Post 4: The Loneliness of Frankenstein and His Creature

Despite the severe hatred Victor feels towards his creation, there is one emotion that binds them strongly together: loneliness. This can be seen multiple times in both Victor’s narration and the creature’s. Victor exhibits a strong sense of loneliness after William is killed because he cannot tell those he loves that he has made such an abomination in the first place. This depicts a kind of loneliness achieved by one who cannot show their beliefs and insights because of the disastrous consequences it has led to. The creature experiences a reflection of this feeling as he does not have a family to begin with. An indication of his loneliness is the fact that he requests a mate from Frankenstein in the first place. The creature wants to be able to feel loved and live with someone who would not shun him for how grotesque and unnatural he physically looked but rather to be cared for for his insight and beliefs.

Post 3: Victor Frankenstein, Robert Walton, and Ozymandias

Victor Frankenstein, Robert Walton, and Ozymandias have one common definitive characteristic: the thirst for greatness. Although each had their own end goal, the basic premise was that they create something that would allow them to leave their mark on history. Each man’s goal has defined who they are, yet like Ozymandias, their monuments shall fade from society.

Victor Frankenstein was blessed with the thirst for knowledge and advancement which he went on to use for what he believed to be a wonderful cause. Frankenstein stumbles upon the realization that he could use his childhood love of alchemy and his education on modern chemistry to discover the secret of life itself. He believed he had a duty to humanity to end the fear of death. Of course, this was accompanied with the hope to go down in history as well, as seen in his declaration that, “I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creations.”

Though his quest to better mankind is still visible, Robert Walton’s desire to be remembered is a more prominent feature in his research. Walton purposely removes himself from the luxuries his wealth can afford him to seek out the thing that will make him wealthy in a more powerful way. He sees greatness as something owed to him for this sacrifice as he says, "...do I not deserve to accomplish some great purpose? My life might have been in ease and luxury, but I preferred glory to every enticement that wealth placed in my path."
Finally, Ozymandias's pursuit of greatness was an architectural marvel rather than a scientific discovery yet his success may foreshadow the end product of both Frankenstein and Walton's goals. Ozymandias's giant statue corroded by the sands of time even though his monument was huge. He believed that by putting his all into this statue, he would live forever in the eyes of society. This view is much like that of Walton and Frankenstein, signaling the inevitable fall into obscurity. As seen in the description of Ozymandias's monument, "Half sunk, a shattered visage lies", the world will pass on and other things will be deemed of greater importance.

Post 2: Do you think science and religion will ever see life the same way?

Science requires a form of faith similar to that of religion because though there can be physical "proof" of a concept, like a religion's holy text, one can truly never know. Though there are the few that use scientific evidence that a specific god does not exist, no one can discount the possibility of a higher power completely. There are also those who believe that science is a blasphemy and must be shunned. Therefore I believe that science and religion can coexist in society only if there is tolerance within both belief systems.

In a society where more intelligence is usually proportionate to one's standard of living, many practitioners of religion are also scholars of science. As long as one does not decide that their mission is to disprove a god, science does no harm to any religion. An antithesis of this possible coexistence is Galileo's imprisonment for his scientific proof that the planets revolve around the sun. Religion, specifically Catholicism, had accepted the belief that the universe revolved around the earth because humanity was God's child. Galileo's discovery did not endanger Catholicism because no where in the bible does it specifically say that the earth is the center of the universe. Although this challenged a widely accepted belief, Galileo's discovery did not attempt to downplay any religion.

Though religion is a very sensitive topic for many, as long as one is willing to understand that there is a universe out there that we have barely broached understanding of, religion and science can coexist peacefully.