Preamble:
Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus, written by Mary Shelley, proposes that knowledge and its effects can be dangerous to individuals and all of humanity. Frankenstein was one of our first and still is one of our best cautionary tales about scientific research. Shelley's novel is a metaphor of the problems technology is causing today. "Learn from me . . . 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," (Frankenstein, Vol. 1 Chapter 4).
This topic area was chosen because of the cultural significance Frankenstein has in today's modern world. It's relevance in today's world is quite oddly profound for humans now have the capability of gene screening and cloning. This essentially makes Darwin's theory of "natural selection" irrelevant for humans (in the future) could decide to "artificially select" the best characteristics and create an "Arian" race.
Steel engraving (993 x 71mm) for frontispiece to t...
Manuscript page from Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
English: Mary Shelley (née Mary Wollstonecraft Go...This essay will investigate to find out if Frankenstein is essentially a precursor of modern science fiction. This will be done in conjunction the film "Alien," by Ridley Scott and Microsoft Xbox's game, "Brute Force". These two texts were selected for the fact they fall under the genre of modern science fiction, and the significance of each is very similar to that of Frankenstein.
Ridley Scott's Alien, is significant to this study for the monster in Frankenstein and the alien from Alien have startling similarities. The story line of the film: on what should have been a trip back to Earth, the Nostromo, a mining freighter, is automatically re-routed to a desolate planet after receiving an SOS coming from it. After the crew is awakened, they investigate the source...