Essay Example on Evaluation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Introduction

Naomi Hetherington is a faculty associate at Sheffield University which is the Institute for lifetime learning. She is also known to be an early canvasser in the religious customs, literature in the 19th century, gender and sexuality. Moreover, she is concerned with the literature of children and strategies applied in the long 19th-century literature. She asserts that the end of19th century literature may be integrated into educating mature students in today's courses. Hetherington has participated in book inscribing books such as Rethinking the History of Feminism and Religion and Sexuality. The author is a plausible critic of all literary work which is confirmed by the fact that all the books she has written are in the area of literature.

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The 19th-Century Literature and its Relevance Today

Naomi's concentration in the 19th-century literature manifests in the critical analysis of Frankenstein which Shelley started writing in 1816 when she was nineteen years old. According to Naomi, several individuals perceive the fiction as that of an extremely hard worker who aspires to do things which in fact only God can do. She portrays Frankenstein as forces of the dark world that were released to fight God and Jesus Christ. While Christians deem that the character undergoes punishment because of overstepping his power, Naomi discloses that the writer aimed to show that the powers of man are shrewdly limited, and therefore, they only end in despair if they are to be prolonged (Hetherington 2).

Frankenstein's Aspiration to Rival God

I do agree with the thesis. Given that man has various limitations in his capacity, the story could be crucial in retelling the origin of evil because the majority of people suppose that creation was endorsed by man since man is a tangible thing seen on earth. Fundamentally, Frankenstein does not seem to recognize any heavenly creator, but he is grateful to his parents for giving birth to him. Christians believe that they are created in God's image. In the same way, Frankenstein makes the thing in his image and portrays s his vampire, his spirit set free from the grave and compelled to kill him(Britton 8). Frankenstein comprehends the movement of the creature just like God except he is either not capable or not willing to impede it from killing as it traverses the world. Even though man has constraints, his creative nature has resulted in the obliteration of tyranny. The creator and his creation do not seem to concur on several matters, but they keep blaming each other. Even after searching his past, Frankenstein does not spot anything to blame.

The Consequences of Man's Hubris

Naomi presents a strong case for her argument that misery would be a consequence of the extension of control accorded to man. The author has used text to prove her argument and the references used are compelling because they confirm her thesis in diverse ways. She discloses that possessions and authority do not automatically result in happiness giving an example of Frankenstein. He isolates himself from people because he tries to lengthen limits of nature by making a creature in his image. Expressly, similar to other narrations in this age, most of the over-researchers broke into misery after increasing their possessions and powers in their worlds (Hetherington 2). The references used by Naomi are compelling because they confirm her thesis in diverse ways.

Supporting Evidence from the Text

The critical analysis by Shanon Lawson is in support of the above ideas. Lawson declares that despite how much fiction is, it carries some ethical thoughts that could be used in daily activities. Lawson says that the author had the moral insight of human activities as that which would result in misery. Nevertheless, the reader is recommended to read the narrative from the source, apply ideal language and distinctive attention to draw meaning and comprehend every aspect that Frankenstein is trying to pass (Oppolzer 81).Additionally, Lawson stresses on the lifestyle and longing of Frankenstein, the primary protagonist who is trying to be God and create faultless persons. Victor takes pleasure in creation and is contented with the amalgamation of the ancient and modern knowledge. Nonetheless, this comes at the expense of his life, close friends and that of his beautiful wife (Oppolzer 84).

Conclusion

Lawson recognizes this misery originating from his act of trying to create a human being something that only God has the power over. His critique further emphasizes how the activities of human beings are just vanity. He perceives Victor's attempt as vanity because it only brings problems instead of holding positive influences. It as well portrays fear in the human power. Reading alluring principles of Frankenstein is terrifying. The giant connects death and life jointly in his reflections. At the end of it all, Frankenstein's knowledge kills him in that he thought he was knowledgeable enough to create an actual human being little did he know that was digging his grave. Frankenstein recognizes that life and death are superlative bounds which he is obliged to break through for purposes of achieving his dreams. However, this high acquired knowledge results in many deaths including his.

Works Cited

Britton, R. "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: what made the Monster monstrous?" Journal of Analytical Psychology, vol. 60, no. 1, 2015, pp. 1-11, doi:10.1111/1468-5922.12126.

Hetherington, N. "Caffyn, Kathleen Mannington." The Encyclopedia of Victorian Literature, 2015, pp. 1-3, doi:10.1002/9781118405376.wbevl047.

Oppolzer, M. "Gothic Science: The Failure of Education in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein." Wissen in der Fantastik, 2017, pp. 79-94, doi:10.1007/978-3-658-17790-4_7.