Ambition in Frankenstein
...nately, his masterpiece is really a monster, an eye-sore complete with terrifying eyes. Frankenstein desired to create a being that could be marveled at and accepted; instead, he creates a giant with superhuman strength, a creation that the world has never seen before. Out of fear and disgust, he casts the abomination out into the world, deciding he wants nothing to do with something so horrid. Yet he knows the monster will still maintain a place in his life. After the murder of his young brother, Frankenstein realizes that the monster is still at large and revenge must be enacted upon it. This desire of revenge can be compared to his previous ambition to create the monster in the first place. Frankenstein becomes But this desire to stifle the monster only leads to more heartbreak. In turn, the monster takes the lives of those dear to Frankenstein, including his wife and best friend. Frankenstein finds himself to be the cause of all these deaths and the death of Justine, the woman accused of killing young William. These misfortunes lead Frankenstein to the brink of insanity. “However, despite his philanthropic ambition to “banish disease from the human frame and render man invulnerable to any but a violent death”, Frankenstein becomes enmeshed in a loathsome pursuit that causes him to destroy his own health and shun his ‘fellow-creatures as if...guilty of a crime” (Shelley 43, 57). His irresponsibility causes the death of those he loves most, and he falls under the control of his own creation.” (Penguin Guides). No longer does Frankenstein live for enjoyment; he becomes a shell of a man who lives for the one reason of eliminating the evil that he created. He chases the monster across the frozen north, where humans have trouble staying alive. The chase eventually kills Frankenstein and he dies a tired, lonely, and broken man. Following in his creator’s footsteps, the monster, too, has aspirations to learn. After being thrown out by Frankenstein, the monster yearns to be taken in by society and accepted for what he is. However, the people the monster encounters are far from hospitable, and he takes shelter in the solitude of the woods. Slightly deterred, the monster continues to try to assimilate into culture. He finds a cottage family whom he studies in hope of understanding how to live. After close study, the monster learns to speak. “My days were spent in close attention, that I might more speedily master the language…whilst I comprehended and could imitate almost every word that was spoken” (Shelley 121). He further gains understanding of language by stumbling on a small cache of books. While the books help him learn, they have an adverse effect on the monster as well. The monster reads of sadness and depression including the trials and tribulations of mankind dating back to the Garden of Eden. He tries to understand why people, by nature, do harm to others when he only feels compassion. He almost feels connected to the family by ...