frankenstein family essay

ENGLISH 123: Introduction to Fiction

Adaptation, Intertextuality, and Fidelity

The Importance of Family in Frankenstein

Throughout her 1831 novel, Frankenstein , Mary Shelly frequently comments on the importance of family in keeping a person sane and the detrimental effects of either neglecting family or being neglected by family. When Victor Frankenstein first starts telling his story, he comments on how “no youth could have passed more happily than [his}” (21). His parents loved him and he had great companions that were all very supportive of his endeavors. He was free to live his life as he pleased and carve his own path, which was a luxury that most kids were not given. Once he left for school and started to pursue his independent studies, he was so consumed in this work of his that he completely stopped talking to the people who had raised and loved him all those years and played a huge role in making him the person that he is. This eventually led to his downfall as the project that he was so consumed in ended up killing most of the people he loved, both directly and indirectly. This may have been Mary Shelly’s way of warning the reader that it is important to allocate time for family before it is too late. After the completion of his project, Frankenstein finally returned to having contact with his family members, but their happy days were numbered as they started dying one by one at the hands of the creature and Frankenstein frequently fell sick. If Victor had maintained connection with his family throughout his time in Ingolstadt, perhaps he would’ve somehow realized the extent to which his project would be detrimental and could’ve tried to keep the same quality and happiness of his previous life while he was away at school.

In contrast, the creature that Frankenstein created was not given a happy, nourishing environment early on, like his creator had received. He was shunned from the very beginning, which impacted him deeply as he exclaimed to Victor that “you, my creator, detest and spurn me, thy creature, to whom thou art bound by ties only dissoluble by the annihilation of one of us” (68). The creature even tried to create a family with people that weren’t his creator by attempting to be a part of the family that he had been secretly watching for months because he felt a close connection with them, even though they did not feel the same way. Unfortunately, the creature was never able to find a group of people that would accept him as a family member because of his outward appearance.

Although there is a contrast between both their situations, there also exists a similarity between the creature and Frankenstein. They both did not suffer in the same way, but they both felt some type of suffering from not having anyone to openly talk to about what they were going through. Victor neglecting the family he had in order to focus on work, left him very weak and ill. He had to deal with all the guilt he felt for creating the creature internally, which ended up affecting his physical health. On the other hand, the creature’s lack of companionship and inability to relate to anybody else, led to him taking out his anger with violent measures.

Mary Shelly understood the importance of family since much of her family life was marked with death. Her mother died giving birth to Mary and Mary’s first child died a few days after her birth. Also, two of her extended family members and her husband died later on in her life. Because Mary Shelly did not get enough time to spend with her family before their passing away, she uses Victor Frankenstein and his creation as a way to highlight the importance of maintaining healthy relationships with family members.

Family Relationships in Frankenstein

This essay about the Frankenstein family in Mary Shelley’s novel “Frankenstein” explores how family dynamics and relationships critically shape the narrative and its themes. It highlights the loving environment provided by Victor’s parents, Alphonse and Caroline, and the complications arising from his scientific pursuits that ultimately alienate him from this nurturing background. The essay discusses how Victor’s creation of the Creature without consideration for familial responsibility reflects a distorted familial model and leads to tragic consequences for his loved ones, including Elizabeth. Additionally, it examines the Creature’s desire for companionship and the tragic outcomes of his isolation. Through these examples, the essay argues that Shelley uses the Frankenstein family to explore deeper issues of creation, responsibility, and the inherent need for familial bonds, positioning the novel as a cautionary tale on the moral limits of human endeavor.

How it works

In Mary Shelley’s seminal literary opus, “Frankenstein,” the intricate interplay and ramifications of familial connections assume a pivotal role in delineating the narrative trajectory and unfolding its underlying themes. Although the Frankenstein clan does not monopolize attention, its presence serves as a vital element that accentuates motifs of isolation, obligation, and the repercussions of tampering with natural order. Delving into the familial dynamics within the text yields profound insights into the motivations of its characters and the tragic outcomes that ensue.

Victor Frankenstein, the ill-fated protagonist and ill-starred progenitor of the notorious Creature, emerges from a backdrop of an established, affectionate family. His progenitors, Alphonse and Caroline Frankenstein, extend their embrace to Elizabeth Lavenza, who transitions from Victor’s adopted sister to his betrothed. This initial depiction of the Frankenstein household paints a picture of domestic bliss and familial harmony, characterized by tender bonds that profoundly shape Victor’s formative years. His parents are portrayed as benevolent and altruistic, consistently prioritizing Victor’s welfare. However, notwithstanding their nurturing care, Victor’s personal fixations and scientific ambitions propel him towards a trajectory that ultimately dismantles the very foundations of his family.

The thematic motif of creation, literalized through Victor’s construction of the Creature, metaphorically parallels the concept of familial creation and upbringing. Victor’s act of bestowing life devoid of partnership echoes a distorted patriarchal model of family, wherein the equilibrium of parental influence is skewed. His failure to furnish the Creature with familial ties, guidance, or affection mirrors his gradual estrangement from his own kin as he succumbs to the allure of his scientific pursuits. This neglect underscores the novel’s critique of unbridled ambition and the ethical obligations inherent to creators and parents alike.

Elizabeth, as an adopted scion of the Frankenstein lineage, embodies the prospect of inclusive, non-biological familial ties. Her evolving relationship with Victor, transitioning from fraternal to romantic, is intricate and disquieting, emblematic of 19th-century apprehensions regarding kinship boundaries and the sanctity of familial bonds. Elizabeth’s tragic demise at the hands of the Creature directly stems from Victor’s choices, serving as a testament to the catastrophic consequences of his dereliction of familial duties, not only for himself but also for his beloved.

Furthermore, the Creature’s fervent yearning for companionship and kinship unveils yet another facet of the familial theme. Bereft of natural kin, the Creature grapples with profound solitude and rejection, fueling his vendetta against Victor. His plea for Victor to fashion a companion underscores his yearning for familial ties, emblematic of the universal human longing for connection and acceptance. Victor’s denial of this familial bond exacerbates the tragedy, underscoring the inherent responsibility accompanying the creation of life—be it biological or artificial—to nurture and cherish.

In summation, the portrayal of the Frankenstein family in Mary Shelley’s magnum opus serves as a poignant exploration of the ramifications of familial connections and the attendant obligations they impose. Through Victor’s neglect of his familial responsibilities and the ensuing anguish of the Creature, Shelley proffers a cautionary narrative on the moral and ethical boundaries of human endeavor. The Frankenstein family, with its labyrinthine dynamics and tragic denouements, emerges as a vehicle for delving into profound philosophical inquiries concerning creation, accountability, and the intrinsic yearning for familial bonds.

It must be noted that this essay serves as a catalyst for contemplation and scholarly exploration. For tailored guidance and to ensure adherence to academic standards, consider consulting professionals at EduBirdie .

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Importance of Relationships and Family in Frankenstein

Theme of family in frankenstein: introduction.

• Discussion: Role of Frankenstein’s Family & Relationships
• Family & Relationships in Frankenstein: Conclusion

The family relationship is the most important intimate relationship that involves humankind. If there is absence of this intimacy relationship, human beings would not transform to what they are expected to act, and this deforms the essence of human nature. The feelings are always absent in any human being whose background and daily life is short of proximity and the sense of family closeness.

Frankenstein’s novel talks about different thematic outlooks relying on what the reader identifies as the thematic impact of their modern culture. The novel conveys the issues of family relationship, issues under relationships, betrayal, and revenge these serve as the core themes.

The characters provided are also planned to portray the development of the themes and the ultimate delivery of the designed thematic impact. This paper discusses mostly on the essence of the family relationship and the effect of the absence of this relationship binds in human beings. Some other themes, such as revenge, betrayal, and agony, will also be expressed with reference to the novel.

Discussion: Role of Frankenstein’s Family & Relationships

The novel is mainly an outline narrative that integrates the narration of Victor and Frankenstein as the main characters, and the novel begins with narrative of Victor and later finishes with Walter’s narration. In Victor’s narration, the monster provides a story, but this is introduced directly from Victor’s story. Frankenstein’s family is important in this novel since the monster was created based on this family.

Nearly every family cited was either imperfect or was dysfunctional, and Frankenstein’s family particularly was without a female character. This family had no mother, but a female character, Elizabeth, was there, and she was adopted while in her younger age. Monster’s creation was due to this incomplete events, not basically to complete the function of the mother, but to complete the position of the missing person in the family.

The realism of the input of monster to the major theme in the plot is revealed in the woodshed scene. Here, the monster, as he expresses to Victor, was spying on the De Lacey family in which he obtained enough education regarding the lifestyle of human being. Moreover, its was also here that the monster disclosed the fear he possessed for humans and the isolation he experienced that was caused by the denial from humans and through his personal creator who had deserted him (Shelley, 1993).

The impact of family relationship and how vital a family is to everyone is expressed evidently in this novel. On the Monster’s perspective, the emotion of isolation was due to rejection from his creator and from his dreadful experience. The monster got educated after observing the De Lacey’s family being educated about the value of the family binds during daily life.

He observed the love that existed between De Lacey and Saffie, her daughter, and the relationship that existed between Saffie and Felix. Actually, the observations he experienced at the cottage disclosed a different character inside him and turned into more passionate and even attempted to look for intimate relationship with human beings.

However, his every effort was avoided by the same human beings he was attempting to become intimate with and this made him have a feeling of loneliness. For instance, he was shot by a person who made him deeply hurt. It is at this scene that he got dejected while attempting to be intimate with human beings and assured to revenge the rejection by his creator, and the unsuccessful efforts of defeating loneliness.

The essence of relationship to humans is extremely important and due to the point that the monster was formed from different human organs created him closer to humans than a monster or an animal. This is the reason that, when the monster comes to contact with his creator Frankenstein, he insisted that his partner should be created so that they can have an intimate connection and love.

Victor began the creation of monster’s partner, but on critical consideration of the behaviors of the monster, withdrew his creation and even demolished the creation. In turn, this motivated monster to be angry and promised to revenge the agony caused by his creator, and he was to fulfill this through killing every partner that Frankenstein had.

From Frankenstein’s narration, it portrays that the monster had in fact lacked appropriate education from his creator and after the inspection of the actions from woodshed in the cottage that was closer, he felt informed. The actions that he expressed are to draw out the significance of family to a person.

The monster cleverly made a paradox of the De Lacey to the Frankenstein and illustrated particular events where love was a source of power to particular events such as Saffie being saved by Felix and De Lacey choosing Saffie and deserting Felix (Shelley, 1993).

The novel reveals evidently the poignant desertion that the monster had that he promised eventually that the same will be experienced by Victor. The Monster’s revenge through killing every origin of pleasure to Victor, and this took Victor to very situation he was experiencing. Actually, Frankenstein did not have the sufficient force to hold back the stress and this made him yield and surrender as a lonesome and unhappy person.

The last part of the novel disagrees with the opening where Frankenstein described himself as coming from a joyful and stable family. The actuality revealed is that even if they were from a rich family, they were not basically contented.

His mother died after a communicable scarlet fever (Goodson, 1996) and later William, his brother, followed her and finally because of agony and shock his father also passes away. In reality, with all the deaths that occurred, it is difficult for all families to invent happiness. Additionally, the monster afflicted the emotions of Frankenstein when he murdered Elizabeth, Frankenstein’s partner.

Certainly, the monster had turned into a bright creator and the vital faculties were at the moment refined. This is to portray the essence of education and the significance of the cottage, and according to the novel, the cottage is the turning point of the life of monster. It is from the vital observation that he understood the hatred that humans had towards him, which he attempts to resolve although without success.

From the cottage’s narration, it is very important to point out that the monster had obtained an opportunity to internalize every example that he found out from the relations in the cottage. For example, he found out that he had no relationship, no language, and no identity in his existence, and the monster was really rejected creating him to experience much agony and anger all through his life (Ferguson, 2010).

When the monster attempted to bring good relations with the humans in return for intimacy, everything did not happen as expected and was actually shot eventually and deeply injured.

From the novel, we also find out that the acquirement of education can have a positive or negative consequence. In the narration, we learn that Frankenstein was an extremely strong-minded scholar and placed more effort to make an animate being using an inanimate, which he performed although not to his anticipation.

The outcome of the tests brought about agony in his life and in contrast, the education of the monster was also devastating. Certainly, it was a pleasant thing that the monster found out who his creator was and understood the significance of family binds within the life of humans. However, it is due to the explanation that he had to act in a very intolerable approach so that he could avenge for his emotional misery.

Family & Relationships in Frankenstein: Conclusion

In conclusion, it is very important to have an outline of different important elements talked about in the paper. For example, the paper discuses the theme of family relationship and the strength of the family bind in the existence of all human beings. In the novel, there are different features that may highly clarify the essence of family relationships. In the family of De Lacey and Frankenstein, a major representation of family relationships is seen and on the other hand, the monster is experiencing loneliness and puts the fault of his isolation to Victor, his creator.

He understands the spirit of intimacy from what he saw from the cottage that accommodated the family of De Lacey and another aspect that is discussed here and that has great significance is about the impact of education. Education is intended to provide success and constructive change in the community and we learn some negativity and damage that is brought into being by education.

Ferguson, F. (2010). Generationalizing: Romantic Social Forms and the Case of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Journal of Literature and the History of Ideas , 8(1): 97–118.

Goodson, A. (1996). Frankenstein in the Age of Prozac. Literature and Medicine , 15(1): 16-32.

Shelley, M. (1993). Frankenstein. New York: Random House.

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Frankenstein Themes, Symbols, and Literary Devices

Pursuit of knowledge, importance of family, nature and the sublime, symbolism of light, symbolism of texts, the epistolary form.

• B.A., English Literature, Cornell University

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is a 19th-century epistolary novel associated with both the Romantic and the Gothic genres. The novel, which follows a scientist named Frankenstein and the horrifying creature he creates, explores the pursuit of knowledge and its consequences, as well as the human desire for connection and community. Shelley depicts these themes against the backdrop of a sublime natural world and reinforces them using symbolism.

Shelley wrote Frankenstein in the midst of the Industrial Revolution , when major breakthroughs in technology were transforming society. One of the central themes in the novel—man’s pursuit of knowledge and scientific discovery—explores the subsequent anxieties of this period. Frankenstein is obsessed with uncovering the secrets of life and death with ruthless ambition; he disregards his family and ignores all affection as he pursues his studies. His academic trajectory in the novel seems to mirror mankind’s scientific history, as Frankenstein begins with the medieval philosophies of alchemy, then moves on to the modern practices of chemistry and mathematics at university.

Frankenstein's efforts lead him to discover of the cause of life, but the fruit of his pursuit is not positive. Rather, his creation only brings sadness, misfortune, and death. The creature Frankenstein produces is an embodiment of man’s scientific enlightenment : not beautiful, as Frankenstein thought he would be, but vulgar and horrifying. Frankenstein is filled with disgust at his creation and falls sick for months as a result. Catastrophe surrounds the creature, who directly kills Frankenstein’s brother William, his wife Elizabeth, and his friend Clerval, and indirectly ends the life of Justine.

In his search for the root of human life, Frankenstein created a deformed simulacrum of man, privy to all the usual human degradations. With the disastrous consequences of Frankenstein’s achievement, Shelley seems to raise the question: does merciless pursuit of knowledge ultimately cause more harm than good to humankind?

Frankenstein presents his story to Captain Walton as a warning for others who wish, like he did, to be greater than nature intended. His story illustrates the downfall caused by human hubris. At the end of the novel, Captain Walton appears to heed to the lesson in Frankenstein’s story, as he calls off his dangerous exploration to the North Pole. He turns away from the possible glory of scientific discovery in order to save his own life, as well as the lives of his crewmen.

In opposition to the pursuit of knowledge is the pursuit of love, community, and family. This theme is most clearly expressed through the creature, whose singular motivation is to seek human compassion and companionship.

Frankenstein isolates himself, puts aside his family, and ultimately loses those dearest to him, all for his scientific ambition. The creature, on the other hand, wants precisely what Frankenstein has turned away. He especially wishes to be embraced by the De Lacey family, but his monstrous physique bars him from acceptance. He confronts Frankenstein to ask for a female companion, but is betrayed and cast away. It is this isolation that drives the creature to seek revenge and kill. Without Frankenstein, his proxy for a “father,” the creature is essentially alone in the world, an experience that ultimately turns him into the monster he appears to be.

There are multiple orphans in the novel. Both the Frankenstein family and the De Lacey family take in outsiders (Elizabeth and Safie respectively) to love as their own. But these characters are markedly dissimilar to the creature, as they are both nurturing, matriarchal figures to fill in for the absence of mothers. Family may be the primary source for love, and a powerful source for purpose in life at odds with the ambition for scientific knowledge, but it is nevertheless presented as a dynamic in conflict. Throughout the novel, family is an entity fraught with the potential for loss, suffering, and hostility. The Frankenstein family is torn apart by revenge and ambition, and even the idyllic De Lacey family is marked by poverty, the absence of a mother, and a lack of compassion as they turn the creature away. Shelley presents family as an important means for love and purpose, but she also depicts the familial bond as complicated and perhaps impossible to achieve.

The tension between the pursuit of knowledge and the pursuit of belonging play out against the background of sublime nature. The sublime is an aesthetic, literary and philosophical concept of the Romantic period that encapsulates the experience of awe in the face of the natural world’s extreme beauty and greatness. The novel opens with Walton’s expedition to the North Pole, then moves through the mountains of Europe with the narratives of Frankenstein and the creature.

These desolate landscapes mirror the problems of human life. Frankenstein climbs Montanvert as a way to clear his mind and minimize his human sorrows. The monster runs to the mountains and glaciers as refuge from civilization and all its human fallibilities, which cannot accept him for his façade.

Nature is also presented as the ultimate wielder of life and death, greater even than Frankenstein and his discoveries. Nature is what ultimately kills both Frankenstein and his creature as they chase after one another further into the icy wilderness. The sublime uninhabited terrains, of equal beauty and terror, frame the novel’s confrontations with humanity so that they underline the vastness of the human soul.

One of the most important symbols in the novel is light. Light is tied to the theme of knowledge as enlightenment, as both Captain Walton and Frankenstein search for illumination in their scientific pursuits. The creature, by contrast, is doomed to spend much of his life in darkness, able to walk around only at night so that he may hide from humans. The idea of light as a symbol for knowledge also refers back to Plato’s Allegory of the Cave , in which darkness symbolizes ignorance and the sun symbolizes truth.

The symbolism of light arises when the creature burns himself in the embers of an abandoned campfire. In this instance, fire is both a source of comfort and danger, and it brings the creature closer to the contradictions of civilization. This use of fire links the novel with the myth of Prometheus: Prometheus stole fire from the gods to aid in humankind’s advancement, but was eternally punished by Zeus for his actions. Frankenstein similarly took a kind of ‘fire’ for himself, by harnessing a power not otherwise known to mankind, and is forced to repent for his actions.

Throughout the novel, light refers to knowledge and power and weaves in myths and allegories to make these concepts more complex—calling into question whether enlightenment for humankind is possible to achieve, and whether or not it should even be pursued.

The novel is filled with texts, as sources of communication, truth, and education, and as a testament to human nature. Letters were a ubiquitous source of communication during the 19th century, and in the novel, they are used to express innermost feelings. For example, Elizabeth and Frankenstein confess their love for one another through letters.

Letters are also used as proof, as when the creature copies Safie’s letters explaining her situation, in order to validate his tale to Frankenstein. Books also play an important role in the novel, as the origin of the creature’s understanding of the world. Through reading Paradise Lost , Plutarch’s Lives and the Sorrows of Werter , he learns to understand the De Lacey’s and becomes articulate himself. But these texts also teach him how to sympathize with others, as he realizes his own thoughts and feelings through the characters in the books. Likewise, in Frankenstein , texts are able to portray the more intimate, emotional truths of the characters in ways that other forms of communication and knowledge cannot.

Letters are also important to the novel's structure. Frankenstein is constructed as a nest of stories told in epistolary form. (An epistolary novel is one told through fictional documents, such as letters, diary entries, or newspaper clippings.)

The novel opens with Walton’s letters to his sister and later includes the first-person accounts of Frankenstein and the creature. Because of this format, the reader is privy to the thoughts and emotions of each individual character, and is able to sympathize with each one. That sympathy extends even to the creature, with whom none of the characters within the book sympathize. In this way, Frankenstein as a whole serves to demonstrate the power of narration, because the reader is able to develop sympathy for the monster through his first-person storytelling.

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Frankenstein: The Horrifying Otherness of Family

Essays in literature , 17 (1990), 179-89.

Frankenstein

Mary shelley, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions, victor frankenstein, the monster, robert walton, elizabeth lavenza.

Roles of Education & Family in Frankenstein Essay

Introduction, role of family in frankenstein, role of education in the story, the effects of education and family, works cited.

Literature has been used as a tool by different authors to analyze human actions in many societies. From fiction to nonfiction books, writers use literature to explain various activities that involve human beings.

Literature offers an individual the opportunity to reflect on society in a way that is not confrontational. Although novels are always categorized as fiction, authors of these stories always draw their examples from society. Such books are always based on what transpired in the lives of authors. Conversely, novels are always recollections of people’s experiences in life.

Frankenstein is a piece of literature that brings out different societies in different countries. Narrated in the first person, the book provides readers with a picture of a normal family set up. The adoption of children is common in various societies in Europe.

The author has successfully managed to bring out world realities through a piece of literature. This story is based on the societal set up of Geneva, Swaziland. Although the author briefly introduces us to other countries in Europe, such as France and Italy, the attention shifts to the city of Geneva.

This article discusses the role of the family and education in society. It narrows down to evaluate how education and the family affect the life of Frankenstein. It is noted that the two aspects are the major socializing agents. The family is the primary socializing agent while the school is the secondary socializing agent. In modern society, the family is losing its primary role of socialization to education. This is clearly brought out in the life of Frankenstein.

In the story, the family serves as one of the major socializing agents in society. The writer shows that a child acquires societal norms and values through family members. Societal norms and principles are significant since they allow a child to interact freely with other members of society.

The writer demonstrates that through the family, normative components of culture are transferred from the older members of society to the young ones. The child and other members of the family are able to develop capacities that would generate creative thoughts. These thoughts would permit the child and members of the family to respond appropriately to various situations and events in life.

Through the family, children are able to learn how to relate with parents, their future partners, other members of society, as well as their youngsters. The writer shows that the family is the basic socializing agent in society. Frankenstein confirms that children are capable of relating to society through the family. In case a child fails to interact with society, the community would face challenges associated with formlessness.

The role of love in the family is an additional theme that can be depicted in the story. The author observes that the family is charged with the responsibility of uniting society. The society should acknowledge, accept, and appreciate each individual in society. Frankenstein illustrates that family love is fundamental in human life.

The writer argues that marital love means a lot as opposed to feelings and sexual expressions. The author illustrates that family love is a gift that is characterized by harmony and faithfulness. In the story, the family plays a big role in regulating sexual activity. It is frequently expected that sex relationships occur in some sort of marriage association. Such relationships are regularized through some social rules.

Therefore, a family has some significant responsibilities regarding sexual relations. Sex should take place within a standardized setting. Just like in any other society, the family in Frankenstein’s story exists to provide financial support to other members of the family. In the story, this takes a different form. The family gives each member some form of support to empower him/her economically.

Finally, the family exists to satisfy emotional needs regarding love and safety. In the story, most individuals depend on their families for emotional support. In the story, relatives loath children, but they do not stop loving them. The feelings of such children are dreadfully perplexed by the treatment they get meaning that the family is the major caregiver in society.

Education is vital to an individual’s success in society. This is according to the writer. School offers individuals an opportunity to sharpen their skills, which would further prepare them physically, emotionally, and socially for the world of work in mature commitments.

Through education, society can maintain a strong community that can actually produce health care experts, knowledgeable healthcare clients, and maintains a healthy populace. The author claims that without an educated population, society cannot develop either socio-culturally or politically.

It can be observed that education plays an important role in regards to storage and transmission of knowledge. This would mean that school is responsible for keeping knowledge safely and dispensing it to those who need it. Through published books and journals, learners can access what others have invented in various fields. In the story, the writer observes that scientists publish an article regarding their findings.

Such publications are vital in distributing ideas in society. Scientists are always supposed to publish their works for others to review. However, in the field of technology, findings are not made public because such findings are utilized in developing valuable goods. Scientific findings are made public because they aim at educating the population while a technological finding is kept secret because it is a resource. It is not surprising that individuals seek patents immediately. They come up with certain technologies.

In Frankenstein’s story, education plays a role as regards status ascendancy. Education is one of the few legitimate means that beneficiaries may utilize to improve their status rankings in society. Schooling facilitates mobility within occupational or political rankings.

Education offers an individual with an opportunity to shift from one social status to another. The writer tries to express that education diversifies an individual’s chances in life. The writer of the story underscores the fact that education is the solution to various problems afflicting society. Through education, good traditions, principles, and awareness against inhumane practices such as violence, dishonesty, and infections are enhanced.

Through analyzing the story, it can be observed that education is an important aspect of human life. It transforms an individual to enjoy advanced life in collective well-being. It equips people with desired attributes that are essential in leading decent lives. In the story, it can be reported that education molds an individual’s behavior. Individual personality benefits from the positive transformation that facilitates interactive fluency and social appeal. In the story, educated persons do not pose threats to others.

Instead, individuals act as social magnates and social glue, which means that they attract others. Earning a professional award in education prepares an individual to participate and contribute to organizations, corporations, and associations. In the story, therefore, education offers individuals with the power to move on and do things constructively. Education provides an individual with various perspectives. A learned person will always have alternative plans in life.

Frankenstein was keen to acquire knowledge from his teachers in school. He was convinced that it was only through education that one would understand the world. In this case, the writer believed that education increased an individual’s orientation to the world. From what the author says, it was his interest to ensure that knowledge offered in class remained in his memories.

He says: “I took their word for all that they averred, and I became their disciple” (Wilke and Hurt 21). The author also notes with regrets that the father was not a scientist and, therefore, he could not be in a position to help him interpret scientific subjects. His determination to acquire formal education saw him secure admission to the University of Ingolstadt.

The parents inspired him through encouragement. Indeed, the presence of Elizabeth was comforting. However, as Frankenstein was about to join the University of Ingolstadt, Elizabeth fell sick. His mother had to take care of her. Unfortunately, the mother contracted a similar complication that would later kill her.

This was very devastating. She had been a driving force to his ambitions in life. The reality that he would live without her was itself a monster. He was to go to the school that was some miles away from home. It would be much better if the mother was still alive. He would have some hope of seeing her when he would visit during recess. However, he was sure that the mother was no more.

He decided to go for a pure science course at the university. He had developed a special interest in chemistry. He believed that chemistry was the best subject. While in school, memories of his family at home preoccupied his mind. He could imagine Elizabeth and other family members sharing meals. However, the oppression caused by her mother’s death left him with injuries to the extent that he could not live peacefully.

He loved the mother and could not believe that she was gone. Such memories would affect his studies and socialization. Sometimes, he could not avoid them, especially when he faced hardships in school. The mother was his source of strength during such hardships. Her absence was a reality that Frankenstein had to take time to accept. The family he left had been the only consolation. He felt that the world was empty without his close relatives. Therefore, one may say that the family has a strong influence on an individual’s life.

It is evident that the family ties strongly affected the life of Frankenstein throughout his life in school. Although he was keen to gain knowledge from this university, he could not avoid a nostalgic mood when his memories flashed back to his family at home. From the story, it is true that, though Frankenstein appreciated education, family ties affected his concentration. Therefore, education and family ties are two things that are closely related. An individual can only perform well in school when he/she has a settled mind.

Wilke, Brian and Hurt, James. Literature of the Western World Volume II. 5th ed. New York: prentice Hall, 2000. Print.

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Home — Essay Samples — Sociology — Friendship — The Value of Friendship and Family Explored In Frankenstein

The Value of Friendship and Family Explored in Frankenstein

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Published: Apr 17, 2023

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Introduction, value of friendship and family .

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Bud Anderson, Last of World War II’s ‘Triple Ace’ Pilots, Dies at 102

He single-handedly shot down 16 enemy planes in dogfights over Europe. After the war, he became one of America’s top test pilots during the “Right Stuff” era.

By Richard Goldstein

Brig. Gen. Bud Anderson, who single-handedly shot down 16 German planes over Europe in World War II and became America’s last living triple ace, a fighter pilot with 15 or more “kills,” died on Friday at his home in Auburn, Calif., northeast of Sacramento.

General Anderson, who teamed with the renowned Brig. Gen. Chuck Yeager in combat and later in the storied age of pioneering test pilots, was 102.

His family, in a statement on General Anderson’s website , said he died in his sleep.

In his 30 years of military service, General Anderson flew more than 130 types of aircraft, logging some 7,500 hours in the air.

Piloting P-51 Mustang propeller fighters in World War II — he named them Old Crow, for his favorite brand of whiskey — he logged 116 missions totaling some 480 hours of combat without aborting a single foray.

When World War II ended, he held the rank of major at 23 years old. When he retired from active duty in 1972, he was a colonel.

His decorations included two Legion of Merit citations, five Distinguished Flying Crosses, the Bronze Star and 16 Air Medals.

He was promoted to the honorary rank of brigadier general by the Air Force chief of staff at the time, Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., in a ceremony at the Aerospace Museum of California in December 2022. General Brown called him “kind of a wrecking ball of a guy.”

General Anderson scored the third-highest number of “kills” in the Army Air Forces’ 357th Fighter Group, whose three squadrons downed nearly 700 German aircraft, mostly while protecting American bombers on their missions over Europe.

General Yeager was General Anderson’s squadron mate and downed 13 German planes. Becoming the first pilot to break the sound barrier, in 1947, General Yeager later joined with General Anderson in the test-flight program in California chronicled in Tom Wolfe’s book “The Right Stuff” (1979).

“On the ground, he was the nicest person you’d ever know,” General Yeager said of General Anderson in reflecting on their wartime years.

But as he put it in his 1985 autobiography, “Yeager,” written with Lee Jonas: “In the sky those damned Germans must’ve thought they were up against Frankenstein or the Wolfman. Andy would hammer them into the ground, dive with them into the damned grave, if necessary, to destroy them.”

General Anderson attributed his prowess in dogfights to his exceptional ability to identify enemy fighters like the Germans’ Messerschmitts and Focke-Wulfs when they were specks in the sky, just preparing to pounce.

“Part of that probably traces back to my fascination with planes as a kid, making models, filling up scrapbooks with pictures,” he recalled in “To Fly and Fight: Memoirs of a Triple Ace” (1990), written with Joseph P. Hamelin. “But part must be physical. My eyes, I’ve always believed, communicate with my brain a bit more quickly than average.”

Of the German fighter planes, he added: “I wanted to see them. I might have been a little more motivated than most.”

He flew his first mission in February 1944, with the 363rd Squadron, and became an ace (a pilot with at least five “kills”) in mid-May. He was credited with 16 kills in his own right and a quarter of a kill for a mission in which he joined with three other pilots in shooting down a German plane. General Yeager, who flew a P-51 in that squadron while holding the rank of captain, was shot down over France in March 1944. Parachuting with leg and head wounds, he was hidden by the French Resistance, eventually made it back to England and continued to fly in the war.

General Anderson became a test pilot at what is now Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio in the late 1940s and early ’50s. After retiring from the Air Force in March 1972, he was chief of test-fight operations for the McDonnell Aircraft Company at Edwards Air Force Base in California’s high desert. General Yeager, whom Tom Wolfe portrayed as personifying “the brotherhood of the Right Stuff” for his nonchalance in the face of flight emergencies, became deputy director of flight testing.

General Anderson commanded a tactical fighter wing in the Vietnam War and flew 25 missions in an F-105 Thunderchief he named Old Crow II, bombing enemy supply routes along the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

Clarence Emil Anderson Jr., known as Bud since he was a boy, was born on Jan. 13, 1922, in Oakland, Calif., and grew up in Newcastle, near Sacramento.

He was fascinated by commercial airliners flying above his town, and his father, a farmer, treated him to a biplane ride when he was 7 .

“As far back as I can remember, I wanted to fly,” he recalled in an interview with the National World War II Museum in New Orleans.

He gained a pilot’s license in a civilian training program as a teenager, then, turning 20, he joined the Army’s air wing a few weeks after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.

He married Eleanor Cosby in 1945. She died in 2015. His survivors include his son, James; his daughter, Kathryn Burlington; four grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren, according to his website.

The last World War II mission for both General Anderson and General Yeager came in January 1945, when they were extra pilots for a bombing raid over Germany.

When they saw that none of the other pilots were experiencing problems causing them to abort, they peeled off for an unauthorized joyride, buzzing buildings in neutral Switzerland and in France, then celebrated back at their base in a drinking contest with “rotgut rye,” as General Anderson recalled it.

“Chuck collapsed first,” he wrote in a remembrance included in General Yeager’s memoir. “I vaguely remember hitting him over the head with my canteen cup to make him stand up and keep going.”

They remained close friends in the decades after the war, often going on hunting and fishing trips together.

But for all the camaraderie and the exhilaration of winning so many dogfights, General Anderson saw war as “stupid and wasteful, not glorious.”

As he put it in his memoir: “Our nation must stay strong, and negotiate from that strength, while promoting better understanding among all the earth’s nations.”