to be less selfish as he accepts the revenge of the monster, rather than finding someone else to blame he accepts responsibility for what has happened. Victor is very irresponsible which make it reasonable to label him as selfish in his motivations.   First of all, he uses the information he learns at the University of Ingolstadt  to create the monster, a forbidden experiment in the film because of the consequences which Victor does not consider. Even though he experiences tragic events he continues to pursue experiments and knowledge which have already been proven to be destructive. As well, when he succeeds at creating the monster he runs away abandoning his creation taking no responsibility for him at all. Lunsford argues another important point: [T]he novel reads as the story of a man who at every turn is given the opportunity to put the lives of others before himself. Immediately upon animating the monster, Victor becomes overwhelmed by the physical repulsiveness of the life he has created and flees from the very thing over which he has toiled for two years. This speaks to Victors unwillingness to deal with his creation as a living being. Perhaps if Victor had valued the life he created-and helped the monster at this critical moment-he would have prevented most of the devastation that follows. But he fears what people will think of him for creating a monstrosity and abandons his creation at the moment it enters the world, thus preserving his reputation but placing his family at risk. (Lunsford) As the monster begins to murder his family he continues ignore the evil he is responsible for. After Victor destroys the monsters chance of happiness, the creature threatens him vowing to be with him on his wedding day to seek his revenge. Even though he has been threatens and knows the monster is capable of killing, Victor still runs off to marry Elizabeth which is also selfish of him to do. Another example is when Victor is dying, he feels he is not at all responsible for any blameless of any bad behaviour on his part in creating the creature emphasizing how irresponsible he is throughout both novel and film. Lastly, after the monster threatens Victor he begins to be more concerned for his life now that he knows what his creation is capable of. He assumes that his creation will come after him in seeking his revenge. He narrates how he took precautions against the monster: [T]his night is dreadful, very dreadful. I passed the hour in this state of mind, when suddenly I reflected how fearful the combat which I momentarily expected would be to my wife, and I earnestly entreated her to retire, resolving not to join her until I obtained some knowledge as to the situation of my enemyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the scream was repeated, and I rushed into the roomà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦[s]he was there, lifeless and inanimate (Shelley 195) Victor is only concerned for his own life that he disregards the life of his recent wife, Elizabeth. He is surprised that the monster murders Elizabeth instead of him, even though that is exactly what Victor did as he destroyed the female creation which was supposed to be the monsters partner. As well, Victor continues to try and hide the creation away from Elizabeth as he convinces her to go to bed to prevent her from finding out about the monster he created, fearing that she will not love him as dearly. In contrast with the novel, the film emphasizes Victor Frankensteins selfishness as he brings Elizabeth back to life so that he can continue to be happy. as viewers we feel angry for making Elizabeth go through more than she deserves, proving that he will stop at nothing to achieve his goals no matter who it hurts. Overall, due to Victors selfishness we feel sorry for his creation. In both texts we see Victor Frankenstein as the monster not the creature.

Procrastination And Sloth The Spice Of Life? :: essays research papers

I’m what most people might call lazy, lethargic, and a procrastinator. How did it start? The first specific instance that I can remember was in 5th grade math class. I didn’t do my math. My mentality was that school consumed more then half of my waking hours and I wasn’t going to let it take anymore then that. So my assignments were partially completed, from the day before, and handed in unfinished. I knew that my parents and teachers would raise hell itself when I did this but my mind wouldn’t waiver on this. Since I had been able to get through all of grade school without homework why should I have any now? Great reasoning for a 5th grader, but this thinking contained a few flaws. To start out, there are 3 types of people in the world. The first kind will generally always try their best and be a competitor in life. They treat life as a marathon that needs a steady vigil pace to complete. The second is the person the will try to complete the absolute bear minimum to survive and occasionally misjudges what is needed done. The third and final is the person that absolutely cannot find any reason to try at all and hope for the best to come to them but never actively seek it. This is the lowest form of life that will suckle away your money, forgiveness, and love never sharing it back with you. To thoroughly understand the three classes of people, a more detailed analysis is needed. The first kind is the ideal person. One, which all parents and communities hope to produce. They are considered the leaders, overachievers, and well standing citizens. The second class is the C student of life. They’re the average person who occasionally does exceptional work but for the most part will be in the shadows of the first class. Procrastination and laziness is most common to occur in this class and becomes extreme when we reach the third class. The 3rd class no longer tries or cares too much about their life to do anything about their state. They are the ones that abuse the welfare system and borrow anything and everything from their friends and strangers alike. The causes for these differences can be attributed to many factors. At one point we are all the in the same class, class number one.

Late Adulthood Essay

Reaching late adulthood is a stage in life that individuals often hope to be able to reach. Life starts from the moment of conception and goes on until we all reach the unavoidable stage of death. Individuals all deal with life in many different ways. An adult that has gone through life completing most of the tasks that he/she wanted to complete can go into the stage of late adulthood generally happy. †¨People in late adulthood often face many health problems. I have researched three sites that identify the current issues that place significance on late adulthood. Current issues consist of depression and suicide, health care issues as well as a decline in a physical manner and cognitive development. †¨Late adulthood is generally considered to begin approximately around the age of 65. Erik Erikson suggests that at this time it is important to find meaning and satisfaction in life rather than to become bitter and disillusioned. That is, to resolve the conflict of integrity ve rsus despair. It has been estimated that by the year 2030, Americans over 65 will make up 20% of the population. Despite the problems associated with longevity, studies of people in their 70s have shown that growing old is not necessarily synonymous with substantial mental or physical deterioration. Many older people are happy and engaged in a variety of activities. However, it still remains that according to the American Psychological Association depression and suicide are a significant public health issues for older adults. Depression is one of the most common mental disorders experienced by elders, but fortunately it is treatable by a variety of means. Currently older adults in the United States succumb to more minor symptoms of depression at a higher then that of younger adults. Late adults in the Baby Boomer generation seem to be displaying depressive  disorders at a significantly higher rate than previous groups; this trend displays a greater incidence of depression.†¨ †¨Depression is not only a prevalent disorder but is also a pervasive problem. Depressed older adults, like younger persons, tend to use health services at high rates, engage in poorer health behaviors, and evidence what is known as â€Å"excess disability.† Depression is also associated with suicide. Older adults have the highest rates of suicide of any a ge group, and this is particularly pronounced among men. †¨Physical changes, people typically reach the peak of their physical strength and endurance during there twenties and then gradually decline. In later adulthood, a variety of physiological changes may occur, including some degree of atrophy of the brain and a decrease in the rate of neural processes. Bone mass diminishes, especially among women, leading to bone density disorders such as osteoporosis. Muscles become weaker unless exercise programs are followed. You become less flexible and hair loss occurs in both sexes. As people live longer issues of quality of life take on greater importance. Many older Americans suffer chronic health problems that limit their ability to enjoy their later years. These conditions often lead to serious physical limitations that have a major impact on an individual’s ability to live independently.The most common chronic health problem among older adults is arthritis. Nationally, among persons aged 70 or older, 50% of men and 64% of women reported having arthritis (Federal Interagency Forum on Aging Related Statistics, 2000). In Texas, the percentage is virtually the same – 51.3% of persons 65 and older report that they have some form of chronic joint symptoms (Texas Department of Health, 1999). Arthritis can be a crippling and painful disease that makes it difficult for older adults to perform even the most basic Adult Living Skills. End result is lost of mobility and disability. Adjustment is a part of life. The study of cognitive changes in the older population is complex. Response speeds have been reported to decline; some researchers believe that age†related decrease in working memory is the crucial factor underlying poorer performance by the elderly on cognitive tasks. †¨Ã¢â‚¬ ¨Intellectual changes in late adulthood , it do not always result in reduction of ability. While fluid intelligence (the ability to see and to use patterns and relationships to solve problems) does decline in later years, crystallized intelligence (the ability to use accumulated information  to solve problems and make decisions) has been shown to rise slightly over the entire life span. K. Warner Schaie and Sherry Willis reported that a decline in cognitive performance could be reversed in 40% to 60% of elderly people who were given remedial training. Dementia is usually responsible for cognitive defects seen in older people. These disorders, however, occur only in about 15% of people over 65. The leading cause of dementia in the United States is Alzheimer’s disease, a progressive, eventually fatal disease that begins with confusion and memory lapses and ends with the loss of ability to care for oneself. Being able to reach old age is a blessing and a gift. Howe ver, it can come with a lot adjustment as life takes it toll. As I have explained late adults can suffer from depression and suicide, health care issues, as well as a decline in physical and cognitive development. As young adults we most try to remain physically and mentally tough to slow these effects.

Contraband in Prison - 1399 Words

Contraband can be defined as anything prohibited by law being imported and exported. When it comes to prisons, anything that can’t be bought in the commissary or that isn’t given to them when they get to prison is contraband. Contraband is a major issue behind the walls and can be anything from a â€Å"homemade† shank by the inmate, or drugs or weapons smuggled into the prison from various ways. Not only is different types of contraband in the prison a threat to the inmates lives, but also a threat to the officers on duty and other staff members. Some issues with contraband in a prison are: how did it get inside the walls, what are some ways to prevent it amongst the prison, and what are some different types of contraband found in prisons? If†¦show more content†¦They also may get recreational hours taken away or something along the lines of this. In October of 2008 an inmate on death row in Texas called a state senator from his cell on a cell phone mak ing threats about his two daughters, also telling him that he knew where they lived in Houston. The inmate wanted to prove a point to the senator that he was capable of doing and finding all this information out while being â€Å"locked up† in a maximum security facility. Frankly, that scared the hell out of me,(Whitmire)†. Those were the words spoken of the state senator after notifying authorities after receiving the threatening phone call. Alcohol is another type of contraband in the prison system and is also a major problem in prisons. Inmates are capable of making their own alcohol fairly easy. Inmate-made alcohol has been more commonly known as â€Å"brew† or â€Å"pruno†. Pruno, or prison wine, is an alcoholic liquid variously made from apples, oranges, fruit cocktail, ketchup, sugar, and possibly other ingredients, including crumbled bread. 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