Frankenstein

Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus

The first thing that struck me was the impact of the epoch in which the book was written. I expected an explicit description of the being that was created by Frankestein, or the details of its conception. Rather, it was about philosophy; about man's insatiable thirst to know, to achieve the unthinkable. There are always a multitude of ethical and moral dilemmas surrounding the creation of something novel, but as we see in the book all these dilemmas come forth in retropect and not when the creator is blinded by the passion of what they might truly achieve. It is simply: I can do it, so I will.

The way the monster evolved was akin to the learning of a child. It is a reflection of the belief that everyone begins life in innocence. Followed by curiosity and fear. Basic instincts are developed by hunger and the environment, which spawns the realization for the need of sustenance and shelter. The distinction of cacophony and cadence. Of the need to be part of a society, and the realization of the need of language to be a part of it. What still confuses me is how the monster developed the idea of physical beauty; I always imagined it to be a learned thing rather than natural. And finally, of how different emotions are developed by interactions with others.

The creation of new life compells me to think about the the possible influence Shelley draws from the story of the creation of Adam and Eve as is observed in various religious scriptures. Especially Frankestein's holistic and puritanical feelings when he is creating the original monster, and his feelings when he starts working on creating its mate.

The book was a strory of human nature, and how incidences- big and small- shape the course of life to something that is much different than what we expect.

the frog and me

I used to wonder why the frog is considered the closest to humans (in terms of anatomy). Maybe its because we actually descend from frogs and not monkeys, maybe its just a coincidnence, or maybe God thought that this was the only creature He could spare to teach the humans about their bodies, who knows really?

Now I'm not much of a NatGeo person, but i noticed this one thing about frogs that NatGeo didn't notice. Ever happened to you that you're driving along the road after a nice bit of rain, and you notice that frog on the edge of the road just... there, maybe waiting for you to pass by or something. But as you close in on the frog, it does something amazing; it takes a leap of faith and starts crossing the road, knowing full well that anything could happen now. It doesn't stop, it doesn't turn back, it keeps hopping. Hoppity, hop, then... most of the time; splat!, but sometimes, there's this one audacious frog who gets to the other side of the road. You miss the splat, but you give some solid brotha' respect! to the little green guy who got through.

The point is, that the frog is like us, because it thinks like us! Humans always keep trying to destroy themselves, and not only in a negative way. I suppose that last statement is a little blunt, but the statement comes up quite often in most semi-serious conversations with good company. Facts like what the humans are doing to each other and what humans are doing to the earth are common examples of how humans are destructive by nature. The way we're compared to yeast is also a good example; yeast keeps feeding on its own excrement until its ruined, just fyi. Sometimes humans destroy themselves for a cause, for someone else, for love maybe, i don't know, and most of the time they do go splat, rhetorical of course, but sometimes they get to the other side, and many people acknowledge how amazing a feat they've witnessed against appalling odds.

I've written this between 3am and 4am, which is never a good idea, and it felt like it took me forever. I don't know what its going to sound like later, because i forgot most of what i wanted to write, and this is just a theory; I'll need to get my degree in BioPhysics before I can substantiate my hypothesis, yknow...