Scientific Discoveries Progressing Society

Scientific discoveries represent progress for humanity, but that progress does not necessarily advance society in a positive manner. In Moore and Gibbons’ graphic novel, Watchmen, and Shelley’s gothic novel, Frankenstein, readers continually see one-in-a-hundred year scientific discoveries. The advances these books create thrust science to a level never before seen. Specifically, in Watchmen readers will see Ozymandias develop a creation which will destroy nearly all of Manhattan, killing three million innocent civilians. Undoubtedly a setback for human society. Even though Ozymandias incontrovertibly advanced science those consequences held a negative impact for humanity. We see this again in Shelley’s Frankenstein. Victor Frankenstein develops an intense passion for the sciences. This passion directly leads him creation of man. At first glance this sounds to be a definite advancement human society. It is not until after events unfolded where we learned the true consequences for Victor’s achievements. This conundrum plays itself out in these selected works of literature, but also in modern society too. Although at first glance scientific discoveries lead to extensive benefits for human society, the opposite occasionally presents itself, scientific discoveries holding clearly negative consequences for society. Ozymandias’s scientific creation and ultimate destruction of New York City in Moore and Gibbon’s work, Watchmen, demonstrates the sometime clear negative repercussions of scientific advancement. The massive destruction of downtown Manhattan depicted shines a light on the absolute negative consequences of Ozymandias’s advancement (Moore and Gibbons 3:15). Bodies hanging from window, smoke plumage, blood shattered glass, rubble all covering the streets, gore dripping from the storefronts, pain agony, despair all represented in the depiction of Manhattan, clearly point to the negative ramifications of Ozymandias’s scientific creation. Science