Frankenstein+and+the+Dangers+of+Technology+by+John+Doe

by John Doe **
 * Frankenstein and the Dangers of Technology

__** Synopsis: **__  Mary Shelley's __Frankenstein__ is a story about Victor Frankenstein, an eighteenth-century scientist and t he creature he abandons. Throughout his young life, Victor Frankenstein studies chemistry, anatomy, and electricity. After learning all he can from his college professors, Victor branches out in an attempt to make his own contribution to the field of science -to create new life.

For years Victor works night and day on his project. By night Victor sneaks into morgues and cemeteries where he collects cadavers. By day Victor is locked in his lab testing chemicals that stave off decomposition, sewing body parts together, and testing the reanimating effects of electricity.  Totally obsessed, Victor forsakes his friends, his family, and his own well-being in assembling his creation. Worst of all, Victor is so blinded by obsession that he does not consider the consequences of bringing a living, breathing creature into the world.  One stormy night, after assembling a super human out of mix-matched body parts, Victor harnesses the power of lightening in order to bring life to his creation. When the creature first comes to life, it is an uncoordinated groaning idiot. Victor is horrified by it, and regrets what he has done. He abandons his creation, hoping that it will die of starvation.  Frankenstein’s creation manages to fend for itself. It seeks refuge in an abandoned cabin in the woods, and learns of language human interaction by eavesdropping on the inhabitants of a nearby cottage. The creature has several encounters with humanity. Each time, he is rejected, beaten, and driven off because of his horrifying appearance. The creature is the only one of its kind and leads a life of solitary misery.  The creature tracks down Victor Frankenstein, and demands that Victor create a companion for it. When Victor does not comply with the creature’s requests, it kills Victor’s loved ones one by one. Victor spends the rest of his life trying to track down and destroy his creation in order to end its rampage.

**__The Dangers of Technology.__**

 Although Frankenstein was first published in 1823, it is still relevant. Like so many of us, Victor Frankenstein had powerful technology at his fingertips. And like many of us, Victor was so distracted by what he could make happen with that technology, he does not consider the consequences of his actions.

 Consider  Michael Kamrava, the fertility doctor that implanted a dangerous amount of embryos into //octomom//   Nadya Suleman. This segment from Fox News reflects the criticism that he is under: media type="youtube" key="aKjgUk3fqqc" height="344" width="425"

 What about human cloning? Scientists already have the technology to clone humans, but it has not been done yet because it is considered unethical. With current cloning technology, attempts at cloning a human are likely to result in a large percentage of clones that die before developing fully. Furthermore, clones that survive are likely to suffer complications down the road.But science is catching up. [|Pets are already being cloned], and it is only a matter of time before humans start to clone each other.

The question is: Will we be like Victor Frankenstein? Will we become so wrapped up in pushing science and technology that we do not take the time consider the dangers involved? Or will we pace ourselves and avoid creating monsters?