During your study of the works in this class, you will be examining the theme of responsibility and how characters demonstrate responsibility (or irresponsibility) toward their fellow humans, society, or themselves.
This blog will be the place where you will keep track of and share your thoughts on responsibility for each major unit.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Frankenstein - Responsibility reflections
What is the difference between personal responsibility and responsibility for the common good, and is Victor Frankenstein able to balance the two?
Responsibility means being accountable for, or in control of something or someone. Personal responsibility includes the above, but is more heavily focused on the aspects of a person's life, and what is important to them specifically. On the other hand, responsibility for the common good, is a broadened point of view regarding those not necessarily involved in the situation. In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein fails to fulfill both his personal, and general responsibilities after creating his monster. Like a father abandoning his child, Frankenstein left his helpless monster with no direction or guidance. By deserting his monster, Victor failed to complete his duties as a creator. His obligations in regards to raising this monster include caring for, and teaching it the proper ways of society. By neglecting these crucial lessons, Victor has turned his creation into the "monster" it is referred to as. Had Frankenstein cared for his creature like a father figure, and fulfilled his responsibilities given the situation, he would have been in turn protecting the greater good. The monster, left alone, is now able to personally comprehend and reflect on the horrors the uncensored world presents him. This perhaps altered his innocent mind to a demented state that caused him to strangle William, Victor's younger brother. Furthermore, by releasing this untrained beast upon society, Victor has failed to balance the two important aspects of responsibility.
The personal responsibility and the responsibility for the common good are two very different things. A personal responsibility is something that you owe to yourself, rather than the whole human race. A responsibility for the common good is a type of responsibility that puts aside all of your own priorities in an attempt to better the state of human nature and make society a better place in which to exist Therefore, these two responsibilities are very different. However, there are cases when they can overlap. In the story, Victor's personal responsibility was initially synonymous with the responsibility of human race. This is because he sought to do something to better the state of mankind. Victor sought to study the sciences and ultimately engineer a being that could withstand disease, and therefore help man to live longer. However, while he thought that it was his responsibility, or calling, to help mankind, his focus soon shifted to engineering an entire race that would hail him as their leader. He soon becomes so consumed by this newly found personal responsibility as a creator, that he looses sight of the common good of society. When he creates the monster, he is ultimately endangering the same people that he initially sought to aid. To make matters worse, Victor abandons his own personal responsibility in addition to the good of society. Leaving the monster to roam about on its own, he can be ultimately attributed to the deaths and harm that befall others. Therefore, I feel that Victor Frankenstein failed to maintain his own personal responsibility and his responsibility to society and mankind's common good. In addition, while there was initially a great balance between the two as they were synonymous, the two soon fell apart, endangering society and Victor himself.
Personal responsibility is holding yourself accountable for your actions and doing things with thought for the consequences, but responsibility for the common good involves considering what is best for all of society and setting aside what might satisfy your own personal whims. Victor Frankenstein is slightly delusional, and this prevents him from being able to effectively balance these two types of responsibility. He does not hold himself accountable for the actions of the monster whom he created -- he also does not hold himself responsible as he should for letting the monster loose into the world. In addition, he does not take responsibility for the common good by admitting the truth about William's murderer -- he enables the execution of Justine and the death of multiple others in the future. I think Frankenstein does not employ either form of responsibility as he should.
Personal responsibility and responsibility for the common good are two completely different concepts. Personal responsibility is a person’s duty to oneself and the actions one must take in order to keep oneself content. Responsibility for the common good includes each person’s civic duty to the rest of the world; one must be mature and make proper decisions in order to maintain peace. Victor Frankenstein has to essentially choose between these types of responsibility when the monster commands him to create a female partner. If Victor creates the monster then he would not protect the common good, because these two creatures could have intercourse and start an entirely new and dangerous race! On the other hand, if Victor does not create the monster then the monster would always be in Europe, always near him somehow. This would not be personally responsible, because Frankenstein knows that this will clearly upset him and cause him to act even more rashly in the future. It is obvious that Victor cannot balance personal responsibility and responsibility for the common good in this case, because he chooses to create the monster. This is obviously a risky a choice that could affect the entire world, but he has personal responsibility. Though this appears to be an extremely selfish act, it has one redeeming quality; this will make the monster very pleased. Therefore, Frankenstein also takes responsibility for his creature, which could possibly help (if the monster stands by his word, decides to flee Europe, and never shows his face to mankind) the common good. Overall, Frankenstein is originally not a very responsible character. As the story progresses, he learns to take responsibility for himself and the monster, though risking his responsibility for the rest of mankind.
Responsibility is defined as the state or fact of having the duty to deal with something. However, to be more specific, there are two main divisions of responsibility: personal responsibility and responsibility of the common good. Personal responsibility, is not only the duty of taking care of oneself, but taking care of all who he or she is responsible for, be it an assignment or a family member. In contrast, responsibility of the common good, is the obligation to think about one's own actions and how they affect others. Not just the ones that are around everyday, but those who are unknown. One, as a human being of reason, must think about the larger effects and consequences that all of humanity are subject to as a result o a decision. These traits are what make the difference between responsibility to oneself and all others.
Victor Frankenstein is the perfect example of neglecting one's responsibility. Victor begins this cycle by neglecting his responsibility towards man kind, by his creation of the monster. In this creation, Victor does not think about the repercussions of creating the monster. He is simply consumed in himself an in the glory. He failed to predict, or to even ponder, the evil that the monster brought upon mankind, such as the deaths of: Elizabeth, Henry, and William. By creating the monster, without even so much as stopping to think about the repercussions, Frankenstein neglected his responsibilities toward mankind.
To make matters worse, Victor again neglect his personal responsibility, which is caring for his creation. As soon as the monster is created and he sees its hideous appearance, he disregards the fact that he created it and therefore must care for it. The monster itself reminds Victor of this, when it demands of him to fulfill his duties as a creator. In summation, Victor Frankenstein does not do a good job of balancing personal responsibility and responsibility for the common good of mankind, in fact he neglects both.
In a utopian society, Personal responsibility and responsibility for the common good would be one in the same. Unfortunately, our biology requires that we oftentimes must place ourselves before our contemporaries. Personal responsibility pertains to each human’s respect for his or her ambitions and fears. On the other hand, responsibility for the common good relates to the universal success of our species. Time and time again, humans have underestimated the impact of their individual actions on others. In this respect, one could argue that no human can completely balance themselves between individual responsibility and responsibility for the common good, including Victor Frankenstein. It is inevitable that the majority of the human race will strive to realize personal responsibilities before those of the common good – our survival depends on it. For Victor in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, destroying his creation is as much of a personal responsibility as it a responsibility for the common good. The monster represents the failure of Victor’s life ambitions in Science and eventually his guilt. Frankenstein certainly displays a preference for his self-responsibility as he creates the monster without considering the potential consequences, but by the time he determines to chase the monster to the ends of the earth, he has achieved relative stability between the two aforementioned responsibilities. His sanity depends on him to chase after his guilt and failure and his conscience demands that he eliminate the creature before he causes more atrocities against the human race. Unfortunately, this stability comes too late to save the lives of Victor’s family members.
Personal responsibility and responsibility for the common good are quite similar. They both require doing the moral, right choice, but responsibility for the common good is for everyone while personal responsibility is doing what is right for one's conscience. However, doing what is right may require sacrifices from one or multiple individuals. In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Victor's personal responsibility and his responsibility for the common good are the same. Because of his actions, the monster vowed revenge on mankind and it is on Victor's hands to stop the monster. The monster had shown love and compassion, but Victor and humans had returned it with cruelty and punishment. Vowing revenge, it became Victor's sole responsibility for his conscience and the people around him to make it right. The deaths of his loved ones are entirely his fault and it becomes his goal in life to stop the monster. This goal is his personal responsibility, but it is also his responsibility for the common good because otherwise, the monster will keep taking revenge on humans. However, it also becomes the monster's sole goal to take revenge on Victor, and once Victor dies, the monster kills himself. This shows that stopping the monster is more a personal responsibility because the monster only really wanted to seek vengeance on Victor and not on the entire human race. Had Victor not abandoned the monster and left him to die, he would have never experienced all his losses. In a sense, all of Victor's grief is self-induced and could have been avoided. Victor feels this guilt and knows that it his responsibility to stop the monster from causing more harm. Victor fails to do so because the monster offers a peaceful compromise, but his anger blinds him. His relationship with the monster is a cycle because he mistreats the monster so the monster causes harm, which causes Victor to want vengeance. Once Victor dies, the monster has nothing else to live for.
Responsibility, a major theme in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, appears in two forms throughout the book: personal responsibility and responsibility for the common good. Personal responsibility is an individual's personal obligation to themselves. It is a person's accountability for his or her personal actions and mistakes. Responsibility for the greater good is when an individual stops worrying about how their actions will only affect them and starts worrying about how their actions will affect the rest of the world. Responsibility for the greater good is taking measures to ensure that one's actions will affect everyone else positively. Victor Frankenstein demonstrates attempted responsibility for the greater good, but never quite brings himself to account for his actions . Although victor studies science with the idea that his discoveries might benefit the greater good, Victor creates the Monster for personal satisfaction and glory. Victor does not stop and think of the repercussions that his creation would bring upon the human race. After the monster is created, Victor abandons the monster in an act of pure selfishness and irresponsibility. The escape of the Monster does nothing to benefit the greater good. In fact it eventually leads to multiple human deaths. Victor's abandonment of the Monster is a selfish act that Victor commits, in belief that abandoning the Monster would erase his mistakes. If Victor wanted to take responsibility for his actions, then he would abandon the monster and let it roam free where it could harm other innocent people. Victor also is unable to take responsibility for the deaths that the Monster causes. In fact, Victor would not own up to the fact that the Monster killed William. Instead, William divulged his personal responsibility and allowed Justine to take the blame for him. Overall, Victor's decisions are about what will benefit himself rather than what will benefit the greater good.
The difference between personal responsibility and responsibility for the common good is that personal responsibility is one doing what one must in order to survive. However, being completely personally responsible means that one is looking out for the best interests of themselves without harming the interests of the common good. While the two are definitely connected, they are not codependent. A person who is ultimately universally responsible would know how to balance the two equally. The other two ends of the spectrum are complete selflessness and complete selfishness. One who is caught up in the moment and is not able to think outside of their own personal bubble might believe that personal responsibility and responsibility for the common good are one in the same. This belief is formed from the trait of being self-absorbed. When a person is unable to think from another person's perspective, then he or she is also unable to distinguish between doing something for their own sake or for the sake of the world. He or she has no ability to distinguish between his or herself and the world. Victor Frankenstein, of Mary Shelly's "Frankenstein" is that very self-absorbed being. He does not possess the ability to think of the affects of his own actions on people other than himself. The ultimate example of this lack of ability can be seen in his reaction to the monster's threat "I will be with you on your wedding night" (Shelley 116). While as the reader, I found the monster's intentions quite obvious. As the self absorbed, one-track minded person that Victor is, he translates the threat as a death threat to himself.
Personal responsibility and responsibility for the common good are quite similar, but at the same time one stands in the way of the other. A personal responsibility is something you owe to yourself and those near to you. To be responsible for the common good is to look out for all of humankind, and to try to do what is best for them as a whole. In order to keep our personal responsibilities, we often have to overlook the common good, and very often looking out for the common good causes us to break our personal responsibilities. Victor Frankenstein encounters both problems, and does not balance them efficiently. At first, Victor ignores his personal relationships and estranges himself from his family to create a being which he hopes will one day benefit mankind. He does this out of ambition, but also because he hopes to impact the common good. Because he has created a life, he then is responsible for it just as a parent is responsible for their child. He fails as a parent, and abandons his creation, abdicating all responsibility. When the monster asks him to create an Eve, Victor first thinks making her will keep him and his family safe, and finally fulfill his obligation to his creation. He then considers the downsides, and the affects it might have on humankind. He doesn't want to create a race of demons, or have the creatures hate each other and return to murdering rampages. In destroying the new creature, he breaks his promise to the monster and lets down his family, as the monster comes to kill Elizabeth soon after. He may have helped mankind, but he let them down in the first place by creating the monster and abandoning it.
Personal responsibility refers to what you owe to yourself, while responsibility for the common good what you owe to all of humanity. However, personal responsibility and responsibility for the common good are not opposed, and one cannot be truly personally responsible without also possessing a sense of what is the general good for all. While doing something that is good for oneself at the expense of the general good may give benefits in the short-term, in the long-term doing something that negatively impacts everyone will hurt that person as well.
Personal responsibility is something that you owe to yourself; it's on an individual and much smaller scale than responsibility for the common good. Subsequently, responsibility for the common good is conducting oneself in a way that benefits the common good, even if it means to sacrifice one's personal responsibility. Incidentally, I agree with Alex's point, that "in a utopian society", an individual's personal responsibility would be the same as the responsibility for the common good. This is because each individual would owe it to themselves to help each other out, and every action that an individual undertook (in a perfect society) would aid the rest of society. Clearly, there is no society as perfect as this, therefore people must balance personal responsibilities with the larger responsibility of the common good. In Frankenstein, Victor does not balance these two ideas, and thus, faces the ramifications. When Victor created the monster, he felt as if he was being responsible towards the common good by bringing scientific progress, however, when the monster actually awakened, Victor did not realize that he had a personal responsibility to look after the monster. In doing so, Victor ignored his personal responsibility, and then ultimately ignored the common responsibility by enraging the monster. Another example, is when Victor decided not to create a bride for the monster. His idea, was that if he created another monster, he would be harming the common good, thus, Victor was being responsible towards the common good. However, he ignored his personal responsibility; both to care for the monster (by pleasing it), and he broke a personal promise to the monster (to create a bride). In the end, Victor cursed himself by becoming so entangled in his responsibilities. Conclusively, an individual should try as hard as possible not to mix up their personal responsibilities with their other responsibilities towards society, otherwise they will harm themselves or society, but definitely one of the two.
Personal responsibility is the responsibility of a person to, A, meet all basic needs necessary for the survival of that person, B, work towards the betterment of the life and things associated with the life of that same person, and C, aim for objectives and goals that could or might make the previously mentioned person happy. Not all of these might be attempted or accomplished at the same time, place, or with the same degree of success, and not all of these activities are strictly self-beneficial. The betterment of one's life or reaching towards happiness may very well include adopting a child, doing community service, helping your friends do well on a test. Responsibility for the Common Good is the responsibility of a person to ensure the continuation of his or her people and that is often extended to include the preservation the central ways and unique parts of that society’s way of life. One of these is the responsibility for the many, the other for the few. Frankenstein attempts to balance these responsibilities, but fails very badly: not only does he hinder his friends’ and family’s happiness while he locks himself away in college, he did not uphold his responsibility to either his family and friends or the greater human community when he selfishly goes on to create his wretch. However good his intentions might be, the best endeavor can go sour without proper planning and forethought, and the road to hell is paved with good intentions. He was selfish in his initial dismissal of the monster, after it was first created, which could arguably be a lack of responsibility towards one’s self through how he was irresponsible to the wretch; one should always treat others with proper respect and pleasantness, if only so they are less likely to stab you in the back later. Approaching the monster he had created with this attitude might have solved a lot of problems for Frankenstein. The only times he showed something approaching a balance were when he debated about making the monster a wife, and the consequences to himself verses the consequences to the human race, and when he chose to chase after the wretch, combining his personal need for revenge and the need to prevent what he might do to other innocents should Frankenstein let him go free.
Responsibility for the common good, or one's duty to the greater world, differs from personal responsibility, which comes in two parts. The first part of personal responsibility is reaching one's highest potential (as an obligation to oneself), and the second is understanding the consequences of one's actions and being liable for those actions. Responsibility for the common good requires sacrificing personal needs and desires to benefit others. In "Frankenstein," Victor strives for excellence in school. He is capable of rising to the top and works hard, fulfilling the obligation to himself to reach his intellectual potential. However, he shows a lack of personal responsibility when he abandons the monster. He denies the liability of being its creator. Another instance of when he shows a lack of personal responsibility is when he allows Justine to suffer her unjustified death. This time he knows it is his fault, but does nothing to prevent the death. Concerning the common good, he makes a grave error in creating the monster in the first place. However, he later makes a decision that sacrifices his whole happiness by not creating the female monster. All his loved ones are murdered, but he helps stops another monster from terrorizing mankind. In the end, his mission to kill the monster shows him taking both personal responsibility and the responsibility he owes to the common good. All in all, he initially is blind to both his personal responsibility and his responsibility for the common good, but later, after he painfully realizes the consequences of his actions, he decides to be accountable for them. It was only after he sees the consequences of his actions, such as the death of William and Justine that he decides to take responsibility for the common good, realizing his obligation to take charge of his creation and for future choices, such as creating a female monster. Throughout the story, Victor does not balance the two kinds of responsibility, but rather seems to learn about them along the way.
Personal responsibility is the responsibility someone has to them self. They are responsible for their own health and well-being. Yet responsibility for the common good is different because it may force one to change and, instead, focus on the health and condition of others. One's responsibility to the common good is to be aware of any action they may commit, which could affect others, even if it is for their own sake. Victor Frankenstein is not able to balance the responsibility he has to himself and to others. Throughout the story, Frankenstein has only thought about the safety of himself. Although he cares about others, he cannot seem to put other's safety before his own safety. He constantly believes that the monster is after him and him only and yet his friends are being murder left and right, every moment!!!
To have personal responsibility means to be responsible for one's actions and well being. Having Responsibility for the common good is when someone is responsible for the well being of all people. In the novel Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein generally lacks both personal responsibility and responsibility for the common good. Victor Frankenstein lacks personal responsibility because he does not accept and fix his bad actions. For example by Victor creating the monster he is indirectly responsible for William's death and yet he does not accept this fact. Instead he lets Justine die. Additionally, throughout the book, Victor lacks personal responsibility because he does nothing to stop the monster and fix his error in judgment. Even more than personal responsibility, Victor lacks responsibility for the common good. Victor shows his lack of this when he creates the monster. If Victor has responsibility for the common good, he would never create the monster because he would be aware of the possible detrimental outcomes.There are glimmering moments when he does think about the common good but generally he does not. In a sense the entire novel centers around Victor's lack of responsibility because if he is responsible the monster would not have been created or not have done as much damage. Due to the fact that Victor posses little personal responsibility and responsibility for the common good,he does balance them just not in positive way.
Personal responsibility and responsibility for the universal wellbeing are completely different concepts which drive people's life. Personal responsibility is a person's obligation to them self and the steps they must take in their life to remain content. Responsibility for the universal wellbeing alludes to the task a person must complete for the majority to keep peace and happiness in the world. In "Frankenstein", Victor had to acquire the skill of determining which one of these is more valuable to him and which one he must fulfill throughout the book. For example, when the monster asked him to create a female, Victor was put in a tough situation of choosing his happiness against the world's. If he created another monster, his family, his peace and his happiness would be fulfilled, leading him to choose personal responsibility; however, in this case, Victor chooses to fulfill the responsibility towards the world by protecting them from another wretched creation of his for his selfish purposes. Therefore, this was the righteous and selfless decision of his to choose not to create it in the benefit of the people, for he sacrificed his own wellbeing. Throughout Frankenstein, Victor is able to somewhat manage his personal responsibility by fulfilling his selfish wants and desires for knowledge;however, he does learn about the more important part, responsibility and sacrifice for the others until the end of his journey.
There is a profound difference between personal responsibility and responsibility for the common good. Personal responsibility entails a thoughtful accountability for one’s actions, regardless of the situation or presence of others. Furthermore, personal responsibility ranges from an individual’s moral code to the pursuit of one’s full potential. Meanwhile, responsibility for the common good is striving to improve the quality of life for others in the present in addition to future generations. However, both forms of responsibility involve a degree of compassion and virtue. The concept of responsibility plays an important role in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Victor Frankenstein struggles to exhibit responsibility. Although he values responsibility for the common good, he fails to demonstrate this ideal because of several mistakes that essentially lead to his downfall. Nevertheless, Frankenstein successfully manifests a level of personal responsibility in spite of these mistakes. For example, although death is portrayed as an appealing escape from suffering in Frankenstein, Victor sacrifices his happiness for his family’s safety. Although Frankenstein eventually fails to protect his family and friends from the monster, he does everything in his power to make up for a mistake prompted by curiosity and human nature.
Personal responsibility and responsibility for the common good can be intertwined. Personal responsibility is one's obligation to keep themselves personally and emotionally healthy. This can stretch from eating correctly to making morally outstanding decisions. Responsibility for the common good is an individuals obligation to do what is in their power t make the world a better place. In the beginning of his research Victor was thinking of using his knowledge for medical research, to help the ones around him. Once the creature was created is was both Victor's personal and common good responsibility to take it upon himself to teach a creature he brought into the world. If Victor had taken responsibility for his creature he would have been able to avoid the tragedy that became his life, and the life of his friends and family. As one reads farther into the novel the decision gets more complicated. If Victor had made the creature a female partner, and rid the world of him, it may be better for the common good. However, Victor's consciousness was not able to handle the thought of bringing another demon into the world. In this case it is hard to balance both responsibilities.
Personal responsibility is every individual's obligation to keep themselves both emotionally and psychically healthy. Whereas responsibility for the common good is everything in one individual's power to create a better world, like throwing out your trash in a garbage can instead of on the ground. In the beginning of the book, Victor feels as though he has responsibility to the common good by creating a new species and by learning the line between life and death, he is helping people around him. But once the monster is created, he loses any sense of responsibility that he possessed because he abandons the monster in at a crucial time. The monster has no authoritative figure in his life and because of this becomes more and more hateful of the environment around him, thus acting out with violence. If Victor had taken responsibility for his monster and even his emotional health he would have been able to avoid a lot of the tragedy that came upon his life. The monster even is willingly to make a compromise, but Victor rudely rejects by ripping apart her body. He couldn't possible be accounted for one more horrible creature in the world.
Personal responsibility entails of one’s integrity and self preservation, while responsibility for the common good is an individual’s efforts to help the people around them and improve the world. Victor Frankenstein is unable to balance the two because his interests relate only to himself. While Victor recognizes that his creation would be an advancement in science, it is his potential importance and fame that inspire him to create, “I was surprised that among so many men of genius, who had directed their inquiries towards the same science, that I alone should be reserved to discover so astonishing a secret” (30). Victor cares more for his own achievements, than his contributions to society.
Victor’s decision to abandon the monster after he completed its creation also shows his lack of responsibility for the common good. Victor is so concerned with his self preservation, that he does not consider the potential danger of his untended monster harming other people. Later in the novel, the monster admits that he is “malicious because [he is] miserable” (98). Rather than undertaking his responsibility as the creator to cure the monster’s desolation, and thus cease his violence, Victor remains inactive and does nothing.
Victor shows his lack of personal responsibility by not taking the blame for the death of his family members; Victor stands idly by while innocent Justine suffers the punishment of his mistakes. Victor is too concerned with his own reputation to confess and receive the punishment he deserves. Victor’s dishonesty and passiveness show his lack of integrity in fixing his own mistakes.
Personal responsibility is one’s responsibility to or for themself, while responsibility for the common good is one’s responsibility to others, typically the masses. Frankenstein fails to balance both of these responsibilities. Frankenstein fails at being personally responsible because he has a disregard for his own health. While creating his creation, Frankenstein ignores his emotions, works past his physical capabilities and, as a result, becomes to develop a fever and feel ill every night. It is Frankenstein’s work that turns his “most excellent health” into such pain (Shelley 33). Likewise, as soon as Frankenstein’s energy for his work dies down, he feels the pain of his labor all the more keenly and develops an almost chronic metal disease. Frankenstein also is not personally responsible because he doesn’t recognize a majority of what he does as wrong, and thus does not try to redeem himself. On his death bed, Frankenstein tells Walton that he does not find his actions “blameable”, and feels “justified” in seeking the death of his creation (Shelley 151). Frankenstein also doesn’t act positively on his actions he does recognize as wrong. This one act Frankenstein blames everything on as his one foul deed was creating that specific creation. However, when Justine is convicted, Frankenstein isn’t willing to risk his own life to set things right. He is only willing to risk his life in announcing his deed to others after he’s already lost everything: his entire family and his peace of mind. It was only once Frankenstein had nothing left to lose that he was willing to own up to his actions.
Frankenstein fails at being responsible for the common good because he cares more about his friends and family, or “fellow-creatures”, than his creation (Shelley 151). Throughout the entire book, Frankenstein does not say one kind word toward his creation. Since all the creation wanted his entire life was to be accepted by someone in the world, if Frankenstein had merely exchanged one smiling word with his creation, he might have changed his creation’s life and, in consequence, his own. There is one story of a suicide survivor. This human being decided that if one person smiled at him while he was walking to the Golden Gate Bridge, he wouldn’t jump. He jumped. Similarly, the creation’s entire life was spent looking for someone’s acceptance. In the end, the creation committed suicide hating himself more than a man who made it his life goal to kill him. If Frankenstein had accepted his creation, then there is a good chance the creation wouldn’t have needed a second of his same appearance and thus Frankenstein wouldn’t have needed to go through the creation ordeal again. If the creation didn’t have to have a second of his mold, then he wouldn’t have killed Frankenstein’s friends and family as retribution, and thus four more people (and the creation) would be alive at the end of the book. It may be Frankenstein’s incapacity to look past the skin of his fellow being that causes such a lack in public responsibility, but it was a sort of drive that made him lack personal responsibility.
Personal responsibility and responsibility for the common good are related, yet have different implications. You have a personal responsibility to take care of your self, make yourself presentable to society (although some may dispute this) and uphold your personal dignity or integrity. Yet perhaps even more important, each citizen has a responsibility to his fellow people; he or she must consider their actions and it’s consequences on society.
Victor Frankenstein is unbalanced in both these aspects of responsibility. He takes awful care of himself, which we see causes his numerous illnesses. These illnesses prompt him to isolate himself ever further from society, not only hurting himself but also others.
Frankenstein exhibits little or no responsibility toward his monster, and after all it is his creation, thus he owes it care and love, much like a parent is expected to care for their children. Instead Frankenstein neglects his creation, showing not only thoughtless towards his monster, but for the people around it. The monster becomes increasingly hate-filled as Frankenstein’s negligence continues,and he eventually takes out his anger on humanity. In the process he kills the people who Victor loved. Victor did not take into consideration the impact of his actions on the ones around him.
Responsibility is an important characteristic to have and exhibit, as it keeps people and their actions honest and in check. However, there are various types of responsibility people may demonstrate, such as personal responsibility and responsibility for the common good. Overall, personal responsibility is knowing how actions will effect one's future, and acting accordingly. On the other hand, responsibility for the common good is being accountable for actions will effect other people and their environment. Mary Shelley's character Victor Frankenstein, is not able to balance personal responsibility and responsibility for the common good, as he acts before he thinks. For example, in the beginning of the story, Frankenstein is selfishly concerned with what he could accomplish in his lifetime. His main purpose is shown through the following quote. He says, "A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent nattures owe their being to me. No father could claim the gratitude of his child so completely as I should deserve theirs." (Shelley, 32) This shows that in Frankenstein's mind, he wants to be responsible for a new species in the world. However, he does not think about what might happen or how it will effect the world. After Frankenstein is almost done creating a second human being to accompany his first, he thinks about the possible consequences of his actions for the first time. He says, "I was now about to form another being, of whose dispositions I was alike ignorant; she might become ten thousand times more malignant than her mate... They might even hate each other." (Shelley, 114) This shows that he learned from his first mistake, and is now aware of his responsibility for the common good, but Frankenstein still fails to exhibit personal responsibility towards his original monster. He does not come up with other strategies in which he could take care of the being he brought into the world, and this is the sole reason the monster sought revenge on him. In conclusion, Victor Frankenstein, as seen through the definitions of personal responsibility and responsibility for the common good, he is only able to think about either personal responsibility or responsibility for the common good at any given time.
In my opinion, personal responsibility and responsibility for the greater good of humanity are two completely different things. A man or woman may have a PERSONAL responsibility for something that he or she believes to owe to him or herself. Whereas responsibility for the greater good of humanity is when a person has to take into account a wider range of views, as apposed to just his or her own view. In the beginning of the book, Victor Frankenstein believes that it is his responsibility to make the world a better place and make a race that will live longer and be able to sustain themselves after illnesses (unlike the human race). However, Victor does not take any responsibility for his actions when the Monster awakens because he thinks that his creation is treacherous to look at. With the rejection from Victor, the creation goes wild and morphs into a true monster. After the Monster kills a few people, he gives Victor an ultimatum: Victor must create a lady Monster for the Monster, or the Monster will make Victor's life a living hell. When the Monster promises that Victor will never see him ever again if the lady Monster is created, at first Victor agrees to creating a mate for his arch enemy. Then Victor debates his decision and realizes that he cannot trust a race that he knows so little about, and decides to go back on his promise. I think that was responsible of Victor, because in creating the lady Monster he could have unleashed twice the horror of his first creation.
The difference between personal responsibility and responsibility for the common good is that personal responsibility, while sometimes necessary, may have a selfish motive behind it, while responsibility for the common good benefits a whole, not just oneself. Victor Frankenstein is not able to balance the two. Although he looks out for the common good by not releasing another "monster" into the world, he neglects his own personal responsibility of caring for his family. Instead of catering and listening to the monster, he treated it with malevolence, which caused the monster to become a murderer, who kills all of his family. If Victor would have been kinder to the monster, the monster may have reconsidered his own murderous ways.
Responsibility means being accountable for, or in control of something or someone. Personal responsibility includes the above, but is more heavily focused on the aspects of a person's life, and what is important to them specifically. On the other hand, responsibility for the common good, is a broadened point of view regarding those not necessarily involved in the situation. In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein fails to fulfill both his personal, and general responsibilities after creating his monster. Like a father abandoning his child, Frankenstein left his helpless monster with no direction or guidance. By deserting his monster, Victor failed to complete his duties as a creator. His obligations in regards to raising this monster include caring for, and teaching it the proper ways of society. By neglecting these crucial lessons, Victor has turned his creation into the "monster" it is referred to as. Had Frankenstein cared for his creature like a father figure, and fulfilled his responsibilities given the situation, he would have been in turn protecting the greater good. The monster, left alone, is now able to personally comprehend and reflect on the horrors the uncensored world presents him. This perhaps altered his innocent mind to a demented state that caused him to strangle William, Victor's younger brother. Furthermore, by releasing this untrained beast upon society, Victor has failed to balance the two important aspects of responsibility.
ReplyDeleteThe personal responsibility and the responsibility for the common good are two very different things. A personal responsibility is something that you owe to yourself, rather than the whole human race. A responsibility for the common good is a type of responsibility that puts aside all of your own priorities in an attempt to better the state of human nature and make society a better place in which to exist Therefore, these two responsibilities are very different. However, there are cases when they can overlap.
ReplyDeleteIn the story, Victor's personal responsibility was initially synonymous with the responsibility of human race. This is because he sought to do something to better the state of mankind. Victor sought to study the sciences and ultimately engineer a being that could withstand disease, and therefore help man to live longer. However, while he thought that it was his responsibility, or calling, to help mankind, his focus soon shifted to engineering an entire race that would hail him as their leader. He soon becomes so consumed by this newly found personal responsibility as a creator, that he looses sight of the common good of society. When he creates the monster, he is ultimately endangering the same people that he initially sought to aid. To make matters worse, Victor abandons his own personal responsibility in addition to the good of society. Leaving the monster to roam about on its own, he can be ultimately attributed to the deaths and harm that befall others.
Therefore, I feel that Victor Frankenstein failed to maintain his own personal responsibility and his responsibility to society and mankind's common good. In addition, while there was initially a great balance between the two as they were synonymous, the two soon fell apart, endangering society and Victor himself.
Personal responsibility is holding yourself accountable for your actions and doing things with thought for the consequences, but responsibility for the common good involves considering what is best for all of society and setting aside what might satisfy your own personal whims. Victor Frankenstein is slightly delusional, and this prevents him from being able to effectively balance these two types of responsibility. He does not hold himself accountable for the actions of the monster whom he created -- he also does not hold himself responsible as he should for letting the monster loose into the world. In addition, he does not take responsibility for the common good by admitting the truth about William's murderer -- he enables the execution of Justine and the death of multiple others in the future. I think Frankenstein does not employ either form of responsibility as he should.
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ReplyDeletePersonal responsibility and responsibility for the common good are two completely different concepts. Personal responsibility is a person’s duty to oneself and the actions one must take in order to keep oneself content. Responsibility for the common good includes each person’s civic duty to the rest of the world; one must be mature and make proper decisions in order to maintain peace. Victor Frankenstein has to essentially choose between these types of responsibility when the monster commands him to create a female partner. If Victor creates the monster then he would not protect the common good, because these two creatures could have intercourse and start an entirely new and dangerous race! On the other hand, if Victor does not create the monster then the monster would always be in Europe, always near him somehow. This would not be personally responsible, because Frankenstein knows that this will clearly upset him and cause him to act even more rashly in the future. It is obvious that Victor cannot balance personal responsibility and responsibility for the common good in this case, because he chooses to create the monster. This is obviously a risky a choice that could affect the entire world, but he has personal responsibility. Though this appears to be an extremely selfish act, it has one redeeming quality; this will make the monster very pleased. Therefore, Frankenstein also takes responsibility for his creature, which could possibly help (if the monster stands by his word, decides to flee Europe, and never shows his face to mankind) the common good. Overall, Frankenstein is originally not a very responsible character. As the story progresses, he learns to take responsibility for himself and the monster, though risking his responsibility for the rest of mankind.
ReplyDeleteResponsibility is defined as the state or fact of having the duty to deal with something. However, to be more specific, there are two main divisions of responsibility: personal responsibility and responsibility of the common good. Personal responsibility, is not only the duty of taking care of oneself, but taking care of all who he or she is responsible for, be it an assignment or a family member. In contrast, responsibility of the common good, is the obligation to think about one's own actions and how they affect others. Not just the ones that are around everyday, but those who are unknown. One, as a human being of reason, must think about the larger effects and consequences that all of humanity are subject to as a result o a decision. These traits are what make the difference between responsibility to oneself and all others.
ReplyDeleteVictor Frankenstein is the perfect example of neglecting one's responsibility. Victor begins this cycle by neglecting his responsibility towards man kind, by his creation of the monster. In this creation, Victor does not think about the repercussions of creating the monster. He is simply consumed in himself an in the glory. He failed to predict, or to even ponder, the evil that the monster brought upon mankind, such as the deaths of: Elizabeth, Henry, and William. By creating the monster, without even so much as stopping to think about the repercussions, Frankenstein neglected his responsibilities toward mankind.
To make matters worse, Victor again neglect his personal responsibility, which is caring for his creation. As soon as the monster is created and he sees its hideous appearance, he disregards the fact that he created it and therefore must care for it. The monster itself reminds Victor of this, when it demands of him to fulfill his duties as a creator. In summation, Victor Frankenstein does not do a good job of balancing personal responsibility and responsibility for the common good of mankind, in fact he neglects both.
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ReplyDeleteIn a utopian society, Personal responsibility and responsibility for the common good would be one in the same. Unfortunately, our biology requires that we oftentimes must place ourselves before our contemporaries. Personal responsibility pertains to each human’s respect for his or her ambitions and fears. On the other hand, responsibility for the common good relates to the universal success of our species. Time and time again, humans have underestimated the impact of their individual actions on others. In this respect, one could argue that no human can completely balance themselves between individual responsibility and responsibility for the common good, including Victor Frankenstein. It is inevitable that the majority of the human race will strive to realize personal responsibilities before those of the common good – our survival depends on it. For Victor in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, destroying his creation is as much of a personal responsibility as it a responsibility for the common good. The monster represents the failure of Victor’s life ambitions in Science and eventually his guilt. Frankenstein certainly displays a preference for his self-responsibility as he creates the monster without considering the potential consequences, but by the time he determines to chase the monster to the ends of the earth, he has achieved relative stability between the two aforementioned responsibilities. His sanity depends on him to chase after his guilt and failure and his conscience demands that he eliminate the creature before he causes more atrocities against the human race. Unfortunately, this stability comes too late to save the lives of Victor’s family members.
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ReplyDeletePersonal responsibility and responsibility for the common good are quite similar. They both require doing the moral, right choice, but responsibility for the common good is for everyone while personal responsibility is doing what is right for one's conscience. However, doing what is right may require sacrifices from one or multiple individuals. In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Victor's personal responsibility and his responsibility for the common good are the same. Because of his actions, the monster vowed revenge on mankind and it is on Victor's hands to stop the monster. The monster had shown love and compassion, but Victor and humans had returned it with cruelty and punishment. Vowing revenge, it became Victor's sole responsibility for his conscience and the people around him to make it right. The deaths of his loved ones are entirely his fault and it becomes his goal in life to stop the monster. This goal is his personal responsibility, but it is also his responsibility for the common good because otherwise, the monster will keep taking revenge on humans.
ReplyDeleteHowever, it also becomes the monster's sole goal to take revenge on Victor, and once Victor dies, the monster kills himself. This shows that stopping the monster is more a personal responsibility because the monster only really wanted to seek vengeance on Victor and not on the entire human race. Had Victor not abandoned the monster and left him to die, he would have never experienced all his losses. In a sense, all of Victor's grief is self-induced and could have been avoided. Victor feels this guilt and knows that it his responsibility to stop the monster from causing more harm. Victor fails to do so because the monster offers a peaceful compromise, but his anger blinds him. His relationship with the monster is a cycle because he mistreats the monster so the monster causes harm, which causes Victor to want vengeance. Once Victor dies, the monster has nothing else to live for.
Responsibility, a major theme in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, appears in two forms throughout the book: personal responsibility and responsibility for the common good. Personal responsibility is an individual's personal obligation to themselves. It is a person's accountability for his or her personal actions and mistakes. Responsibility for the greater good is when an individual stops worrying about how their actions will only affect them and starts worrying about how their actions will affect the rest of the world. Responsibility for the greater good is taking measures to ensure that one's actions will affect everyone else positively. Victor Frankenstein demonstrates attempted responsibility for the greater good, but never quite brings himself to account for his actions . Although victor studies science with the idea that his discoveries might benefit the greater good, Victor creates the Monster for personal satisfaction and glory. Victor does not stop and think of the repercussions that his creation would bring upon the human race. After the monster is created, Victor abandons the monster in an act of pure selfishness and irresponsibility. The escape of the Monster does nothing to benefit the greater good. In fact it eventually leads to multiple human deaths. Victor's abandonment of the Monster is a selfish act that Victor commits, in belief that abandoning the Monster would erase his mistakes. If Victor wanted to take responsibility for his actions, then he would abandon the monster and let it roam free where it could harm other innocent people. Victor also is unable to take responsibility for the deaths that the Monster causes. In fact, Victor would not own up to the fact that the Monster killed William. Instead, William divulged his personal responsibility and allowed Justine to take the blame for him. Overall, Victor's decisions are about what will benefit himself rather than what will benefit the greater good.
ReplyDeleteThe difference between personal responsibility and responsibility for the common good is that personal responsibility is one doing what one must in order to survive. However, being completely personally responsible means that one is looking out for the best interests of themselves without harming the interests of the common good. While the two are definitely connected, they are not codependent. A person who is ultimately universally responsible would know how to balance the two equally. The other two ends of the spectrum are complete selflessness and complete selfishness. One who is caught up in the moment and is not able to think outside of their own personal bubble might believe that personal responsibility and responsibility for the common good are one in the same. This belief is formed from the trait of being self-absorbed. When a person is unable to think from another person's perspective, then he or she is also unable to distinguish between doing something for their own sake or for the sake of the world. He or she has no ability to distinguish between his or herself and the world. Victor Frankenstein, of Mary Shelly's "Frankenstein" is that very self-absorbed being. He does not possess the ability to think of the affects of his own actions on people other than himself. The ultimate example of this lack of ability can be seen in his reaction to the monster's threat "I will be with you on your wedding night" (Shelley 116). While as the reader, I found the monster's intentions quite obvious. As the self absorbed, one-track minded person that Victor is, he translates the threat as a death threat to himself.
ReplyDeletePersonal responsibility and responsibility for the common good are quite similar, but at the same time one stands in the way of the other. A personal responsibility is something you owe to yourself and those near to you. To be responsible for the common good is to look out for all of humankind, and to try to do what is best for them as a whole. In order to keep our personal responsibilities, we often have to overlook the common good, and very often looking out for the common good causes us to break our personal responsibilities. Victor Frankenstein encounters both problems, and does not balance them efficiently. At first, Victor ignores his personal relationships and estranges himself from his family to create a being which he hopes will one day benefit mankind. He does this out of ambition, but also because he hopes to impact the common good. Because he has created a life, he then is responsible for it just as a parent is responsible for their child. He fails as a parent, and abandons his creation, abdicating all responsibility. When the monster asks him to create an Eve, Victor first thinks making her will keep him and his family safe, and finally fulfill his obligation to his creation. He then considers the downsides, and the affects it might have on humankind. He doesn't want to create a race of demons, or have the creatures hate each other and return to murdering rampages. In destroying the new creature, he breaks his promise to the monster and lets down his family, as the monster comes to kill Elizabeth soon after. He may have helped mankind, but he let them down in the first place by creating the monster and abandoning it.
ReplyDeletePersonal responsibility refers to what you owe to yourself, while responsibility for the common good what you owe to all of humanity. However, personal responsibility and responsibility for the common good are not opposed, and one cannot be truly personally responsible without also possessing a sense of what is the general good for all. While doing something that is good for oneself at the expense of the general good may give benefits in the short-term, in the long-term doing something that negatively impacts everyone will hurt that person as well.
ReplyDeleteVictor’s main mistakes throughout the story come through his failure of personal responsibility, which causes him to fail his responsibility for the common good as well. After creating the monster and becoming appalled by it, he repeatedly fails to take any responsibility for the creature he created. He fails to recognize that he has responsibility for the results of his mistake, and refuses to recognize that he is at fault for the actions of the monster. He is giving a perfect opportunity to solve this problem by creating a wife for the monster and giving him the companionship that he desires. However, his fears of the results of a second monster cause him to destroy it. He does this in belief that it would be irresponsible to humanity to create a second monster. However, by doing this, he allows the monster to kill his fiancé and cause the death of his father. Effectively, he fails both his responsibility to the common good and his personal responsibility by failing to be responsible for his creation.
Personal responsibility is something that you owe to yourself; it's on an individual and much smaller scale than responsibility for the common good. Subsequently, responsibility for the common good is conducting oneself in a way that benefits the common good, even if it means to sacrifice one's personal responsibility. Incidentally, I agree with Alex's point, that "in a utopian society", an individual's personal responsibility would be the same as the responsibility for the common good. This is because each individual would owe it to themselves to help each other out, and every action that an individual undertook (in a perfect society) would aid the rest of society. Clearly, there is no society as perfect as this, therefore people must balance personal responsibilities with the larger responsibility of the common good. In Frankenstein, Victor does not balance these two ideas, and thus, faces the ramifications. When Victor created the monster, he felt as if he was being responsible towards the common good by bringing scientific progress, however, when the monster actually awakened, Victor did not realize that he had a personal responsibility to look after the monster. In doing so, Victor ignored his personal responsibility, and then ultimately ignored the common responsibility by enraging the monster. Another example, is when Victor decided not to create a bride for the monster. His idea, was that if he created another monster, he would be harming the common good, thus, Victor was being responsible towards the common good. However, he ignored his personal responsibility; both to care for the monster (by pleasing it), and he broke a personal promise to the monster (to create a bride). In the end, Victor cursed himself by becoming so entangled in his responsibilities. Conclusively, an individual should try as hard as possible not to mix up their personal responsibilities with their other responsibilities towards society, otherwise they will harm themselves or society, but definitely one of the two.
ReplyDeletePersonal responsibility is the responsibility of a person to, A, meet all basic needs necessary for the survival of that person, B, work towards the betterment of the life and things associated with the life of that same person, and C, aim for objectives and goals that could or might make the previously mentioned person happy. Not all of these might be attempted or accomplished at the same time, place, or with the same degree of success, and not all of these activities are strictly self-beneficial. The betterment of one's life or reaching towards happiness may very well include adopting a child, doing community service, helping your friends do well on a test. Responsibility for the Common Good is the responsibility of a person to ensure the continuation of his or her people and that is often extended to include the preservation the central ways and unique parts of that society’s way of life. One of these is the responsibility for the many, the other for the few. Frankenstein attempts to balance these responsibilities, but fails very badly: not only does he hinder his friends’ and family’s happiness while he locks himself away in college, he did not uphold his responsibility to either his family and friends or the greater human community when he selfishly goes on to create his wretch. However good his intentions might be, the best endeavor can go sour without proper planning and forethought, and the road to hell is paved with good intentions. He was selfish in his initial dismissal of the monster, after it was first created, which could arguably be a lack of responsibility towards one’s self through how he was irresponsible to the wretch; one should always treat others with proper respect and pleasantness, if only so they are less likely to stab you in the back later. Approaching the monster he had created with this attitude might have solved a lot of problems for Frankenstein. The only times he showed something approaching a balance were when he debated about making the monster a wife, and the consequences to himself verses the consequences to the human race, and when he chose to chase after the wretch, combining his personal need for revenge and the need to prevent what he might do to other innocents should Frankenstein let him go free.
ReplyDeleteResponsibility for the common good, or one's duty to the greater world, differs from personal responsibility, which comes in two parts. The first part of personal responsibility is reaching one's highest potential (as an obligation to oneself), and the second is understanding the consequences of one's actions and being liable for those actions. Responsibility for the common good requires sacrificing personal needs and desires to benefit others. In "Frankenstein," Victor strives for excellence in school. He is capable of rising to the top and works hard, fulfilling the obligation to himself to reach his intellectual potential. However, he shows a lack of personal responsibility when he abandons the monster. He denies the liability of being its creator. Another instance of when he shows a lack of personal responsibility is when he allows Justine to suffer her unjustified death. This time he knows it is his fault, but does nothing to prevent the death. Concerning the common good, he makes a grave error in creating the monster in the first place. However, he later makes a decision that sacrifices his whole happiness by not creating the female monster. All his loved ones are murdered, but he helps stops another monster from terrorizing mankind. In the end, his mission to kill the monster shows him taking both personal responsibility and the responsibility he owes to the common good. All in all, he initially is blind to both his personal responsibility and his responsibility for the common good, but later, after he painfully realizes the consequences of his actions, he decides to be accountable for them. It was only after he sees the consequences of his actions, such as the death of William and Justine that he decides to take responsibility for the common good, realizing his obligation to take charge of his creation and for future choices, such as creating a female monster. Throughout the story, Victor does not balance the two kinds of responsibility, but rather seems to learn about them along the way.
ReplyDeletePersonal responsibility is the responsibility someone has to them self. They are responsible for their own health and well-being. Yet responsibility for the common good is different because it may force one to change and, instead, focus on the health and condition of others. One's responsibility to the common good is to be aware of any action they may commit, which could affect others, even if it is for their own sake. Victor Frankenstein is not able to balance the responsibility he has to himself and to others. Throughout the story, Frankenstein has only thought about the safety of himself. Although he cares about others, he cannot seem to put other's safety before his own safety. He constantly believes that the monster is after him and him only and yet his friends are being murder left and right, every moment!!!
ReplyDeleteTo have personal responsibility means to be responsible for one's actions and well being. Having Responsibility for the common good is when someone is responsible for the well being of all people. In the novel Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein generally lacks both personal responsibility and responsibility for the common good.
ReplyDeleteVictor Frankenstein lacks personal responsibility because he does not accept and fix his bad actions. For example by Victor creating the monster he is indirectly responsible for William's death and yet he does not accept this fact. Instead he lets Justine die. Additionally, throughout the book, Victor lacks personal responsibility because he does nothing to stop the monster and fix his error in judgment.
Even more than personal responsibility, Victor lacks responsibility for the common good. Victor shows his lack of this when he creates the monster. If Victor has responsibility for the common good, he would never create the monster because he would be aware of the possible detrimental outcomes.There are glimmering moments when he does think about the common good but generally he does not. In a sense the entire novel centers around Victor's lack of responsibility because if he is responsible the monster would not have been created or not have done as much damage.
Due to the fact that Victor posses little personal responsibility and responsibility for the common good,he does balance them just not in positive way.
Personal responsibility and responsibility for the universal wellbeing are completely different concepts which drive people's life. Personal responsibility is a person's obligation to them self and the steps they must take in their life to remain content. Responsibility for the universal wellbeing alludes to the task a person must complete for the majority to keep peace and happiness in the world. In "Frankenstein", Victor had to acquire the skill of determining which one of these is more valuable to him and which one he must fulfill throughout the book. For example, when the monster asked him to create a female, Victor was put in a tough situation of choosing his happiness against the world's. If he created another monster, his family, his peace and his happiness would be fulfilled, leading him to choose personal responsibility; however, in this case, Victor chooses to fulfill the responsibility towards the world by protecting them from another wretched creation of his for his selfish purposes. Therefore, this was the righteous and selfless decision of his to choose not to create it in the benefit of the people, for he sacrificed his own wellbeing. Throughout Frankenstein, Victor is able to somewhat manage his personal responsibility by fulfilling his selfish wants and desires for knowledge;however, he does learn about the more important part, responsibility and sacrifice for the others until the end of his journey.
ReplyDeleteThere is a profound difference between personal responsibility and responsibility for the common good. Personal responsibility entails a thoughtful accountability for one’s actions, regardless of the situation or presence of others. Furthermore, personal responsibility ranges from an individual’s moral code to the pursuit of one’s full potential. Meanwhile, responsibility for the common good is striving to improve the quality of life for others in the present in addition to future generations. However, both forms of responsibility involve a degree of compassion and virtue. The concept of responsibility plays an important role in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Victor Frankenstein struggles to exhibit responsibility. Although he values responsibility for the common good, he fails to demonstrate this ideal because of several mistakes that essentially lead to his downfall. Nevertheless, Frankenstein successfully manifests a level of personal responsibility in spite of these mistakes. For example, although death is portrayed as an appealing escape from suffering in Frankenstein, Victor sacrifices his happiness for his family’s safety. Although Frankenstein eventually fails to protect his family and friends from the monster, he does everything in his power to make up for a mistake prompted by curiosity and human nature.
ReplyDeletePersonal responsibility and responsibility for the common good can be intertwined. Personal responsibility is one's obligation to keep themselves personally and emotionally healthy. This can stretch from eating correctly to making morally outstanding decisions. Responsibility for the common good is an individuals obligation to do what is in their power t make the world a better place. In the beginning of his research Victor was thinking of using his knowledge for medical research, to help the ones around him. Once the creature was created is was both Victor's personal and common good responsibility to take it upon himself to teach a creature he brought into the world. If Victor had taken responsibility for his creature he would have been able to avoid the tragedy that became his life, and the life of his friends and family. As one reads farther into the novel the decision gets more complicated. If Victor had made the creature a female partner, and rid the world of him, it may be better for the common good. However, Victor's consciousness was not able to handle the thought of bringing another demon into the world. In this case it is hard to balance both responsibilities.
ReplyDeletePersonal responsibility is every individual's obligation to keep themselves both emotionally and psychically healthy. Whereas responsibility for the common good is everything in one individual's power to create a better world, like throwing out your trash in a garbage can instead of on the ground. In the beginning of the book, Victor feels as though he has responsibility to the common good by creating a new species and by learning the line between life and death, he is helping people around him. But once the monster is created, he loses any sense of responsibility that he possessed because he abandons the monster in at a crucial time. The monster has no authoritative figure in his life and because of this becomes more and more hateful of the environment around him, thus acting out with violence. If Victor had taken responsibility for his monster and even his emotional health he would have been able to avoid a lot of the tragedy that came upon his life. The monster even is willingly to make a compromise, but Victor rudely rejects by ripping apart her body. He couldn't possible be accounted for one more horrible creature in the world.
ReplyDeletePersonal responsibility entails of one’s integrity and self preservation, while responsibility for the common good is an individual’s efforts to help the people around them and improve the world. Victor Frankenstein is unable to balance the two because his interests relate only to himself. While Victor recognizes that his creation would be an advancement in science, it is his potential importance and fame that inspire him to create, “I was surprised that among so many men of genius, who had directed their inquiries towards the same science, that I alone should be reserved to discover so astonishing a secret” (30). Victor cares more for his own achievements, than his contributions to society.
ReplyDeleteVictor’s decision to abandon the monster after he completed its creation also shows his lack of responsibility for the common good. Victor is so concerned with his self preservation, that he does not consider the potential danger of his untended monster harming other people. Later in the novel, the monster admits that he is “malicious because [he is] miserable” (98). Rather than undertaking his responsibility as the creator to cure the monster’s desolation, and thus cease his violence, Victor remains inactive and does nothing.
Victor shows his lack of personal responsibility by not taking the blame for the death of his family members; Victor stands idly by while innocent Justine suffers the punishment of his mistakes. Victor is too concerned with his own reputation to confess and receive the punishment he deserves. Victor’s dishonesty and passiveness show his lack of integrity in fixing his own mistakes.
Personal responsibility is one’s responsibility to or for themself, while responsibility for the common good is one’s responsibility to others, typically the masses. Frankenstein fails to balance both of these responsibilities. Frankenstein fails at being personally responsible because he has a disregard for his own health. While creating his creation, Frankenstein ignores his emotions, works past his physical capabilities and, as a result, becomes to develop a fever and feel ill every night. It is Frankenstein’s work that turns his “most excellent health” into such pain (Shelley 33). Likewise, as soon as Frankenstein’s energy for his work dies down, he feels the pain of his labor all the more keenly and develops an almost chronic metal disease. Frankenstein also is not personally responsible because he doesn’t recognize a majority of what he does as wrong, and thus does not try to redeem himself. On his death bed, Frankenstein tells Walton that he does not find his actions “blameable”, and feels “justified” in seeking the death of his creation (Shelley 151). Frankenstein also doesn’t act positively on his actions he does recognize as wrong. This one act Frankenstein blames everything on as his one foul deed was creating that specific creation. However, when Justine is convicted, Frankenstein isn’t willing to risk his own life to set things right. He is only willing to risk his life in announcing his deed to others after he’s already lost everything: his entire family and his peace of mind. It was only once Frankenstein had nothing left to lose that he was willing to own up to his actions.
ReplyDeleteFrankenstein fails at being responsible for the common good because he cares more about his friends and family, or “fellow-creatures”, than his creation (Shelley 151). Throughout the entire book, Frankenstein does not say one kind word toward his creation. Since all the creation wanted his entire life was to be accepted by someone in the world, if Frankenstein had merely exchanged one smiling word with his creation, he might have changed his creation’s life and, in consequence, his own. There is one story of a suicide survivor. This human being decided that if one person smiled at him while he was walking to the Golden Gate Bridge, he wouldn’t jump. He jumped. Similarly, the creation’s entire life was spent looking for someone’s acceptance. In the end, the creation committed suicide hating himself more than a man who made it his life goal to kill him. If Frankenstein had accepted his creation, then there is a good chance the creation wouldn’t have needed a second of his same appearance and thus Frankenstein wouldn’t have needed to go through the creation ordeal again. If the creation didn’t have to have a second of his mold, then he wouldn’t have killed Frankenstein’s friends and family as retribution, and thus four more people (and the creation) would be alive at the end of the book. It may be Frankenstein’s incapacity to look past the skin of his fellow being that causes such a lack in public responsibility, but it was a sort of drive that made him lack personal responsibility.
Personal responsibility and responsibility for the common good are related, yet have different implications. You have a personal responsibility to take care of your self, make yourself presentable to society (although some may dispute this) and uphold your personal dignity or integrity. Yet perhaps even more important, each citizen has a responsibility to his fellow people; he or she must consider their actions and it’s consequences on society.
ReplyDeleteVictor Frankenstein is unbalanced in both these aspects of responsibility. He takes awful care of himself, which we see causes his numerous illnesses. These illnesses prompt him to isolate himself ever further from society, not only hurting himself but also others.
Frankenstein exhibits little or no responsibility toward his monster, and after all it is his creation, thus he owes it care and love, much like a parent is expected to care for their children. Instead Frankenstein neglects his creation, showing not only thoughtless towards his monster, but for the people around it. The monster becomes increasingly hate-filled as Frankenstein’s negligence continues,and he eventually takes out his anger on humanity. In the process he kills the people who Victor loved. Victor did not take into consideration the impact of his actions on the ones around him.
Responsibility is an important characteristic to have and exhibit, as it keeps people and their actions honest and in check. However, there are various types of responsibility people may demonstrate, such as personal responsibility and responsibility for the common good. Overall, personal responsibility is knowing how actions will effect one's future, and acting accordingly. On the other hand, responsibility for the common good is being accountable for actions will effect other people and their environment. Mary Shelley's character Victor Frankenstein, is not able to balance personal responsibility and responsibility for the common good, as he acts before he thinks. For example, in the beginning of the story, Frankenstein is selfishly concerned with what he could accomplish in his lifetime. His main purpose is shown through the following quote. He says, "A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent nattures owe their being to me. No father could claim the gratitude of his child so completely as I should deserve theirs." (Shelley, 32) This shows that in Frankenstein's mind, he wants to be responsible for a new species in the world. However, he does not think about what might happen or how it will effect the world. After Frankenstein is almost done creating a second human being to accompany his first, he thinks about the possible consequences of his actions for the first time. He says, "I was now about to form another being, of whose dispositions I was alike ignorant; she might become ten thousand times more malignant than her mate... They might even hate each other." (Shelley, 114) This shows that he learned from his first mistake, and is now aware of his responsibility for the common good, but Frankenstein still fails to exhibit personal responsibility towards his original monster. He does not come up with other strategies in which he could take care of the being he brought into the world, and this is the sole reason the monster sought revenge on him. In conclusion, Victor Frankenstein, as seen through the definitions of personal responsibility and responsibility for the common good, he is only able to think about either personal responsibility or responsibility for the common good at any given time.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, personal responsibility and responsibility for the greater good of humanity are two completely different things. A man or woman may have a PERSONAL responsibility for something that he or she believes to owe to him or herself. Whereas responsibility for the greater good of humanity is when a person has to take into account a wider range of views, as apposed to just his or her own view. In the beginning of the book, Victor Frankenstein believes that it is his responsibility to make the world a better place and make a race that will live longer and be able to sustain themselves after illnesses (unlike the human race). However, Victor does not take any responsibility for his actions when the Monster awakens because he thinks that his creation is treacherous to look at. With the rejection from Victor, the creation goes wild and morphs into a true monster. After the Monster kills a few people, he gives Victor an ultimatum: Victor must create a lady Monster for the Monster, or the Monster will make Victor's life a living hell. When the Monster promises that Victor will never see him ever again if the lady Monster is created, at first Victor agrees to creating a mate for his arch enemy. Then Victor debates his decision and realizes that he cannot trust a race that he knows so little about, and decides to go back on his promise. I think that was responsible of Victor, because in creating the lady Monster he could have unleashed twice the horror of his first creation.
ReplyDeleteThe difference between personal responsibility and responsibility for the common good is that personal responsibility, while sometimes necessary, may have a selfish motive behind it, while responsibility for the common good benefits a whole, not just oneself. Victor Frankenstein is not able to balance the two. Although he looks out for the common good by not releasing another "monster" into the world, he neglects his own personal responsibility of caring for his family. Instead of catering and listening to the monster, he treated it with malevolence, which caused the monster to become a murderer, who kills all of his family. If Victor would have been kinder to the monster, the monster may have reconsidered his own murderous ways.
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