Simon LiuEnglish 9Brown PD May 84, 2014FrankensteinDangerous KnowledgeToward the end of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the creature stands near Frankenstein's corpse and curses himself: "Polluted by crimes and torn by remorse the more bitter, where can I find rest except in death? Although he murders his creator's younger brother, best friend, and wife, the creature remains a sympathetic character, as his demise was caused by his rejection from society. In comparison to his creator, Victor is not much different. Both Victor and the creature are very innocent when they first appear in the novel, slowly developing into their prime, dangerous selves. As with "control" of a scientific experiment, it is important to establish the situation of Victor and the creature before their development. and change. In his childhood, Victor had “a sometimes violent character and [his] vehement passions” (23) for an eager desire to learn. He grew up with Elizabeth, where "harmony was the soul of [their] companionship" (22) and showed no signs of his violent character towards her. He is here quite innocent, before his corruption by knowledge and vengeance. In the creature's childhood, or in the first part of its life, it entertains no malicious thoughts. When the creature realized that by consuming part of the cottagers' food supply it was making them starve, he "refrained and made do with berries, nuts and roots which he gathered in a neighboring wood” (92). He also tried to help cottagers by "[bringing] home fire sufficient for several days' consumption" (92), thus bringing out his innate good nature. Victor and the creature develop in many similar ways. The first is the desire for knowledge through their ...... middle of paper ...... their actions" (91) after what had happened when he tried to associate with the previous villagers . However, even they “threw him to the ground and beat him violently with a stick” (115). The creature, unlike Victor, has no choice in isolating itself. His hideous outward appearance is what causes humans to keep him away from them. Victor and the creature are very similar but very different. They share a beginning and an end, an introduction and a conclusion. They are both ruined by the same factor: the thirst for knowledge. Both of these characters are brought to their downfall by knowledge: Victor by delving too deeply into the mysteries of nature and the creature by learning to cause pain and death to others. Victor and the creature engage in knowledge gathering, each for their own purposes, but the result is the same. Knowledge is dangerous.