We all know what a hero is, right? A hero is a figure who represents a unique quality that makes him special. An example being Superman, Superman has the ability to fly and in doing so he saves lives which makes him grow as a hero. Tragic heroes are similar in that they both carry a special quality trait, but are different in that a tragic hero's special power leads to their destruction and downfall. Victor Frankenstein is the tragic hero of Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein because regardless of his good intentions, his thirst for knowledge leads to his destruction due to a single cause and primary key factors that result in heartbreaking results. The single and most influential cause. One of the causes of Victor's dramatic downfall is his insane thirst for knowledge. Victor wanted to “become capable of giving animation to lifeless matter” (Shelley 38) and would not stop until he realized his dream. The world was invisible to Victor because nothing else mattered until his creation was in motion. Victor's dream suddenly turns into a nightmare when his creation is depicted as a monster and "no mortal could bear the horror of that face" (44). Victor's first mistake that leads to his downfall is abandoning the creature without first taking responsibility for the being he had created, which is evident in many factors of destruction. There are many key factors that contribute to the destruction of Victor's life as well as those around him. him. Victor devotes his life to creating a being without thinking about what his creation could bring to those he loves. After the monster awakens from his death, Victor is "unable to bear the aspect of the being he created, he rushed out middle of paper... l, Victor's great need " for the knowledge and his rage towards the monster led to the death of everything he loved, of the being to whom he devoted his life and of himself. Victor is considered the true tragic hero because his intentions for creating the monster were not harmful but his need for revenge and his lack of knowledge led to his downfall. The monster could also be seen as a tragic hero in that the monster did not wish to transform into such a beast, but his resentment towards society caused him to transform. evil, he just wanted to be accepted. Mary Shelley's lesson from her readings is that too much ambition can lead to your destruction, and she represents this threw Victor in that no scientific discovery is worth sacrificing your life and the lives of others. Works Cited Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein: A Critical Edition by Norton. J. Paul Hunter New York: WW Norton., 1996