Omar Kallel

English 1A
Professor Ogbara
December 2, 2015

Revision Essay 3

Frankenstein, which is a famous novel written by Mary Shelley in the early nineteenth
century, has been one of the greatest fictions of all time. It has been studied and referred to years
after years, because of the issues presented that relate to our society. Among these issues, Mary
Shelley seems to be focusing on the theme of knowledge and ambition through Victor
Frankenstein. He becomes fascinated with natural philosophy and the idea of creating life out of
death. Human knowledge and great ambitions are dangerous in this novel, because they made
Victor isolate himself to accomplish his goal, and they proved to be major causes of his future
misery.
Exaggerated ambition and knowledge resulted in Victor Frankensteins isolation. In the
novel, Victor states, In a solitary chamber, or rather cell, at the top of the house, and separated
from all other apartments by a gallery and staircase (34). This looks more like being held in a
prison, rather than being isolated in a research lab, which makes Victor Frankenstein, totally
removed from social interaction. Besides, Victor mentions that he was fully engaged and devoted
to his work, and he focuses on the fact that he was totally isolated from human society. He had to
make sure that nobody would interfere with his daily work or would try to interrupt and
discourage him from fulfilling his greatest discovery. Victor also mentions, and the same

feeling which made me neglect the scenes around me caused me also to forget those friends who
were so many miles absent, and whom I havent seen for so long a time (34). This statement
informs us that by being fully engaged in his discovery and the accomplishment of his ambition,
Victor lost compassion and his sense of humanity that he had always shared with his closest
friends and family members. The only thing that mattered to him is the success of his mission.
The sacrifices he made by leaving everything behind except his undertaking made him refrain
from sympathizing with others around him, and he frequently felt desperate and ill.
Knowledge and ambition that exceed limits proved to be major causes of Victors misery.
There is a famous saying that knowledge is bliss, which means that the less we know, the
happier we are. Victor Frankenstein doesnt seem to believe in this saying. In fact, since he was
young, he had been fascinated by natural philosophy, and his biggest obsession was to discover
the secrets of life and death. However, after he sacrificed a great deal of time and put into lots of
efforts and determination, Victor Frankenstein completely rejects the creation of his life. In fact,
He asks in the novel, How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe, or how delineate the
wretch whom with such infinite pain and care I had endeavored to form? (35). According to his
statement, he seems very disgusted to having created such wretched monster, which has an ugly
appearance, and he decides to run away and leave the creature that he had been working on for
more than two years disoriented and without knowledge of life and how to adapt to it. This
knowledge resulted in the emergence of a supernatural and immortal creature, which exceeds the
knowledge of normal persons and goes far above the laws and limits of nature. There is a
statement that suggests, Knowledge is power. This power, if its seeker misuses it, may result
into a complete disaster, and negative outcomes would probably follow. This is what happened to
Victor, as he thought his creation would make him famous and respected from others, while, in

reality, he lost all persons that he cared about, including William, Justine, Henry Clerval,
Elisabeth, and his father.
Knowledge and ambition that exceeds the limit of human nature are dangerous, for they
led Victor Frankenstein to refrain from social interaction, and they happen to be the effect of his
destruction. Victors unrealistic obsession to creating a being made him lose his sensitiveness
and his sense of humanity, and he became ill and motivated by seeking revenge on the monster
that killed most of his family members. Knowledge and ambition are crucial elements to the
success of a person in his or her life. However, when those two things go above the limits of
Mother Nature, terrible and deadly catastrophes may result and endanger humans existence.