British Lit 1660-1800

Individualism in bloody shame Shelley s FrankensteinMary Shelley s Frankenstein is clearly a prophylactic tale that spells the moral and sociological implications of the school of thought of the Enlightenment . there is a tendency to limit the theme of the newfangled to recognition , and thereby to ignore the underlying philosophy . But the scientist is provided encouraged , or discouraged , by the social and philosophical milieu in which he exists . In this sense the outset of modern science must(prenominal) be properly attributed to the philosophy of Enlightenment , that which believed in the infinite perfectibility of man br d i the strict practice of reason . If experimental philosophy is one expression of this philosophy , then philosophic individualisticism is other . This latter philosophy maintains that the human being is intrinsic thaty unloose , and therefore his nature is ultimately good , which also implies that it is nonexistent of evil . Apparent evil only reflects the constraints of man as a social being . The aim of politics must therefore be to minimize society and encourage the individual as far as possible The extreme musing of such thinking is anarchism . We next take note that Mary Shelley was brought up in a climate of extreme anarchism both(prenominal) her parents were anarchists , and she was brought up in the same mould . Her husband , the illustrious poet Percy Bysshe Shelley , was also an avowed anarchist and atheist . Therefore the new may be fruitfully analyzed from the point of catch up with of philosophic individualismVictor Frankenstein is not the representative of science in the novel as is normally believed . The true such representative is the explorer Robert Walton , who is on a scientific expedition to the Artic Circle This perspective symbolizes the extreme edge of the material universe . The journey symbolizes the ingenuous and happy path to knowledge .

Such an attitude is reflected in Walton s following comment , made in a earn to his sister : What may not be expected in a country of eternal light (Shelley 16 . acquisition promises to throw clear and eternal light on all things , and the path is a straightforward one of experiment and facility . Walton is not supposed to know of that which lurks beneath the surface , and he only comes to know it through the narrated experience of Frankenstein , whom he picks up on the way . He may not see to it the full implication of what Frankenstein tells him , but the implied caution is enough , so he aborts his mission and turns his ship back . He is sufficient to absorb enough of the message , that the practice of science is pregnant with danger , and that it is not wise to strive towards the limits of knowledgeFrankenstein is far much than a mere scientist . Not mere rational explanations , he aims for the philosopher s stone and the elixir of life (Ibid 48 . He sees science as a futile endeavor if it can neer come to the ultimate cause of things , and must then only dabble with immediate causes . He shuns science in advance of alchemy on his first entering university . Alchemy...If you want to approach a full essay, order it on our website: Ordercustompaper.com

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