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English 1302 19 February 2004 Response Paper # 2 Danger Of Knowledge Through the theme of dangerous knowledge Mary Shelly is conveying a message, with the characters of Walton and Victor. The desire to make history. An attempt to go beyond accepted human limits and to access the secrets of life. Both Victor and Walton possess an insatiable thirst for privileged knowledge the things that are unknown to the common man. Walton states I preferred glory to every enticement that wealth placed in my path (Shelly 8). At the risk to everyone near to him Walton sought glory in his attempt to surpass previous human explorations by endeavoring to reach the North Pole, only to find himself perilously trapped between sheets of ice.
Victor states It was the secrets of heaven and earth that I desired to learn; and whether it was the outward substance of things, or the inner spirit of nature and the mysterious soul of man that occupied me, still my inquires were directed to the metaphysical, or, in its highest sense, the physical secrets of the world (Shelly 38). Devoting his life to the creation of life, which eventually results in the destruction of everyone dear to him. Though they both explore entirely different realms, Walton and Victor are both bound by a common cause. Each longs to further the knowledge of mankind and to glorify his own name.
Walton seeks knowledge of the secrets of the natural earth, in the company of a crew of men on the same mission. Just as Victor seeks knowledge of the secrets of a metaphysical nature, the principle of life. Though Victor starts his quest for knowledge at the university of Ingolstate it is in the secrecy of his apartment that he brings his creation to life. It is only under the cloak of darkness that this can take place. Whereas Walton assumes that his crew has the same passion as he does; he believes that they would willingly sacrifice their lives for the cause.
They both go beyond accepted human limits to achieve what they want for themselves. Having an insatiable thirst for, I; would say God like knowledge the things that are unknown to the common man. Victor goes from being an innocent boy fascinated by the mysteries of life, to a guilt ridden man that has taken on the burden of creating a life that he is unable to mentally or emotionally handle. By creating a life he has given up his own humanness. Walton on the other hand in his search for knowledge has I believed found his humanness he has gone from his insatiable search for the North Pole at all cost to the life of his men, to terminate his course and return home unlike Victor he is not obsessive enough to risk death or courageous enough to allow his passion to drive him.
Enforcing that the thirst for knowledge and the desire to 'Play God can be destructive. Works Cited Shelly, Mary. Frankenstine Modern Library. 3 rd ed. n revised and corrected by the author and published by Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley. London. 1831
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