How Do Waltons Letters Introduce Us To Essay

How do Walton’s opening letters introduce us to the theme of male ambition?
Male ambition is displayed through two very determined and influential characters, Robert Walton and Victor Frankenstein. During the duration of writing the letters, both Frankenstein and Walton are headed to the North Pole in search of something different but have a shared passion for exploration and the unknown which explains why they take a great liking to each other.
The depiction of male ambition is presented to us throughout Walton’s letters giving us reasons as to why he is so passionate about accomplishing his target. The earliest example of this is in the first letter where Walton says he has “day dreams” of what the pole will look like. The idea of day dreams suggests that the thought of reaching the North Pole is playing on Walton’s mind so much that he can’t help but fantasise about the place which he believes is a location of “beauty and delight” rather than “frost and desolation”. This is an obvious example of male ambition due to the fact that he cannot get the idea of achieving his goal out of his head. Also, in the second paragraph of the first letter Walton describes his feelings as he departs on his journey as “the joy a child feels when he embarks in a little boat” implying that his potentially life threatening journey is nothing but child’s play due to the “inestimable benefit” that will come from reaching his objective, the use of “inestimable benefit” suggests that whatever he discovers will be an unimaginable help to civilization giving us another explanation as to why his desire is so fierce. Male ambition is not only shown through Walton but through one of his un-named crew members, Walton describes him in the second letter as being “madly desirous of glory.” giving us a very clear similarity between the two men’s ambition. Finally, when Frankenstein is discovered by Walton off the side of the boat he is in a dire condition and almost dead, this point by itself suggests male ambition because of the extents he goes to find the “dæmon”, also when Walton mentions that he saw a man on a sledge Walton says that it “aroused the stranger’s attention” again suggesting passion and ambition.
After finding out examples of male ambition we need to discuss why and where it comes from. Walton states in the first letter that his life passed in "ease and luxury" but he much preferred "glory" suggesting that the wealth he had through life was not what he wanted. He wanted to explore and discover rather than have his whole life set out with instantaneous money. Walton, as well as Frankenstein, had a neglected education meaning that his desire to learn would become more intense but in a more practical way of discovery. Walton believes that him being "self-educated" is a great "evil" as he didn't do anything intellectual until the age of 14 when he became interested in poetry. Poetry is another possible cause of his great ambition die to the fact that he wants to discover these things to write about them, rather than have to use his imagination constantly, this is however I different type of ambition as it's for personal gain rather than the good of mankind. His goal, he says, is as "fixed as fate" this gives the generalised suggestion that something did happen or something urged him to do what

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