The character Robert Walton has many functions in the novel of Frankenstein. His role in the story, while relatively brief, is extremely important. He plays four roles. First, his writings anticipate much of Frankenstein's behavior. Second, it sets the tone for the novel by introducing the most frequently recurring themes. Third, it creates a structure through which Victor Frankenstein can tell his story. Fourth, it adds more suspense and interest to the character of Frankenstein, and therefore to the outcome of the novel. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay First of all, Walton is almost a Frankenstein lookalike. Their characteristics are very similar. Walton, a traveler who, as the book begins, is on his way to the North Pole, has rejected a life of relative comfort in England for a life of discovery and excitement. He wishes, like Frankenstein, to provide humanity with an "inestimable benefit" and, perhaps more importantly, to achieve great personal glory. Walton, like Frankenstein, also has a “burning curiosity” to discover the unknown and this is perhaps what drives Walton to the North Pole and Frankenstein to create the monster. It may also be that both men's dreams, and that they have desired the realization of this dream since childhood, have clouded their judgment. Walton, who has read about the great voyages of explorers of the past, wishes to surpass all those he has read about and reach the North Pole, a hitherto unexplored area, Frankenstein, on the other hand, has read about the search for alchemy, the elixir of life and philosopher's stone and dreams of creating life himself. Walton's idealistic approach to his adventure is illustrated in the text when he describes the North Pole as "a country of eternal light", overlooking the fact that the North Pole is only bright half the year, while the other half of the year year is wrapped in a shroud. in the darkness. Their chosen pursuits were also scorned by their fathers: "Walton's father's dying injunction had forbidden [Walton's] uncle from allowing him to embark on a seafaring life"; Frankenstein's father dismisses the books Frankenstein reads as "sad rubbish". Walton also expresses his deep desire to have an understanding friend, with whom he can share his innermost thoughts. His feelings of isolation and loneliness parallel Frankenstein's feeling of isolation later in the novel: having been educated at home, he had no lasting friends other than his family and this leads to rejection by society. Clerval, his only friend, is murdered by the monster created by Frankenstein. Both characters' quest for knowledge and discovery leads to their isolation, self-inflicted (Walton) or otherwise (Frankenstein). Second, the themes that Walton introduces into his letters, and the tone this sets, illustrate the spirit of the rest of the work. the novel. Walton asks, rhetorically (though the reader doesn't mean to take it that way) "What... can stop the determined heart and resolute will of man?" This is a central theme of the novel. Are Frankenstein and Walton both equally driven to complete their task and could it be argued that they should continue to achieve their dreams, no matter the cost? The benefits to humanity resulting from their achievements will last, as Walton says, until the "last generation": if they had not taken these risks in pursuing goals deemed too high by society, would society have been better off? Pioneers, in any field, make sacrifices for the good of humanity, and perhaps this is how both Walton and Frankenstein see their journeys of discovery.’.