Judy Lee
Honors English
24 October 2013
Frankenstein - The Modern Prometheus The novel, Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, Victor Frankenstein can be considered as the “modern Prometheus” due to the fact that Frankenstein’s main behavior is similar to what Prometheus had done. In Greek Mythology, Prometheus “standing tiptoe on [Mount] Olympus, stretched his arm to the eastern horizon” (“Prometheus” 1), took fire from the sun and gave it to the humans down below, who were living in darkness. Now, the humans were able to cook, see and do all kinds of things they couldn't do before. This angered Zeus, as Prometheus had defied him, and was punished by binding him to a rock and having vultures come eat his liver, which replenished itself, every day. Similarly, Frankenstein took creation into his own hands and instead of being celebrated for his accomplishment, the effects were horrible. Frankenstein did not end up with the perfect creature he had foreseen, instead he had created something horrifying and disgusting. As Frankenstein looked at his creation, “the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled [his] heart” (Shelley 35”). One could say that Frankenstein can be compared to Prometheus in that they both were "punished" for attempting to help mankind. The “modern-day Prometheus” can be seen as Edward Snowden and the whole debacle. Edward Snowden, former NSA contractor and ex-CIA employee, was the one who had disclosed secrets of the NSA. He was