Supawit #2

Through various characters in the novel, Shelly shows that the ongoing desire for knowledge can be dangerously risky to one's well being. In the first section of the reading, this theme focused on Victor as he become more and more obsessed with the idea of bringing a human back to life. His  curiosity of life and death stemmed from the death of his mother earlier on in the novel. Victor's personal experience is the first example of the danger behind the constant desire for new information. After the monster runs off on his own, we see a similar need for knowledge; specifically for a more complex understanding of their surrounding world. This creates an interesting parallel from Dr. Frankenstein to his creation that shows how similar they truly are to each other. The monster acquires a growing understanding of language, which deepens his curiosity about human nature. We see this inquisitiveness when the monster observes the life of the peasant family. As his thoughts became more active, he "longed to discover the motives and feelings of these lovely creatures" (80). However, he realizes his apparent differences with other humans and Victor's disgust towards him. This activates the monster's desire to seek revenge on his creator by killing Victor's loved ones. Since Victor sees the same curiosity in Walton who strives to find the North Pole, this story warns him of thirst for knowledge and how impactful it can be on someones life.