Analyzing critiques:"The Modern Prometheus"

Frankenstein was considered the modern Prometheus because just as Prometheus brought forbidden knowledge to humans, Victor brought forbidden knowledge to his own humans. According to the legend, Prometheus only defied the Gods in order to help his own race. They were always shivering and they ate raw meat. His goal was to bring the knowledge of fire to his brethren. Prometheus only had good intentions and so did Victor. His goal was to save humans from death; but he did not know that life and death was God's territory. Prometheus also did not know that the power of fire was the power of the Gods. When an omnipotent being is defied only destruction comes. Victor's consequence was his early death, which is ironic because he was trying to save people from dying, and Prometheus' consequence was his eternal suffering.

Chalk Cliffs on Rügen (1818), Caspar David Friedrich

Power of Nature

14. final words of Victor and final words of monster

Victor's final words really surprised me and so did the monster's. Victor's words are basically a warning to an ambitious explorer like Walton. Since victor found out what dangerous knowledge and ambition lead to, he wants to warn Walton. "Seek happiness in tranquillity, and avoid ambition even if it be only the apparently innocent one of distinguishing yourself in science and discoveries. yet why do i say this? I have myself been blasted in these hopes yet another may succeed (162)." Victor basically wants to make sure that no other human makes the same mistake that he has made. Victor still believes that he was the most miserable being on earth and his hatred towards the monster was strong even on his death bed.

The monster's words however are very different. The monster contradicts what Victor has said and argued that he was more miserable. "My agony was still superior to thine (166)." I agree with the monster that his agony was way more than Victor's because the monster had complete isolation. The monster also states that, " I shall ascend my funeral pile triumphantly, and exult in the agony of the torturing flames. The light of that conflagration will fade away; my ashes will be swept into the sea by the winds (166)." The fact that the monster uses flames to describe his death is very important. Fire and represented knowledge and discovery which is what the monster himself is; he is also discovery. If he destroys himself, he has taken that knowledge away. The light or knowledge of his existence will, "fade away," as he said. The last part of that quote shows how nature is triumphant in the end. the sea sweeping the monsters ashes symbolizes nature taking back what is rightfully hers, the power of creation.

Isolation

12. what is the difference between demon and daemon?

According to dictionary.com, a daemon a god and a demon is an evil spirit. In my interpretation, daemon is a guardian, much like God is considered our guardian on earth. I believe that Mary Shelley did not use the latter meaning of demon because she sympathised with the monster. I don't believe that the monster was actually evil. If given a chance and if loved, the monster would have made a great guardian. One quote from the book proves the monster to be considered a guardian rather than an evil spirit. "I trembled and my heart failed within me, when on looking up, I saw by the light of the moon, the daemon at the casement (121). This quote is important because it shows the monster in a new light even if Victor does not see it. It is when Victor is trembling that he shows up and when he does show up an image of a light occurs. when someone sees a light in times of trouble, they feel hope, yet in this situation Victor feels horror. Because Victor basically neglected his child, his daemon ultimately became a demon.

4. How does nature lead to human happiness?

In this novel, the presence of nature leads to rational thought. This rational thought was missing when Victor created his first monster because the presence of nature was also missing. Victor was locked in isolation. He rarely left his apartment; he only went out to get his materials. Because Victor did not let nature in, he was not able to ponder the consequences of his creation. He only cared about his glory. If he had thought about how his creation would have interacted with the world, he might not have created his monster. The lack of nature in the first part of the book led to disaster. A creature was created, with no connection to the world nor did he have any love from his creator.

When given another chance to create a creature, the only thing that was different, was the presence of nature. Instead of constantly locking himself in a room, Victor took long walks by the lake. He states, "at these moments I took refuge in the most perfect solitude. I passed whole days on the lake alone in a little boat, watching the clouds and listening to the rippling of the waves, silent and listless. But the fresh air and bright sun seldom failed to restore me to some degree of composure (108)." The serenity of nature allowed Victor to really think about what he was doing so that he would not make the same mistake he did with his first creation.