Responsibilty
Responsibility is an outcome of companionship and knowledge
How does Responsiblity correspond with the story of Frankensitein and real life humans in the twenty-first century
Frankenstein
Victor was a scientist who created a creature using different parts of once living things. He created this creature over a two year span. Once he saw the creature he was scared and dishoned the creature. He allowed him to wonder aimlessly, while knowing nothing about survival, allowing himself to be destructive and cause many deaths of victors loved ones.
Victor Frankenstein
"...But now that I have finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart." (56, Shelley) Victor is so disgusted of his creation he abandons it. He leaves the home he is staying at when he first sees his creature come to life. His creature in effect has know knowledge on how to live and socialize with people. People are scared of him and he is embarrassed and ashamed of what he looks like and is capable of.
The Creature
Once he was abandoned, he ventured off into the town with no knowledge on how to live or survive. People were scared of him for his appearance and cowardliness. "when I looked around I saw and heard of none like me. Was I, then, a monster, a blot upon the earth from which all men fled and whom all men disowned?"(115, Shelley) When he fled from the town he went into the woods to find a little boy named William with a locket containing the face of victor Frankenstein his creator. He was disgusted at the site and wanted revenge so he pursued by killing the boy and framing Williams aunt as the killer.
Learning Responsibility
The creature
As he was wondering he came across a cabin in the woods with a family occupying it. When they would leave the cabin for any reason the creature would go inside and steal their food. He did not realize it at the time but he soon acknowledged the fact that they were starving because of the lack of food due to him eating it. So when the ground became too cold for the family to farm, he would go out in the middle of the night and gather all of the crops and wood for the family. "I remember the first time that i did this , the young woman, when she opened the door in the morning, appeared greatly astonished..."(106, Shelley) At this moment he learns sympathy and he learns that other people have feelings and he can not live to only please himself. "...when they were unhappy, I felt depressed; when they rejoiced, I sympathized in their joys."(107, Shelley). He wanted to give back to this loving family that he has been watching over. He sleeps in the pig pen near the cabin. He is able to listen to the things being said inside. He overtime learns different sounds and words. Soon he is able to put words together to form sentences enabling him to finally be able to piece together the words in the journal Frankenstein had kept during his time creating him.
Victor Frankenstein
Once Victor has realized what he has done, he realizes how wrong it was. Not for only creating the creature but for abandoning him after he was created. He does not act upon it though. He does not admit to himself being the creator even after his family and other loved ones being killed. "My tale was not one to announce publicly; its astounding horror would be looked upon as madness by the vulgar."(77, Shelley) At this point he wants to talk to his creature and figure out what is going on he does not want to confront his town. The creature at this point has shown more responsibility than victor.
Relating to Real Life
There are two ways that this can be looked at. There is a creature unknowing of anything making himself capable of everything. And there is a man knowing of everything but incapable of everything. In real life at of times the people that you think would never be mature and able of responsibility are the ones that have everything put together and are able to lead a group. An example of this is in younger kids or teenagers when they are brought up not being taught right on how to behave and treat other people, sometimes these kids are the ones who work the hardest and can talk to people most sincerely, and maturely. They know what its like to not be cared for or to not have a stable life and they want better for themselves.. that is the best way to learn, from ones mistakes. Responsibility comes within, if you want to work hard and be determined then you will. In the story the creature came to life and was immediately left alone forced to venture on his own. As he does this he succeeds he learns to eat, talk ,read ,walk, and comprehend all in a short time. All of this takes a lot of discipline and determination, this shows his responsibility already. On the other hand victor is a smart and intelligent man. He created something he was determined to do. Then when he was faced with it he was scared and unable to face the challenges that came along with it, instead he let him loose allowing him to kill and destroy others. There is another way to view this as well, through compassion and knowledge one can succeed anything. When you are a baby and your mom holds you for the first time you two become a part of each other and your connection to each other begins. "We need the immaterial, spiritual requirements of relationships in order to live."(Five) When you first become knowledgeable either by watching other kids and people or when you begin going to school and church. With these two aspects is when you begin to become responsible and able of making decisions that benefit not only yourself but others. When Frankenstein's creature watched the family in the cabin he was able to have a sense of welcoming he felt warm and happy seeing others love one another. He learned compassion and how to view others while he watched them. He also was able to learn by listening to them talk and with this he was able t talk to be able to communicate his feelings. In this case responsibility comes from companionship and knowledge.
How can you take your abilities and use them for the better?
Citations
"Five Things Every Child Needs From Their Mom." CBN.com (beta). N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2015.