Can you proofread this? ik it is long but i need another opinion.
in the novel frankenstein by mary shelley, victor frankenstein gains knowledge of life and death and creates a wretched monster that terrorizes him for the remainder of his life, killing many of frankenstein’s family and friends and begging victor to make him a companion. frankenstein attributes his demise to his relentless search for knowledge. while knowledge might always seem an illuminating tool for advancement, mary shelley shows how it can also serve as a destructive force that can lead to downfall, and sometimes both simultaneously. knowledge illuminates the monster’s life and leads him to success, destroys the life of frankenstein, and saves walton from traveling down a similar path. however, knowledge will always be illuminating as you might expect in one way or another as shown in the monster’s experience.
knowledge lights the path for the monster’s success in life. upon the monster’s initial awakening, it has no knowledge; it does not understand the world yet. knowledge comes to him in many forms and sensations. the monster quickly realizes that the world can be a cold, harsh place. his savior from the cold comes in the form of a fire that is both literally and figuratively illuminating to him. when night came, he ”found with pleasure that the fire gave light as well as heat” (shelley 86). the knowledge and understanding of fire bring the monster warmth and light. his knowledge him advance in life and better understand the world around him. the monster processes the world and solves problems at an alarming rate, and all of the knowledge that he gains during the early stages of his life him. when he first encounters the fire, he reaches in to touch the embers, and due to his lack of knowledge, he burns his hand and cries in pain. if he did not realize that the fire was good for him, he likely would have frozen to death and the knowledge that he gains prevented this. while the monster’s experience with knowledge is illuminating, frankenstein has the other side of the story.
frankenstein explores the boundaries between life and death, and what he learns leads to his demise. his obsession for knowledge and scientific advancement fuel his success and he became esteemed and admired; he wishes to explore and understand what no man had before. frankenstein eventually focuses all of his energy into discovering what separates the worlds of life and death and eventually reflects on this, stating, “life and death appeared to me ideal bounds which i should break through, and pour a torrent of light into our dark life” (38). after learning the secret, frankenstein constructs a monster. on its awakening, frankenstein fills with fear. the monster eventually becomes angry with his creator and destroys frankenstein’s family and friends. frankenstein chases after the monster and eventually dies because of it. the knowledge that frankenstein gains led to sadness and death. while knowledge destroys frankenstein’s life, the same knowledge saves walton from traveling down a similar path.
frankenstein is written in frame story formation, meaning one story takes place inside of another. the story opens with letters from an adventurous explorer named robert walton, a ship captain leading a challenging expedition to the north pole. walton finds frankenstein in the ocean and frankenstein shares his story. frankenstein sees a lot of himself in walton and does not want walton to follow the same path as himself, saying “learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge, and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow” (80). when walton’s crew confronts him about turning around and heading back to england, he remembers what frankenstein has told him. he is moved by frankenstein's words to turn away from the dangers of his trip to the north and admit defeat. while it destroys frankenstein to understand what the pursuit of knowledge can do, this same knowledge simultaneously stops walton from traveling down a similar path. transition
in conclusion, mary shelley shows us throughout frankenstein how knowledge can serve as an illuminating tool for advancement, a destructive force that leads to downfall, and as both at the same time. knowledge brings the monster warmth and understanding of fire. knowledge brings frankenstein a world of suffering and death. knowledge saves walton while frankenstein suffered. conclusion sentence