Liam M.

Frankenstein as interpreted by Liam Moynagh

The theme of "Life at all Costs" is mostly evident in the first part of the novel Frankenstein. In the first part of the book, Victor Frankenstein essentially abandons his social life in the pursuit of accomplishing his goal of creating life, as evident when Shelley writes "Pursuing these reflections, I thought if I could bestow animation upon lifeless matter, I might in process of time (although I now found it impossible) renew life where death had apparently devoted the body to corruption" (Shelley 73). Frankenstein seemingly ignores and abandons his family and friends for the duration of his work. By willingly abandoning his friends and family and the woman he loves, Frankenstein strives to create life at any cost. Unfortunately for Frankenstein, his creation decided to begin killing Frankenstein's loved ones in an attempt to coerce Frankenstein into creating another creature for it, a female one, as the monster itself was male. This was yet another cost of creating life; one that, perhaps, Frankenstein didn't foresee.

Today, many scientists, doctors, researchers, and patients are putting in an enormous amount of time, money, and effort in an attempt to discover the cure to, what is often times considered to be by the general public, the most devastating disease, cancer. Patients often have to go through harmful treatments of radiation and chemotherapy, treatments that, while sometimes effective in killing or subduing the cancer, can be very harmful to the body and the immune system. Due to the harming effects, high risk-to-reward ratio, and cost; many people have devoted their entire lives to the research for a more effective, less harmful cure. The fight against cancer is a difficult one and those who devote their lives to finding a cure and/or raising money to fund research for a cure are brave people who truly want to see the extermination of cancer and the extension of life; yet it comes at the cost of many people's time, energy, and money.