Frankenstein: Chapters 5-10 Primary and Secondary Blog Posts

10/23/2016

These images could depict some of the main plot points of Chapters 5-10. While these moments are important, they are by no means the only significant points in these four chapters.
After having read these chapters:
-Select a single passage (this may be a single paragraph or several) that you feel best typifies the action and Shelley's authorial intent in this section of Frankenstein.
-Explain the action and context of the quoted passage (you must cite the passage) and then,
-Explain how your understanding of this passage (1) supports your understanding, (2) deepens the character development, and/or (3) builds a central message that aligns with one of the unit's essential questions.

Primary Blog Expectations (respond to the prompt above): 200-250 words, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the scientists's name that you selected in class as your nom de plume and be sure to add word count. Due by the start of class on Tuesday 10/25!

Secondary Blog Response Expectations (read everyone's primary responses, select two that interest you, and respond to their ideas): 100-150 words EACH, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the scientists's name that you selected in class as your nom de plume and be sure to add word count. Due by the start of class on Friday 10/28!

Charlotte Knight

10/23/2016 07:06:07 pm

The start of Chapter 5 is rather intriguing to say the least. Frankenstein’s creature has just been given life and Frankenstein starts to marvel at their features, but almost instantly his admiration turned into disgust and horror. Frankenstein has become “Unable to endure the aspect of the being [he has] created” (Shelley 51) as he realizes the gravity of the situation he’s in and comprehends the implications of what he has done. Frankenstein, a human, has given life to another being—an act that should only be possible by God himself—and he definitely feels the effects of his actions. He has become restless as he tries to forget his deeds but even in dreams he cannot escape his reality and spends the night awake and in fear of what he describes as “the demonical corpse to which I had so miserably given life” (Shelley 52). It takes Clerval’s return and nursing for Victor to return to his former state of joy before the incident. And what does Frankenstein decide to do about all of this? He decides to get rid of anything that could even relate to that night. While it’s interesting to see the “Mad Scientist” archetype, and Frankenstein might even be the origin of this archetype, regret his creation what he does to remedy his regret shows his cowardice. His actions shows that Victor prefers to run away from his problems instead of confronting them which may lead to them resurfacing and causing him even more pain. It just goes to show how one little idea with amazing intentions can grow into a reality that’s absolutely horrid.
Word Count: 270 words

Sofia Kovalevskaya

10/26/2016 07:48:54 pm

I also believe that Victor could be considered a coward for his actions. Anyone who has created a tall, yellow-skinned, and strong monster, who finally came to life, would be terrified. However, I believe that being a coward isn’t an excuse to abandon the life that he spent so long creating. Victor had two long and restless years to completely think about the pros and cons of his situation. He was too focused of the fortune of glory he would receive at the end of his journey, and that led him to look past the possible misfortunes. But, there is no excuse for him not to be able to face the monster and its consequences.
117 words

Mercy B Jackson

10/23/2016 08:16:46 pm

In chapter 8 of Frankenstein, Victor and his family find out the outcome of Justine’s trial who is accused of murdering Victor and Elizabeth’s brother. Justine is pronounced guilty because she had no choice but to confess. Meanwhile, Victor feels guilty because he believes that the monster he created is responsible for the murder of his brother. He feels guilty because an innocent woman is going to be sentenced to death because of the horrid life he created. Shelley writes, “Thus spoke my prophetic soul, as, torn by remorse, horror, and despair, I beheld those I loved spend vain sorrow upon the graves of William and Justine, the first hapless victims to my unhallowed arts” (Shelley 79). This quote helps me further understand Victor’s character because even though he knows his actions and this secret will hurt others, he does nothing to stop it which results in Justine’s death. Victor should take responsibility for his actions, because since he is so caught up in creating life and being recognized for his work, people are getting hurt in the process, and his actions are backfiring on him. This situation also aligns with an essential question of, “What consequences do we face when we don't take responsibility for our actions?” because Victor will face the consequence of guilt because he is the reason why his creation is ruining not only his life but others. Victor shouldn’t have tried to play the role of god, he should’ve left it all alone. wc 248

Ethel Sargant

10/26/2016 08:39:48 pm

I ask myself why she had no choice? What could have happened if she held her innocence and didn’t confess a lie. Victor knows his creation is responsible for the murder and I think it says a lot about him letting his cousin die all because he doesn’t want people to think he is crazy. The guilt that he has is what will continue to ruin his life, not the monster. I agree with you when you say his actions backfired because even though he was trying to create life, it resulted in the deaths of two loved ones. He should have not attempted to play the role of god!! (word count: 110)

Mary Treat

10/27/2016 05:36:39 pm

I hold a somewhat different view on this than Mercy and Ethel. They both say that Victor is wrong for not proclaiming that Justine was innocent and that his monster caused William's death. I believe that if he confessed, it would have caused even more harm. In this time period, women had no power in the judicial system. Even without strong evidence, they convicted Justine of murder. If Victor claimed that he was at fault, the jury wouldn't have overturned their decision because it would have made the men appear incorrect while the woman (Justine) was right. By instinct, men will go to great lengths to show women that they are superior to them, even when they're not. If Victor confessed, he would have also been at risk of getting killed: not for being guilty, but for insanity. His story is very far-fetched and wouldn't have been believed. If Victor was killed, he wouldn't have a chance to stop the creature from committing more violent acts.
166

Mary Treat

10/23/2016 10:07:45 pm

In chapters 5-10, Victor has finally finished his creation and instantly regrets his actions. After running away from the creature, he must be nursed back to mental and physical health by Henry Clerval. He travels back to Geneva after finding out that his brother died, and he witnesses the trial and false conviction of his family friend, Justine, for the murder. After this, Victor travels to Mont Blanc where he meets the creature. I found the creature’s statement, “You accuse me of murder; and yet you would, with a satisfied conscience, destroy your own creature,” (Shelley 90) very interesting. This quote is shows the relationship between creator and creation. By writing this, Shelley displays the creature’s anger toward Victor. He feels betrayed by the one who created him. I think that Shelley included this to give the creature feeling. Prior to this encounter, the creature had just been described as a menace and mistake; after hearing the creature talk to Victor, I started to feel sympathy for him. He feels unwanted by his creator. This is the reason that he killed William and says that he may continue to cause chaos.
The creature’s anger towards Victor shows the relationship between creator and creation in life. People often get angry at God for the things that they go through in life. We often feel betrayed when God lets things that we don’t like happen in our lives. This leads many to have hatred and do things to defy Him. This is similar to the creature killing William to get back at Victor. When he says, “Oh, praise the eternal justice of man!” (Shelley 90), the creature is mocking his creator. He does not agree with the choices Victor makes regarding his creation. Many people do the same thing toward our Creator.
300

Emily Stackhouse

10/27/2016 07:06:45 pm

I agree that Creation does mock their creator in order to get what they desire and sometimes to just get attention. However, I feel that we shouldn’t give sympathy to the creature based on sorrow. The creature may feel betrayed and unwanted but is that justified to go and commit a murder. Not only did the creature kill someone he specifically killed his creator’s brother. I don’t see how that could be justified just because he feels unwanted. If he felt unwanted he should have just talked to Victor and who knows they could have worked something out. When I think of the creature I think of a monster that does terrible things such as murder. I do not however, feel sympathetic towards him because he may be a lonely creation.
131

Ada Lovelace

10/28/2016 04:27:06 am

It is very true that the creature began to mock his creator, and felt betrayed because he left him without taking good care of it. However, I think the creature shouldn't have reacted back without knowing its creator's intended purpose for it by killing Williams. In relation to the world today, people think by worshipping idols, not obeying the commandments of God, and even not believing God exists would solve their problems in life but refuse to realize that going through all the trials and tribulations makes them yearn for me, and experience the good works of our creator when the issues are solved. Come to think of it, because of our bad deeds our creator(God) in three person(Jesus) died for our sins, so going through a bit of problems is just a mere thing to know how powerful he is. In the case of Frankenstein, Victor devoted his life by somewhat even leaving his family and loved ones and just focusing on his creature, which affected him psychologically and physically, but it did not take note of that, rather, it got frustrated by him just leaving to 'wander'.

Anna Atkins

10/23/2016 10:20:13 pm

In the first picture it is depicted that a creator is afraid of its creation. The creature has power over its creator. In chapter five Victor’s creation came to life and he is frightened by it. In this chapter the author emphasises the relationship between creator and creation. Victor should have taken responsibility for his creature but instead is frightened by it. A creator usually demonstrate an unconditional love for his creation. Victor had worked for nearly two years and “the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart”(Shelley 51). He is disgusted by how the creature looks. Victor’s dream has now turned into nightmares as he stared into “his eyes, if eyes they may be called, were fixed on me. His jaws opened, and he muttered some inarticulate sounds, while a grin wrinkled his cheeks. He might have spoken, but I did not hear; one hand was stretched out, seemingly to detain me, but I escaped, and rushed down stairs”(shelley 52). Victor seems astonish by the breathful life that the creature display. He is frightened at how the creature looks because based on his descriptions of it he sounds like he is the most hideous being on earth. Victor dos not assume responsibility for his creation but instead flees in his presence.
word count: 220

Mary Treat

10/27/2016 06:18:28 pm

I agree with your idea that a creator should have unconditional love for its creation. When you create something, you design it with the ideas that you believe are important for it to have. Your creation represents you, and in essence, it is a part of you because you put your qualities into it. A creator should always love and look after its creation. Victor has failed in this because at first sight his creation appears awful. He is fearful of what he has made and flees from it. I feel that the creature took this reaction to heart and it is reason for his violence. When a creation feels abandoned by its creator, it will lash out against them. This is similar to how children often do things against their parents' will. They feel that their parents are treating them wrong, so they want to get back at them.
150

Josephine Yates

10/23/2016 11:51:55 pm

“What consequences do we face when we don’t take responsibility for our actions?” Victor Frankenstein embodies the answer to this question. On page 51, the passage “The different accidents of life… so miserably given life” shows his emotions and his reflections upon all of his work and the outcome? “Horror and disgust” filled him. He had spent years devoting all of himself to this work; bringing life to this creature became his purpose for living. Already paranoid and isolated, the night his creature came to life changed everything. At first, he was astonished by his work. Once the reality of it all set it, he was horrified. His creation was disgusting, just as the idea of such work was at the time the novel was written. It is to be expected that Victor would have such a reaction. He physically ran away from the monster, and had little concern about where it had gone once it disappeared. Although it haunted his dreams, he never felt the need to tell anyone about the creature roaming around. His guilt continued to eat at him, but he wouldn’t take responsibility for his actions. He had to go through the loss of William and Justice, which furthered his guilt, and it just shows how one mistake leads to many more. Victor’s actions have impacted those around him, but he still can't own his actions. It shows us that Victor is irresponsible, selfish, and has cowardice as a large part of his character.
248 Words

Anna Atkins

10/27/2016 06:12:38 pm

These couple chapters revealed a lot about Victor’s character. He is selfish, irresponsible, and cowardice. The night the creature came to life he was so frightened by him that Victor ran out of of his apartment. The whole time he was away he did not once think about the creature. Victor does not take responsibility for the creature’s action. As his creator victor should have not left the creature all alone. One must wonder had Victor not abandoned the creature he would not have hurt so many people. Victor failed to take responsibilities for the existence of the creature. His lack of responsibilities for his actions led the creature to hurt a lot of people.
word count:115

Mary Ward

10/24/2016 12:24:03 am

Mary Shelley incorporated chapters 5-10 to reveal how dangerous the monster can be, but at the same time how "innocent" it is as well. I say this because Victor only ran away and abandoned the monster for a bit because he was ugly and he cannot stand or be around people who are unattractive;however, the monster is the reason why Victor is slowly having his life ruined because he's keeping his creation a secret. So far his secret has caused his brother and Justine to die. These chapters also reveals more of Victor's personality/traits because he doesn't want to to be the crazy person, so he stays shut to save himself, but also he judges a lot of people and only excepts to surround himself with those who are "superior". This trait is especially showed in the quote, "Unable to endure the aspect of the being I had created, I rushed out the room...unable to compose my mind to sleep," (Shelley 51). Even though he spent a whole two years working on this master piece, it seems as if he's not content or care anymore because it came out to be ugly. Again, this is supporting the concept that his flaw of wanting everything to be perfect and be the way that he wants, will get the best of him. If Victor isn't getting what he wants then he's either going to go to extreme measure or just let it get to him. Word Count: 245

Ethel Sargant

10/26/2016 08:29:14 pm

I agree with you when saying that she included those chapters to reveal information about the monster however, I would say that it is to show the lengths he is willing to go to in order to get revenge instead of how dangerous. From my understanding I believe that Victor also left the monster because he was scared of it and did not want to take responsibility for his actions. Also I believe Victor is ruining his own life by not taking responsibility and causing the feeling of guilt to constantly haunt him. Furthermore, it does reveal a lot about Victor because I never thought he was so concerned about the opinions of others.
(word count: 114)

Josephine Yates

10/27/2016 10:13:49 pm

While Victor was disgusted by the creatures looks, I think that most of his disgust came from the realization that his work was against what many people believed was okay. He knew that they would all think he was crazy, so he was disgusted with himself. Running from the monster was like trying to run away from his inner demons. It's interesting that you mentioned him "staying shut" to save himself because in the beginning, being secretive and distant is what led to his instability. He has always hid behind work; now he is hiding behind his lies. So I don't think that he wants to surround himself with those that are superior; I think that he wants to feel as though he is of better character and moral standing than he actually is. He wants to be around people who are what he wishes to be.
147 words

Emily Stackhouse

10/24/2016 10:36:56 am

In the chapters, 5-10 we read about Victor and his impact of creating the creature on himself and on the rest of society. Once Victor creates the creature it instantly freaks him out and he ends up running away. This allows the creature to escape and cause terror on the town. In these chapters, Victor’s brother William dies and Justine, a family friend, is to blame. However, we soon find out that the creature was the one who has killed her. The creature wanted things from Victor in which Frankenstein wouldn’t give to him. Victor becomes sick because he realizes the true monster in which he has created.
Victor makes himself sick because of all that has occurred in his life at this time. People began to worry about Victor because he is down and has been away for a while. Elizabeth, his cousin, has begun to write about it saying all that has occurred “I will write instantly, and relieve them from the anxiety they must feel” (Shelley 60). Victor has received this letter after receiving help from Henry Clerval, to get back to sanity. Victor realizes that the very inspiration of making the creature has brought out the worst in himself. He has forgotten the very things that matter such as the love in which family can bring to one another. The letter from Elizabeth has helped him remember this. By Shelley doing this, it allows for the idea of family can have a great positive impact on someone’s life.
252

Sofia Kovalevskaya

10/26/2016 07:59:37 pm

Maybe misfortune is what Victor needed in his life. He before treasured the desire to know natural philosophy or the hidden secrets of nature, but maybe now his focus will shift to something better. For example, during his occupation he neglected his family, but after he recovered from his sickness he was able to regain a connection with his family he cherished many times before. Even though he realizes what the monster is capable of, he still tries to make a better life for himself. Sometimes it takes an occurrence of a disastrous event or experience in someone’s life to make a person want to change for the better, and hopefully Victor will.
113 words

Sarah Drake

10/24/2016 05:26:35 pm

In chapters 5-10 the section I find the most interesting was after Victor finds the creature near his brothers murder site. While he did stick up for Justine in that she didn't murder WIlliam he didn't take responsibilty for his own part in his brothers murder, creating a monster. Victor says, "This speech calmed me. I was firmly convinced in my own mine that Justine, and indeed every human being, was guiltless of this murder. I had no fear, therefore, that any circumstantial evidence could be brought forward strong enough to convict her. My tale was not one to announce publicly; its astounding horror would be looked upon as madness by the vulgar. Did anyone indeed exist, exept I, the creater, who would believe, unless his sense convinced him, in the existence of the living monument of presumption and rash ignorance which i had let loose upon the world?"( Shelley 72). I believe hat Shelley's authorial intent is to show us something about Victor. While he feels guilty for Justine being tried for his brothers murder he refuses to admit who actually killed him in fear that he will be called insane and nobody will believe him. This shows Victor, in a way, cares more about his own appearance than someone being wrongly convicted for a crime. We can also look at the question, What consequences do we face when we don't take responsibility for our actions? In this case it's not so much what consequences Victor himself faces but him not taking responsibilty causing someone else to take the consequences, while Victor has to live with the guilt of Justines death.
Word Count 271

Emily Stackhouse

10/27/2016 07:23:57 pm

I agree with the statements in which you made toward the type of character Shelley has created within Victor. We have gathered many incidents and knowledge of the type of person Victor is. After this time, it does seem that Victor is the character in which he cares about his personal interest than anything else. This showed in this section when he wouldn’t take blame for himself for the murder of William. Victor has also shown to be selfish when it came to school and all he wanted to know about was science for his personal knowledge. Mary Shelley seems to be connecting this type of character to another one in which we know. The person who was on a boat and didn’t care for anyone but himself.
128

Sofia Kovalevskaya

10/24/2016 07:31:01 pm

Chapter five, pages 51-54, describe the event of Victor’s creation coming to life, and also how ashamed he is of what he created. In fact, he even ran away from the creature. This event ultimately deepens the character of Victor. After two long years of “depriv[ing] [himself] of rest and health” with the neglect of his family seems like a waste of time. The moment the creature is alive “the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled [his] heart” (Shelley 51). It’s interesting how he isn’t proud of his accomplishment after it’s finally finished. A reader would think that Victor would be ecstatic to brag and show off his creation to the rest of his college. He instead realizes that is in his case, his determination led to misfortunes. In fact, he is so sad he became psychologically and physically sick after he finishes. Henry even has to take care of him to nurse him back to better health. However, I believe that if he had discussed his occupation with his family he could’ve been led in a different direction, and wouldn’t feel as he does now. But, instead he chose not to, and he’s suffering for what he chose to do.
206 Words

Charlotte Knight

10/27/2016 08:48:57 pm

I completely agree with what your statement about Victor’s actions and characterization. But, I believe that the main reason Victor suffers is because he runs away from his problems—and this case it’s the creature that he has created. Because he refuses to confront his problems and move past them, they fester inside of him and the anxiety and emotional drainage of it all causes him to feel psychologically and physically sick. I also agree with the idea that if he talked this out with his family that they could’ve led to a solution, but he doesn’t tell anyone because others will think he’s crazy. Basically, Victor’s is trying to save face and not own up to his responsibilities. All of this shows Victor’s cowardice.
Words: 125 words

Ada Lovelace

10/28/2016 04:10:22 am

Victor in chapter 5 as mentioned tends to have regrets about his creature and even falls sick because of his failure. In the beginning he thought he was very intelligent and fortunate from other kids of his age, and could even prove some predecessors wrong on their findings, which makes him not seek advice and guidelines, thinking he know it all. I believe that before making any form of decision, or in the process of doing anything in life, advice is the key for that particular task to be accomplished because people who give advices or help in directing the course most of the time have gone through the same process, or have experienced similar situations, therefore they can give any direction or advice in any way.

Jane Colden

10/28/2016 11:01:09 am

I feel that even though Victor’s family seems very supportive of him they would not agree with his bizarre experimentation. His fascination with science was supported by his father but when he went to college that fascination changed to an obsession that he felt he could not share with others. This shows in chapters 5-6 when Frankenstein doesn't even tell his friend why he is so sick when they used to be so close. Frankenstein is not suffering from what he chose to do, he’s suffering from his own shame. His shame comes from the realization that science has made his life more complicated and talking to his family would have just shamed him more. Word Count 115

Ethel Sargant

10/24/2016 09:37:02 pm

The consequences that we face when we don’t take responsibility for our actions is that other people can get hurt and leave us with a scene of guilt and sadness. When Victor doesn’t take responsibility for this monster and cannot control his situation, it leads to the deaths of two of his loved ones. After Justine got killed for being falsely accused of William’s murder, Victor states “Justine died; she rested; and I was alive. The blood flowed freely in my veins, but a weight of despair and remorse pressed on my heart, which nothing could remove (80).” This quote shows how guilty Victor is feeling for the death of Justine since he knew she was innocent from the start; victor knew that his creation was responsible for the death of his brother but he didn’t speak up. The monster is no longer only effecting his life but also the lives of his family and friends. As a consequence for his monster, Victor will have to live in constant guilt and I believe that will consume him more than any other of his mistakes. Victor states “I was seized by remorse and the sense of guilt, which hurried me away to a hell of intense tortures, such as no language can describe (80).” He believes that he is the true murder of his loved ones and cannot forget about it, at the end of the day he can only blame himself since he showed a lack of compassion for the monster and decided to run away from his problems. (word count: 259)

Hannah Longshoree

10/27/2016 07:36:55 pm

I agree with your response. I believe that this monster that Victor has created has led to the destruction of everything around him. It is ruining his family. The evidence you have chosen was very strong as well, it provides imagery of what Victor is feeling throughout this time of trouble. Since he is going to blame himself, it will lead to his own downfall. I would say Victor himself is a ‘tragic hero’. He uses his judgement and thinks he can play god by bringing something back to life with some lightning and some body parts. By doing this, he does create his own destiny and the monster symbolizes they wrong that he has just done. {117}

Jane Colden

10/28/2016 10:52:56 am

I agree with everything that you are saying but I’m going to play devil’s advocate and say that, maybe Victor is not really responsible for the actions of the monster. He shouldn’t have to take responsibility for the creature’s action because he made the creature to be his own man and the creature is able to make his own decisions. The monster has human like characteristics and has human emotions. When a human parent raises their child and lets them out into the world to do as they please we don’t blame the parents, we force the child to take responsibility for their actions.

Hannah Longshoree

10/24/2016 10:21:35 pm

In chapter 8, Justine is accused of murdering Victor and Elizabeth’s brother and their family. Justine felt trapped and she eventually did “own up to” the murder. As this all unfolds, Victor is struck by grief, “I was seized by remorse and the sense of guilt, which hurried me away to a hell of intense tortures, such as no language can describe” (Shelly 80). Justine is being convicted of a murder that she didn’t commit, but confessed into doing. He believes that this is all his fault that all of this is happening, he knows that the monster is responsible for all this. This ties in to the essential theme of not taking responsibility for your own actions. Victor refuses to take responsibility in the monster that he created. The monster that he created is a monster that is ruining everyone’s life. It is almost like he created a monster within himself as well. He doesn’t want anyone knowing of the destruction he is causing to his loved ones. Soon enough, this beast will eat him up inside causing him to hurt everyone around him. Victor is so caught up with his monster that he is totally blind to things around him. It is almost like karma for so called ‘playing god’. He is soon to be plagued with unfortunate events that will lead to his downfall.
{227}

Charlotte Knight

10/27/2016 09:04:59 pm

I find your ideas very interesting, and to add on to this I also think that Victor’s pride is holding him back. Throughout the entire trial Victor states multiple times that if he states that he believes the creature was the one who committed the murder then Justine could’ve been found innocent and would still be alive. But because Victor didn’t want others to think he was a madman or he was too caught up in the possibility that others would believe him Justine was found guilty and died. Victor’s pride is preventing him from taking responsibility of his actions and because of this it brings him misfortune after misfortune leading him to his ultimate downfall.
Words: 116 words

Mercy B Jackson

10/27/2016 10:44:13 pm

I agree with you Hannah when you said that the monster will only lead to bad things in Victor’s future and I think that this event is foreshadowing to more problems in the rest of the book. I also agree with Charlotte because I too think it is about his pride. He went against what everyone told him about his method of studying science and he didn’t listen. He created this monster so he could gain fame from it. So confessing would make him not only look terrible as a person but as a scientist because his first ever experiment ended in failure. wc 103

Josephine Yates

10/27/2016 09:56:55 pm

I very much agree that it's like he created a monster within himself as well. Before the monster was even alive, it was taking a heavy toll on Victor. After he succeeded in creating it, it only went downhill. To me, the monster is a reflection of Victor. He viewed it as an evil, disgusting, murderer. In the reality of it all though, I believe that Victor himself was actually the disgusting monster. He allowed death and despair to haunt his family just because he was afraid of taking responsibility. Instead of admitting to creating the monster and telling the information he knows about William's murder, he let innocent people be punished. His actions are all going to catch up to him eventually.
123 words

Ada Lovelace

10/25/2016 05:15:19 am

These chapters(5-10) reveal a lot about who Victor is, and helps understand various aspects of life through incidents that occurred in the chapters. Victor in chapter 6 abandons his studies in natural philosophy and tends to deny the fact that he was ever involved in studying natural philosophy. He begins to develop a form of hatred as he says "I wished to fly from reflection, and hated my former studies. I felt great relief in being the fellow-pupil of my friend. Here, he is seen to have neglected his creation, and moved on with a different path, which in the future has an effect on him that he might not be able to solve. From his scientific findings and creation of the creature, the question which asks: "How can scientific advancements and exploration be bad and good?" can be answered. Upon Victor finding out that his creature was the cause of Justine's death, he says "I should have looked upon it as the ravings of insanity" (Shelly,69). He begins to have regrets of even having the thought of creating it which in the beginning, he felt he was the most brilliant person on having the thought of creating a human. As an answer to the question above, although scientific advancements and exploration can be very good in cases where they are of help in daily activities, it can result in bad situations as well. In my opinion, I think as humans we have been given the knowledge by God to apply science in our life. However, there are limits to it, and although we may powerful because we think we have all the knowledge and brilliant ideas, we must always remember that there is a higher power(God) who is knowledgeable than every existing being. Back to one of the picture slides which shows kind of a pit with fire, it reminds me of how Lucifer was thrown down into hell for having the mindset of being powerful than his master because he was very close to him and thought as result had the same power as God did. In terms of Frankenstein, the same happens to Victor as he tries to make a perfect creature but is later 'punished' by his own creature who kills people who are dear to him.

Anna Atkins

10/27/2016 05:45:33 pm

I do agree with you that the creature’s reaction is victor’s punishment. Us as human are granted knowledge by a higher power that can limit how we use that knowledge. In these chapters victor accomplish his dream of animating a lifeless object. His creature comes to life and victor is frightening by him. The creature goes around hurting the people that victor’s cares about. Soon Victor comes to regret his decision. Him creating this creature is him taking the role of God. That role is not granted to us anyone. Whenever people try to play God it always comes with great consequences most often it is bad. With the advance of technology people playing God is something that happens on a daily bases.
word count:123

Mercy B Jackson

10/27/2016 10:36:26 pm

I agree with you because Victor’s whole situation is kind of ironic in the sense that he thought he was right and better than everyone with his studies but now he is struggling and hit with a very problematic situation that he doesn't know how to conquer. I feel like this is karma for crossing the line, because like you said there are limits in science and we shouldn't take the role of God. I feel like Victor should’ve thought about the consequences before he took on this big role as a creator. And I feel like when he created this monster he should’ve approached it differently instead of abandoning it, which made it worse. wc 115

Alice Eastwood

11/1/2016 05:59:02 pm

In chapters five through ten, Mary Shelley’s authorial intent was to make it clear that Dr. Frankenstein completely hates his creation/ his monster. She makes this evident through her strong, hateful diction when describing the creature. Shelley writes “...flash of lightning illuminated the object and discovered its shape plainly to me; its gigantic stature, and the deformity of its aspect, more hideous than belongs to humanity, instantly informed me that it was the wretch, the filthy demon to whom [he] had given life" (Shelley, 60). Clearly Frankenstein is disgusted with even the sight of such a “thing.” These chapter focus primarily on distinguishing that Frankenstein wants nothing to do with this monster that he has created. Though he does feel guilty for creating the monster that has murdered an innocent person, he has no remorse when it comes to saving his own skin. Frankenstein does not think once to tell anyone that he created the monster that killed the child. Essentially, Frankenstein was the cause of two innocent deaths.
Word Count: 171

Jane Colden

11/7/2016 04:17:38 pm

Chapter 5 begins with Victor finishing up his creation and finally seeing it come to life. Upon seeing the creature come to life Victor finds himself disgusted with the monster and runs away from it. Victor says "but now that I have finished the beauty of the dream vanished and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart. Unable to endure the aspect of the being I had created, I rushed out of the room, and continued a long time traversing my bedchamber, unable to compose my mind to sleep” (Shelley 47). Frankenstein finds himself ashamed of his work and he is rattled by the guilt of his creation. Instead of owning up to the creature he leaves it sitting on a cold surface feeling like an abandoned child. In this section we also find out that the monster killed Frankenstein's brother and set an innocent woman up for the murder. This section answers the question of "What consequences do we face when we don't take responsibility for our actions?". Victor never showed his creation to the world, therefore he never took responsibility for it. He allowed to monster to roam free because he was disgusted by it and never thought about what he was capable of. This leads to the monster wreaking havoc on Frankenstein by demanding things from him in exchange for sparing the lives of his loved ones.

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