Summary of Peer Reviews of the Protagnonsts on Frankenstein Essay

Summary of Peer Reviews of the Protagnonsts on Frankenstein - Essay Example The thread depicts that these protagonists are similar, because they all covet something that is missing in their lives, but having what they want does not make them happy at all, and instead, they have lost everything in the end. The majority of the class agree that Victor and Frankenstein are similar in many ways, where the creator and created become one in motivations and consequences. Victor and Frankenstein are the same, because of their thirst for knowledge. Several students assert that Victor is hungry for knowledge, so he yearns to learn the ultimate knowledge, the ability to create life like a God. At the same time, Frankenstein shares the same need for additional knowledge. Like his master, however, the further he learns, the more he realizes how physically revolting he is and how little happiness and acceptance he can find in human society. The irony is that the more these protagonists acquire knowledge, the more miserable they become. Keri stresses the irony of both learn ing the highest kind of knowledge and still ending up being more miserable because of it: â€Å"At the apex of his learning, when he discovers the genesis of life, he becomes most miserable.† The same also happens to Frankenstein. ... Victor’s and Frankenstein’s self-loathing also leads to destructive paths that have destroyed them and the people around them. Victor and the monster are also comparable, because of their self-loathing for the consequences of their actions. Victor lives in agony, because he knows that his poor choices have caused tragedy for his family and himself. The monster also loathes himself and Victor, so he acts against his master’s family instead. Frankenstein’s loathing can be seen as a spillover of Victor’s loathing, and this vicious cycle harms Victor to a greater extent as the novel progresses. Darci makes an interesting point when she highlights the difference between Victor and Frankenstein’s self-loathing. For her, Victor brought his misery upon himself, while Frankenstein was a victim of his creator and other external circumstances. In the end, Victor is still the main person to be blamed for the tragedy in their lives. Several students react on Keri’s observation that Walton and Frankenstein are also similar, because they both need companionship due to their loneliness, and yet they do not find anyone who can truly be there for them as friends. Keri focuses on the similarity between Walton and Frankenstein, which other students have not pointed out, because the latter both need someone to love and they similarly look up to Victor to â€Å"end their loneliness.† Stephen and Raymond agree with Keri that loneliness is a primary similarity for Walton and the monster, while Randall and Taylor note the importance of looking not only at what characters look like, but also â€Å"what they want.† Their driving force for companionship