Frankenstein Assignments

Pre-reading: The BIOObjective: Understanding the author’s purpose.Activity: Students will read the BIOGRAPHY and watch the VIDEO while created first person point of view notes on Mary Shelley.- Using the two biographical sources imagine you are Mary Shelley being interviewed and provide a first person response to the following topics. Write a sentence or two to answer the interview question. Interview Questions:1. What is the reason you write?2. What would you consider is your husband’s influence on your writing?3. Tell us about the challenge from Byron that gave you the spark to write Frankenstein.4. What influence did your parents and your relationship with them have on your writing? 5. What is your view of science? How did science influence you?6. What is the influence of other stories/authors on your writing?7. What do you think about the process of invention and imagination when creating stories?

Frankenstein

Modern PrometheusThe Birth of Frankenstein

Put your pens down. This will be available on the website!

Mary Shelley

• Born in 1797 to William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft• Her mother died shortly after Mary was born• Shelley learned about her mother only through

writings her mother left behind, including A Vindication of the Rights of Women (1792) which advocated that women should have the same educational opportunities as rights in society as men.

Mary Shelley• Avid reader and scholar and knew through her father some of

the most important men of the time (William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge)

• Married (scandal!) Percy Bysshe Shelley in 1816 and listened intently to his intellectual conversations with others

• On a visit in Switzerland with PBS to Lord Byron, she was challenged to write a story. She had heard Byron and Shelley discussing “the nature of the principle of life and whether there was any chance of its ever being discovered.” From this conversation, she had the “waking dream” which eventually became the novel Frankenstein.

Historical Context• Ambiguous Walton’s letters dated “17-” with no reference

to anything specific to pinpoint the date.• Story is set in the latter part of the 18th century, at the end

of the Enlightenment and the beginning of the Romantic period.• The novel critiques the excesses of the Enlightenment and

introduces the beliefs of the Romantics.• Reflects a shift in social and political thought – from

humans as creatures who use science and reason to shape and control their destiny to humans as creatures who rely on their emotions to determine what is right.

Ideas of the Enlightenment [18th C]• Scientific observation of the outer world• Logic and reason; science and technology• Believed in following standards and traditions• Appreciated elegance and refinement• Interested in maintaining the aristocracy• Sought to follow and validate authority• Favored a social hierarchy• Nature should be controlled by humans

Important Revolutions• American and French Revolution (call for individual freedom

and an overthrow of rigid social hierarchy)• Industrial Revolution – social system challenged by change

from agricultural society to industrial one with a large, impoverished and restless working class

Characteristics of Romantic Period

• Emphasis on imagination and emotion, individual passion and inspiration• Rejection of formal, upper class works and a

preference for writing (poetry) that addresses personal experiences and emotions in simple, language• A turn to the past or an inner dream world that is

thought to be more picturesque and magical than the current world (industrial age)

Characteristics of Romantic Period

• Belief in individual liberty; rebellious attitude against tyranny• Fascination with nature; perception of nature as

transformative—the sublime • The Romantics define the sublime as a combination of the

grotesque and beautiful as opposed to the classical ideal of perfection.

Characteristics of Romantic Period

• Concerned with common people• Favored democracy• Desired radical change• Nature should be untamed

Romantic Period• is the period in which art returned to idolizing Medieval

lifestyles (e.g. Camelot), making tributes to the perfection of nature, and often casting utopian ideas about humanity.

• Romanticism (or the Romantic era/Period) was an artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe toward the end of the 18th century and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate period from 1800 to 1840

Characteristics that make Frankenstein a Romantic Novel• LOVE OF NATURE• BELIEF IN THE POWER OF THE INDIVIDUAL• DESIRE TO EXPLORE THE UNKNOWN

Style: Gothic Novel

• Frankenstein is generally categorized as a Gothic novel, a genre of fiction that uses gloomy settings and supernatural events to create and atmosphere of mystery and terror. • Shelley adds to her development of the plot the use of

psychological realism, delving into the psyches of the characters in and attempt to explain why they react as they do and what drives them to make their decisions.

Structure and Point of View

Epistolary – carried by letters

Frame Story

Verisimilitude• What the author tries to create to make her story appear to be

real or true. • Latin for “life’s appearance” • This incredible tale of manipulating nature and playing God

needs this in order for her read to suspend their disbelief.• “framed narrative” structure helps create verisimilitude.• Three perspectives: a story within a story within a story.

The SublimeFrankenstein and The Romantics

Definition of SUBLIME

1 a : lofty, grand, or exalted in thought, expression, or manner b : of outstanding spiritual, intellectual, or moral worth c : tending to inspire awe usually because of elevated quality (as of beauty, nobility, or grandeur) or transcendent excellence

Synonyms: amazing, astonishing, astounding, awesome, awful, eye-opening, fabulous, miraculous, portentous, prodigious, staggering, stunning, stupendous, marvelous, surprising, wonderful, wondrous

Antonyms: base, debased, degenerate, degraded, ignoble, low

the sublime

• is the quality of greatness or vast magnitude, whether physical, moral, intellectual, metaphysical, aesthetic, spiritual or artistic. The term especially refers to a greatness with which nothing else can be compared and which is beyond all possibility of calculation, measurement or imitation.

Mythen, Swiss Alps. British writers in the 17th and 18th centuries, first used the sublime to describe objects of nature.

Burke was the first philosopher to argue that the sublime and the beautiful are mutually exclusive.

The imagination is moved to awe and instilled with a degree of horror by what is "dark, uncertain, and confused.“ While the relationship of the sublime and the beautiful is one of mutual exclusiveness, either one can produce pleasure. The sublime may inspire horror, but one receives pleasure in knowing that the perception is a fiction.

Romantic artists during the 19th century used the epic of nature as an expression of the sublime

• The Romantics define the sublime as a combination of the grotesque and beautiful as opposed to the classical ideal of perfection.

The Sublime as Theme in F The sublime natural world, embraced by Romanticism as a

source of unrestrained emotional experience for the individual, initially offers characters the possibility of spiritual renewal. Mired in depression and remorse after the deaths of William and Justine, for which he feels responsible, Victor heads to the mountains to lift his spirits. Likewise, after a hellish winter of cold and abandonment, the monster feels his heart lighten as spring arrives.

The Sublime as Theme in F The influence of nature on mood is evident throughout the

novel, but for Victor, the natural world’s power to console him wanes when he realizes that the monster will haunt him no matter where he goes. By the end, as Victor chases the monster obsessively, nature, in the form of the Arctic desert, functions simply as the symbolic backdrop for his primal struggle against the monster.

Themes• Consequences of irresponsibility in the pursuit of knowledge• Consequences of pride• Consequences of society’s rejection of someone who is

unattractive• Destructive power of revenge• Parent-child conflicts• Sympathy

Other Literary Elements• Irony – 2 major ironies• Creature is more sympathetic, more imaginative and more

responsible to fellow creatures• Creature has many pleasing qualities but is an outcast

because he’s not physically attractive

Symbols• White/light= knowledge• Water = knowledge• Ice = danger• Lightning = nature’s power• Nature = acceptance, nuturing, calm• Mountains= sublime in nature

Antithesis-Contrasts of ideas, characters, themes, settings or moods

• Victor/creation• Passion/reason• Natural/unnatural• Known/unknown• Civilized/savage

•Masculine/feminine• Beautiful/ugly• Good/bad• Light/dark• Heat/cold

Allusion

• Paradise Lost by John Milton – story of man’s fall from innocence to painful knowledge; Victor can be compared to Adam, Satan, and Eve

• The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, like narrator, tells story as a warning and a confession

• Prometheus:In Greek mythology, Prometheus is a Titan.• He was a champion of human-kind known for his wily

intelligence, who stole fire from Zeus and gave it to mortals. • Zeus then punished him for his crime by having him bound to

a rock while a great eagle ate his liver every day only to have it grow back to be eaten again the next day.

• Prometheus is credited with – or blamed for – playing a pivotal role in the early history of humankind.

The Rime of the Ancient MarinerSee Packet

Chapters I – III: Background

• Objective: Recognizing how character traits are revealed.• Activity: Victor reveals his character by comparing himself to

the two people closest to him, Henry and Elizabeth. Use the chart to examine these comparisons. Then, write your conclusions about Victor, Elizabeth, and Henry.

• Your conclusions:• Victor:• Elizabeth:• Henry:• Which of the three would you spend time with? Explain• Which of the three are you most like? Explain.

Chapters I – III: BackgroundComparison Chart

Points ofComparison

Victor Elizabeth Henry

Disposition,Temperament

IntenseSolitaryViolent

CalmConcentrated

EnterprisingHardworkingDaring

Response to theNatural World

Loves investigatingnature scientifically

Loves nature None

Interests Science Poetry ChivalryRomance

Chapters IV-VI: DebateObjectives: Responding to literature. Relating literature to life.Activity At the end of Chapter VI, Victor remarks:We returned to our college on a Sunday afternoon; the peasants were dancing, and every one we met appeared gay and happy. My own spirits were high, and I bounded along with feelings of unbridled joy and hilarity. (Pg. 58)• In these chapters, Victor has created a life and abandoned it. He has

no knowledge of what has become of his creation. Yet, he has gone on with his life and is able to feel joy again. Are you sympathetic to Victor? Should Victor have stayed in misery, or should he be able to put his mistake behind him and go on with his life?

• Form two groups, one of people who sympathize and one of people who do not.• Debate the above questions.• Take notes about the arguments of both sides on the following handouts. Save these notes for Victor’s trial, which will occur after you have completed the novel.

A Sympathetic Response to Victor: • (He should go on with his life.) Why does Victor deserve

sympathy at this point in the novel? • Argument #1Main points of the explanation:

• Argument #2Main points of the explanation:

• Argument #3Main points of the explanation:

An Unsympathetic Response • (He should stay in misery.)• Why should Victor continue to feel the burden and

discomfort of guilt for creating and abandoning the creature? • Argument #12Main points of the explanation:

• Argument #2Main points of the explanation:

• Argument #3Main points of the explanation:

Chapters VII-IX: DebateObjectives: Responding to literature. Relating literature to life.Activity: Victor says in the first paragraph of Chapter 8:• “And I the cause! A thousand times rather would I have

confessed myself guilty of the crime ascribed to Justine; but I was absent when it was committed, and such a declaration would have been considered as the ravings of a madman, and would not have exculpated her who suffered through me”.

• Should Victor have followed his “first thought” and told people about his creature, or is he right in his decision to stay silent, believing that people will consider his story “the ravings of insanity”?

Chapters VII-IX: Debate“These reflections determined me, and I resolved to remain silent.”Should Victor have followed his “first thought” and told people about his creature, or is he right in his decision to stay silent, believing that people will consider his story “the ravings of insanity”?• Form two groups, one of people who support Victor’s decision to be silent and one of people who believe Victor should have told the truth.• Debate the question.• Take notes about both arguments using the following handouts.

Victor should remain silent.

• Argument #1Main points of the explanation:

• Argument #2Main points of the explanation:

• Argument #3Main points of the explanation:

Victor should have told the truth.

• Argument #1Main points of the explanation:

• Argument #2Main points of the explanation:

• Argument #3Main points of the explanation:

The Allegory of the Cavehttp://www.monica.com.br/ingles/comics/piteco/welcome.htmSee Handout

Chapter X: Imagery BonusObjective: Visualizing descriptive imagery.Activity: Note to Teacher: This activity can be done as a group project, with each group creating a brochure, or it can be done as an individual project.

1. Re-read the first pages of Chapter X. As you read, list the descriptive phrases that appeal to you.2. Use pictures of the Alps from the Internet to create a travel brochure for hiking amid the splendor of the Alps. Use TEN of Victor’s descriptive phrases in your brochure.

1931 FilmInteresting Controversy: The scene in which the monster throws the little girl into the lake and accidentally drowns her has long been controversial. Upon its original 1931 release, the second part of this scene was cut by state censorship boards in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and New York. Those states also objected to a line they considered blasphemous, one that occurred during Frankenstein's exuberance when he first learns that his creature is alive. The original line was: "It's alive! It's alive! In the name of God! Now I know what it feels like to be God!“

Kansas requested the cutting of 32 scenes, which, if removed, would have halved the length of the film.

Sequels and Parodies• Frankenstein was followed by a string of sequels,

beginning with Bride of Frankenstein (1935)• The next sequel, 1939's Son of Frankenstein• The Ghost of Frankenstein was released in 1942. • The fifth installment,

Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man was released in 1943, This is also the sequel to The Wolf Man• House of Frankenstein, which also featured

Chaney, and adds Dracula and a Hunchback for good measure. • 1945's House of Dracula continued the theme of

combining Universal's three most popular monsters.

Sequels and Parodies• Many of the subsequent films which featured Frankenstein's monster demote

the creature to a robotic henchman in someone else's plots, such as in its final Universal film appearance in the deliberately farcical Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948).

• An episode of the TV show Route 66 in the early 1960s.• The popular 1960s TV show, The Munsters, depicts the family's father Herman

as Frankenstein's monster, who married Count Dracula's daughter. • Young Frankenstein parodied elements of the first three Frankenstein movies.

Brooks also recreated the movie into a musical of the same name.• Universal film company's 2004 film Van Helsing also featured the Frankenstein

creature.• An animated parody film, Frankenweenie, depicting Victor Frankenstein as a

modern American boy and his deceased pet dog as the monster, was made by Tim Burton in 1984. Burton remade it as a full-length animated film in 2012.

• Several characters in the film The Nightmare Before Christmas are modeled after the characters from Frankenstein, namely Dr. Finklestein and Sally.

1931 Film

Watch the film and using a T Chart list the differences and similarities with the original story.

Chapters XI-XVI: Debate—Theme

Objectives: Debating issues of the text. Relating literature to life. Reflecting on thematic ideas.Activity: A theme in this novel deals with guilt or innocence for one’s actions.Survey question:: Should the creature be held responsible for murder and for framing an innocent person, or should he be considered deranged by grief and unable to control himself because he is a victim of forces beyond his control?Group#1: Those who hold the creature responsible for his crimes.Group#2: Those who see the creature as a victim.Each group should plan arguments for either the prosecution or the defense of the creature. Use the following form for notes, and then debate the issue.

Notes for Arguments against the Creature

• Argument #1Reason the creature is guilty:Evidence that supports this reason:• Argument #2Reason the creature is guilty:Evidence that supports this reason:

Additional Notes:

Notes for Arguments FOR the Creature

• Argument #1Reason the creature is innocent:Evidence that supports this reason:• Argument #2Reason the creature is innocent:Evidence that supports this reason:

Additional Notes:

Chapters XX: WritingObjective: Responding to a literary text.Activity: In Chapter XX, Victor destroys the second creature he is forming. He narrates,As I looked on him [the creature], his countenance expressed the utmost extent of malice and treachery. I thought with a sensation of madness on my promise of creating another like to him, and trembling with passion, tore to pieces the thing on which I was engaged. The wretch saw me destroy the creature on whose future existence he depended for happiness, and, with a howl of devilish despair and revenge, withdrew. (Pg. 142)

Chapters XVII – End: Writing• Later, the creature returns, confronts Victor, and asks, “…do

you dare destroy my hopes?” (Pg. 143)• Victor’s response is to say, “Begone! I do break my promise;

never will I create another like yourself, equal in deformity and wickedness."(Pg. 143)

1. In small groups, discuss the following topics:• Do you approve or disapprove of Victor’s decision?• Do you think what he says to the creature is appropriate or not? Why?• What you would have done and said?2. In your groups, write a letter to Victor that expresses your point of view.

Summary: Dramatization• Activity• Divide the class into two groups. One group should prepare

and present the trial of Victor; the other group should prepare and present the trial of the creature. As each group presents its trial, the other will act as the jury.

Summary: DramatizationVictor is charged with:• Abandonment• Crimes against Humanity• Irresponsible and Reckless Use of Science: Placing Others in

Danger• Desecration of the DeadThe Creature is charged with:• Murder, first degree (premeditated)• Murder, second degree (intent to harm not planned)• Terroristic Threatening (William, Victor, and all mankind)• Framing an Innocent Person (Justine)• Theft

Summary: DramatizationRoles that will need to be filled for each of the two trials:

• Judge • Prosecuting Attorney • Defense Attorney• Witness 1• Witness 2 • Witness 3• Creature

• Victor • Elizabeth• Henry • Victor’s father • Psychologist• Scientist • Priest • Rabbi• Minister

Summary: Dramatization• Refer to the text as much as possible to plan your arguments and questioning.• Each person should discuss and plan what he or she will say before the trial begins.• In addition, refer to the notes you have kept from previous activities on the persuasive speeches and debates.• Careful attention should be given to the creature’s final words and Victor’s remarks on his own guilt and innocence.• After both trials are completed and determinations of guilt by the jury are established, discuss the themes brought up during the trials.