Blind Ambition In Mary Shelley's 'The Great Filter'

For ages, man has followed blind ambition which has lead the human race to various areas of the globe and discoveries beyond imagination. However ambition, as all advancements go, reach “the great filter” or the challenge that decides the successes of the endeavor. The “great filter” is the event that causes the weak to fail and the strong to succeed. If anyone fails to pass their challenge, they are to be punished; it is human nature to punish those who fail and reward those who succeed. History has shown us that we do not remember those who failed, those who did not succeed past the ‘great filter’ and were thus forced to seek some sort of redemption. Even in religious examples, this is a common theme. Satan, who was cast out and exiled from …show more content…
Victor, also a creator, follows his blind ambition to instil sentience into his creation: a creature superior in stature and power to man. Frankenstein was dissatisfied with his creation which caused, in his own eyes, a failure within his own “great filter” and was thus forced into exile and abandoned his creation. All of this plays to the central chaos of these stories: the social normality to punish failure versus humanity's own will to succeed, and the betrayal of hope and trust leading to the misery suffered by all throughout the endeavors experienced.
To be punished for failure is a basic social practice which drives most to succeed and some to despair. Viktor’s blind pursuit in creating life brought forth a creation with sentience and the capacity to learn. His creation was, however, unacceptable in his eyes so he cast it down into the world out of fear and as a disgrace. In the poem Paradise Lost, God cast down his divine creations into paradise, instilling within them free will which ultimately served them poorly. Like Adam and Eve, Frankey too was imbued with free will. One of the consequence of their free will is that they both were susceptible to follow the tide of human emotion and were …show more content…
It was the will to succeed that brought each to their own place in life and it's the punishment of their actions which drove everyone from paradise. Each and every one fell short in their hopes which ensured chaos in their lives.All of the chaos ties back to having free will. Free will is the ultimate freedom and one must keep wants and desires within due bounds set forth by mankind and the creator. Crossing the boundary of right and wrong will lead to consequences that cannot be undone. You cannot unring a bell once it has been struck. It is important that you intended to strike the bell to begin