Environmental Influences on Behavior

In fact Frankenstein looks for scientific discoveries, he wants to achieve perfection and unlimited power so to get equality with the God but eventually he turns to be unable to cope with his own creature and consequences of his scientific experiments that means his failure to play the God. In terms of this paper the influence of the society on human and creature behavior will be discussed. buy essay 2. The novel “Frankenstein” by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. In her novel the author tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a scientist who experiments and attempts to reveal the secret of life and create a ‘perfect’ creature. The structure of the novel is quite interesting since the general line of the story is subdivided into several stories. At the beginning of the novel a reader sees practically the outcome of the story, when Captain Walton on his ship is sailing north of the Arctic Circle. The ship is ice-bound and suddenly the creature of Victor Frankenstein is found and soon after that the creator himself, being ill and exhausted, is invited onto the board and after that a reader has a chance to know what has actually happened since the story begins: Custom essays “It was on a dreary night of November, that I beheld the accomplishment of my toils. With an anxiety that almost amounted to agony, I collected the instruments of life around me that I might infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing that lay at my feet. It was already one in the morning; the rain pattered dismally against the panes, and my candle was nearly burnt out, when, by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs” (Wolf, 2004, p.5). It should be pointed out that the novel has a subtitle “The Modern Prometheus, which is quite symbolic implying that the ancient Greek myth was the main source of inspiration. But it is not the only literary source, which may be found in Shally’s novel. It is possible to find the influence of John Milton’s “Paradise Lost”, notably Shally’s monster is very similar to the character of Milton’s Satan. Furthermore, Frankenstein is characterized by certain allegorical interpretation that is probably influenced by the time of its creation, the period of the Industrial Revolution, where the society, culture and all spheres of life has been changing. It is obvious that Frankenstein aims at the achieving the level of the God and he attempts to repeat his achievements and create a living being that is the greatest challenge to the God and, at the same time, a complete violation of human rules and beliefs and natural laws. Such a pursuit of power may be interpreted as the progress of capitalist relations and disregard for human dignity typical for the epoch. Shelly’s monster and its fate symbolize the failure of soulless and thoughtless science and the failure of a human being playing the God. When Frankenstein casts himself in the role of God, he envisions a new race and he deliberates on his decision before proceeding: “When I found so astonishing a power placed within my hands, I hesitated a long time concerning the manner in which I should employ it” (Wolf, 2004, p.82). The creature of Victor Frankenstein is deprived of any moral norms that results in its irresponsible behavior in many cases. However, in actuality it is not the monster’s fault but rather the fault of its creator who created his physical body but is unable to shape its soul and mind which remain undeveloped on the level of a newborn baby. Not surprisingly that the monster is vulnerable and susceptible to the impact of the surrounding world. The fate of the creature would have probably been different if its creator cared about its brining up that would have prevented its irresponsible behavior. Naturally, being mentally undeveloped and morally weak the monster could chose any direction of its development under outside influences. As a result, been hatred and neglected by its creator, the monster shows vengeful actions of hatred in return. Consequently, it is the creator who is responsible for the monster’s behavior and actions. In such a situation it is even hardly possible to say who is more monstrous the creator or its creator for if the latter was responsible from the beginning the monster would have not been created. And even after its creation the creator’s responsible behavior could have prevented all of the destructions caused by the creature’s actions.