Sunday, March 15, 2020

Theme of Loneliness in essays

Theme of Loneliness in essays The novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley tells a strange and tragic tale of a mere human creating life and the consequences of this act. Throughout this novel, we see Mary Shelley using Robert Walton, Victor Frankenstein, and the monster to introduce and emphasize a theme of loneliness and the effect it has on a person. It seems as if humans have a persistent need for social interaction, approval, and acceptance, and these three previously mentioned characters are no different. Throughout the novel, we see how solitude serves as the starting grounds of havoc, particularly in the case of the monster, whose loneliness seems perpetual. Frankenstein begins with a series of four letters written by Robert Walton to his sister. This is the initial appearance of our theme, as he is not writing to a friend or a lover but to his sister. This would bring about the question of whether or not he has anyone else to whom to write. As the letters proceed, we see that Walton indeed has no friend, and longs for one. He says, But I have one want which I have never yet been able to satisfy, and the absence of the object of which I now feel as a most sever evil. I have no friend... (17). Walton then continues to explain his need for a companion, stating that he wishes for a friend so that he could tell him or her about his dreams and ambitions. Perhaps if Walton had had a friend, he would have been warned of the obsession and blindness that often accompanies the pursuit of knowledge; Walton is putting himself in grave danger in his quest to explore the North. We find out that this would have inevitably occurred because Vi ctor, upon seeing the passion in Waltons eyes, warns him of the risks he may be taking and the peril that his passion may unveil. Victor exclaims, Unhappy man! Do you share my madness? Have you drunk also of the intoxicating draught? Hear me; let me reveal my tale, and you will dash the cup from you...