Transcript 1.2 Read and show understanding of extended written texts

1.2 Read and show
understanding of extended
written texts
Goal: To be aware of the reading
and response requirements in
preparation for this unit.
Starter: Who is this?
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WRONG
WRONG
WRONG
WRONG
WRONG
WRONG
WRONG
WRONG
WRONG
Reading Requirements
• MUST be completed by term Three 2009
• You will be required to submit a comment to the reading
forum once per week
• Your comments will be responses to general questions
posted by your teacher
• This is homework – it is not optional!!!!
• First response due this Friday.
Frankenstein: The Plot
• Goal: To ensure your understanding of the
plot is secure to enable deeper analysis to
be carried out successfully
• Starter: Sparknotes Quiz
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/frankenstein/q
uiz.html
Plot Summary
• Construct a diagram outlining the main
elements of the plot.
• You MUST find a way of showing the
narrative viewpoint through which events
are related.
• Use the information on the video and
following slides if you must
Video Summary – BEWARE
THE ERROR
In a series of letters, Robert Walton, the captain of a ship bound for the North Pole, recounts to his
sister back in England the progress of his dangerous mission. Successful early on, the mission is soon
interrupted by seas full of impassable ice. Trapped, Walton encounters Victor Frankenstein, who has
been traveling by dog-drawn sledge across the ice and is weakened by the cold. Walton takes him
aboard ship, helps nurse him back to health, and hears the fantastic tale of the monster that
Frankenstein created.
Victor first describes his early life in Geneva. At the end of a blissful childhood spent in the
company of Elizabeth Lavenza (his cousin in the 1818 edition, his adopted sister in the 1831 edition)
and friend Henry Clerval, Victor enters the university of Ingolstadt to study natural philosophy and
chemistry. There, he is consumed by the desire to discover the secret of life and, after several years of
research, becomes convinced that he has found it.
Armed with the knowledge he has long been seeking, Victor spends months feverishly fashioning
a creature out of old body parts. One climactic night, in the secrecy of his apartment, he brings his
creation to life. When he looks at the monstrosity that he has created, however, the sight horrifies him.
After a fitful night of sleep, interrupted by the specter of the monster looming over him, he runs into the
streets, eventually wandering in remorse. Victor runs into Henry, who has come to study at the
university, and he takes his friend back to his apartment. Though the monster is gone, Victor falls into a
feverish illness.
Sickened by his horrific deed, Victor prepares to return to Geneva, to his family, and to health. Just
before departing Ingolstadt, however, he receives a letter from his father informing him that his youngest
brother, William, has been murdered. Grief-stricken, Victor hurries home. While passing through the
woods where William was strangled, he catches sight of the monster and becomes convinced that the
monster is his brother's murderer. Arriving in Geneva, Victor finds that Justine Moritz, a kind, gentle girl
who had been adopted by the Frankenstein household, has been accused. She is tried, condemned,
and executed, despite her assertions of innocence. Victor grows despondent, guilty with the knowledge
that the monster he has created bears responsibility for the death of two innocent loved ones.
Hoping to ease his grief, Victor takes a vacation to the mountains. While he is alone one day,
crossing an enormous glacier, the monster approaches him. The monster admits the murder of William
but begs for understanding. Lonely, shunned, and forlorn, he says that he struck out at William in a
desperate attempt to injure Victor, his cruel creator. The monster begs Victor to create a mate for him, a
monster equally grotesque to serve as his sole companion.
Victor refuses at first, horrified by the prospect of creating a second monster. The monster is
eloquent and persuasive, however, and he eventually convinces Victor. After returning to Geneva, Victor
heads for England, accompanied by Henry, to gather information for the creation of a female monster.
Leaving Henry in Scotland, he secludes himself on a desolate island in the Orkneys and works
reluctantly at repeating his first success. One night, struck by doubts about the morality of his actions,
Victor glances out the window to see the monster glaring in at him with a frightening grin. Horrified by
the possible consequences of his work, Victor destroys his new creation. The monster, enraged, vows
revenge, swearing that he will be with Victor on Victor's wedding night.
Later that night, Victor takes a boat out onto a lake and dumps the remains of the second creature in
the water. The wind picks up and prevents him from returning to the island. In the morning, he finds
himself ashore near an unknown town. Upon landing, he is arrested and informed that he will be tried for
a murder discovered the previous night. Victor denies any knowledge of the murder, but when shown
the body, he is shocked to behold his friend Henry Clerval, with the mark of the monster's fingers on his
neck. Victor falls ill, raving and feverish, and is kept in prison until his recovery, after which he is
acquitted of the crime.
Shortly after returning to Geneva with his father, Victor marries Elizabeth. He fears the monster's
warning and suspects that he will be murdered on his wedding night. To be cautious, he sends Elizabeth
away to wait for him. While he awaits the monster, he hears Elizabeth scream and realizes that the
monster had been hinting at killing his new bride, not himself. Victor returns home to his father, who dies
of grief a short time later. Victor vows to devote the rest of his life to finding the monster and exacting his
revenge, and he soon departs to begin his quest.
Victor tracks the monster ever northward into the ice. In a dogsled chase, Victor almost catches up
with the monster, but the sea beneath them swells and the ice breaks, leaving an unbridgeable gap
between them. At this point, Walton encounters Victor, and the narrative catches up to the time of
Walton's fourth letter to his sister.
Walton tells the remainder of the story in another series of letters to his sister. Victor, already ill when
the two men meet, worsens and dies shortly thereafter. When Walton returns, several days later, to the
room in which the body lies, he is startled to see the monster weeping over Victor. The monster tells
Walton of his immense solitude, suffering, hatred, and remorse. He asserts that now that his creator has
died, he too can end his suffering. The monster then departs for the northernmost ice to die
Review
Self Assessment – What percentage do you
think you would get now, if you re-sat the
sparknotes quiz?
Homework – resit the test
Frankenstein – The Narrative
Viewpoint
• Goal: To understand the
complex narrative
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Narrative Voice One: Walton
To Mrs. Saville, England
ST. PETERSBURGH, Dec. 11, 17--.
You will rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied the commencement of an
enterprise which you have regarded with such evil forebodings. I arrived here yesterday;
and my first task is to assure my dear sister of my welfare, and increasing confidence in
the success of my undertaking.
I am already far north of London; and as I walk in the streets of Petersburgh, I feel a
cold northern breeze play upon my cheeks, which braces my nerves, and fills me with
delight. Do you understand this feeling? This breeze, which has travelled from the
regions towards which I am advancing, gives me a foretaste of those icy climes. Inspirited
by this wind of promise, my day dreams become more fervent and vivid. I try in vain to be
persuaded that the pole is the seat of frost and desolation; it ever presents itself to my
imagination as the region of beauty and delight. There, Margaret, the sun is for ever
visible; its broad disk just skirting the horizon, and diffusing a perpetual splendour. There-for with your leave, my sister, I will put some trust in preceding navigators--there snow
and frost are banished; and, sailing over a calm sea, we may be wafted to a land
surpassing in wonders and in beauty every region hitherto discovered on the habitable
globe. Its productions and features may be without example, as the phenomena of the
heavenly bodies undoubtedly are in those undiscovered solitudes. What may not be
expected in a country of eternal light? I may there discover the wondrous power which
attracts the needle; and may regulate a thousand celestial observations, that require only
this voyage to render their seeming eccentricities consistent for ever.
What is Walton like? How does he parallel Victor? How does he act as foil to
Victor?
Walton’s Conclusion
• I was at first touched by the expressions of his misery;
yet, when I called to mind what Frankenstein had said of
his powers of eloquence and persuasion, and when I
again cast my eyes on the lifeless form of my friend,
indignation was rekindled within me. "Wretch!" I said, "it
is well that you come here to whine over the desolation
that you have made. You throw a torch into a pile of
buildings; and when they are consumed you sit among
the ruins and lament the fall. Hypocritical fiend! if he
whom you mourn still lived, still would he be the object,
again would he become the prey, of your accursed
vengeance. It is not pity that you feel; you lament only
because the victim of your malignity is withdrawn from
your power."
What is Walton’s view of the monster? How does he parallel Victor in this? How
does this (perhaps) help to inform the reader of Shelley’s view?
Narrative Voice Two: Victor
Why does Shelley have Victor a member of such a noble family? Is he a mad
obsessive, or a noble seeker of enlightenment, destroyed by fate?
I am by birth a Genevese; and my family is one of the most distinguished of
that republic. My ancestors had been for many years counsellors and syndics;
and my father had filled several public situations with honour and reputation.
He was respected by all who knew him for his integrity and indefatigable
attention to public business. He passed his younger days perpetually occupied
by the affairs of his country; a variety of circumstances had prevented his
marrying early, nor was it until the decline of life that he became a husband and
the father of a family.
As the circumstances of his marriage illustrate his character, I cannot refrain
from relating them. One of his most intimate friends was a merchant, who, from
a flourishing state, fell, through numerous mischances, into poverty. This man,
whose name was Beaufort, was of a proud and unbending disposition, and
could not bear to live in poverty and oblivion in the same country where he had
formerly been distinguished for his rank and magnificence. Having paid his
debts, therefore, in the most honourable manner, he retreated with his daughter
to the town of Lucerne, where he lived unknown and in wretchedness. My
father loved Beaufort with the truest friendship, and was deeply grieved by his
retreat in these unfortunate circumstances. He bitterly deplored the false pride
which led his friend to a conduct so little worthy of the affection that united
them. He lost no time in endeavouring to seek him out, with the hope of
persuading him to begin the world again through his credit and assistance.
Victor after Creating the Creature
How does the reader react to Victor’s account of the monster when reading this?
What do we think of Victor’s response?
I trembled excessively; I could not endure to think of, and far less to allude
to, the occurrences of the preceding night. I walked with a quick pace, and we
soon arrived at my college. I then reflected, and the thought made me shiver,
that the creature whom I had left in my apartment might still be there, alive, and
walking about. I dreaded to behold this monster; but I feared still more that
Henry should see him. Entreating him, therefore, to remain a few minutes at the
bottom of the stairs, I darted up towards my own room. My hand was already
on the lock of the door before I recollected myself. I then paused; and a cold
shivering came over me. I threw the door forcibly open, as children are
accustomed to do when they expect a spectre to stand in waiting for them on
the other side; but nothing appeared. I stepped fearfully in: the apartment was
empty; and my bedroom was also freed from its hideous guest. I could hardly
believe that so great a good fortune could have befallen me; but when I
became assured that my enemy had indeed fled, I clapped my hands for joy,
and ran down to Clerval.
We ascended into my room, and the servant presently brought breakfast;
but I was unable to contain myself. It was not joy only that possessed me; I felt
my flesh tingle with excess of sensitiveness, and my pulse beat rapidly. I was
unable to remain for a single instant in the same place; I jumped over the
chairs, clapped my hands, and laughed aloud. Clerval at first attributed my
unusual spirits to joy on his arrival; but when he observed me more attentively
he saw a wildness in my eyes for which he could not account; and my loud,
unrestrained, heartless laughter, frightened and astonished him.
Victor’s Last Words
•
Oh! when will my guiding spirit, in conducting me to the daemon, allow me the rest I
so much desire; or must I die and he yet live? If I do, swear to me, Walton, that he
shall not escape; that you will seek him and satisfy my vengeance in his death. And
do I dare to ask of you to undertake my pilgrimage, to endure the hardships that I
have undergone? No; I am not so selfish. Yet, when I am dead, if he should appear; if
the ministers of vengeance should conduct him to you, swear that he shall not live-swear that he shall not triumph over my accumulated woes, and survive to add to the
list of his dark crimes. He is eloquent and persuasive; and once his words had even
power over my heart: but trust him not. His soul is as hellish as his form, full of
treachery and fiendlike malice. Hear him not; call on the names of William, Justine,
Clerval, Elizabeth, my father, and of the wretched Victor, and thrust your sword into
his heart. I will hover near and direct the steel aright.
•
…Yet I cannot ask you to renounce your country and friends to fulfil this task; and
now that you are returning to England you will have little chance of meeting with him.
But the consideration of these points, and the well balancing of what you may esteem
your duties, I leave to you; my judgment and ideas are already disturbed by the near
approach of death. I dare not ask you to do what I think right, for I may still be misled
by passion.
"That he should live to be an instrument of mischief disturbs me; in other respects,
this hour, when I momentarily expect my release, is the only happy one which I have
enjoyed for several years. The forms of the beloved dead flit before me and I hasten
to their arms. Farewell, Walton! Seek happiness in tranquillity and avoid ambition,
even if it be only the apparently innocent one of distinguishing yourself in science and
discoveries. Yet why do I say this? I have myself been blasted in these hopes, yet
another may succeed."
•
What sympathy does the reader have for Victor here?
Victor to Walton’s Crew
"What do you mean? What do you demand of your captain? Are you then so easily
turned from your design? Did you not call this a glorious expedition? And wherefore was
it glorious? Not because the way was smooth and placid as a southern sea, but because
it was full of dangers and terror; because at every new incident your fortitude was to be
called forth and your courage exhibited; because danger and death surrounded it, and
these you were to brave and overcome. For this was it a glorious, for this was it an
honourable undertaking. You were hereafter to be hailed as the benefactors of your
species; your names adored as belonging to brave men who encountered death for
honour and the benefit of mankind. And now, behold, with the first imagination of danger,
or, if you will, the first mighty and terrific trial of your courage, you shrink away, and are
content to be handed down as men who had not strength enough to endure cold and
peril; and so, poor souls, they were chilly and returned to their warm firesides. Why that
requires not this preparation; ye need not have come thus far, and dragged your captain
to the shame of a defeat, merely to prove yourselves cowards. Oh! be men, or be more
than men. Be steady to your purposes and firm as a rock. This ice is not made of such
stuff as your hearts may be; it is mutable and cannot withstand you if you say that it shall
not. Do not return to your families with the stigma of disgrace marked on your brows.
Return as heroes who have fought and conquered, and who know not what it is to turn
their backs on the foe."
He spoke this with a voice so modulated to the different feelings expressed in his
speech, with an eye so full of lofty design and heroism, that can you wonder that these
men were moved? They looked at one another and were unable to reply. I spoke; I told
them to retire and consider of what had been said: that I would not lead them farther
north if they strenuously desired the contrary; but that I hoped that, with reflection, their
courage would return.
They retired, and I turned towards my friend; but he was sunk in languor and almost
deprived of life.
How does this incident shape the reader’s view of Victor?
Narrative Voice Three: The
Creature
"It is with considerable difficulty that I remember the original era of my
being: all the events of that period appear confused and indistinct. A strange
multiplicity of sensations seized me, and I saw, felt, heard, and smelt, at the
same time; and it was, indeed, a long time before I learned to distinguish
between the operations of my various senses. By degrees, I remember, a
stronger light pressed upon my nerves, so that I was obliged to shut my eyes.
Darkness then came over me, and troubled me; but hardly had I felt this, when,
by opening my eyes, as I now suppose, the light poured in upon me again. I
walked, and, I believe, descended; but I presently found a great alteration in my
sensations. Before, dark and opaque bodies had surrounded me, impervious to
my touch or sight; but I now found that I could wander on at liberty, with no
obstacles which I could not either surmount or avoid. The light became more
and more oppressive to me; and, the heat wearying me as I walked, I sought a
place where I could receive shade. This was the forest near Ingolstadt; and
here I lay by the side of a brook resting from my fatigue, until I felt tormented by
hunger and thirst. This roused me from my nearly dormant state, and I ate
some berries which I found hanging on the trees, or lying on the ground. I
slaked my thirst at the brook; and then lying down, was overcome by sleep.
How does the change of narrative voice here affect the reader’s response to earlier
events?
The Monster’s Final Words
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•
"Farewell! I leave you, and in you the last of human kind whom these eyes will
ever behold. Farewell, Frankenstein! If thou wert yet alive, and yet cherished a
desire of revenge against me, it would be better satiated in my life than in my
destruction. But it was not so; thou didst seek my extinction that I might not
cause greater wretchedness; and if yet, in some mode unknown to me, thou
hast not ceased to think and feel, thou wouldst not desire against me a
vengeance greater than that which I feel. Blasted as thou wert, my agony was
still superior to thine; for the bitter sting of remorse will not cease to rankle in my
wounds until death shall close them for ever.
"But soon," he cried, with sad and solemn enthusiasm, "I shall die, and what I
now feel be no longer felt. Soon these burning miseries will be extinct. I shall
ascend my funeral pile triumphantly, and exult in the agony of the torturing
flames. The light of that conflagration will fade away; my ashes will be swept into
the sea by the winds. My spirit will sleep in peace; or if it thinks, it will not surely
think thus. Farewell."
1. What does Victor think of the creature?
2. What does Walton think of the creature?
3. What does the creature think of himself?
What is the point?
The technique of framing narratives within narratives not only allows
the reader to hear the voices of all of the main characters, but also
provides multiple views of the central characters.
• Walton sees Frankenstein as a noble, tragic figure;
•
Frankenstein sees himself as an overly proud and overly ambitious
victim of fate;
•
the monster sees Frankenstein as a reckless creator, too selfcentered to care for his creation.
• Similarly, while Walton and Frankenstein deem the monster a
malevolent, insensitive brute, the monster casts himself as a
martyred classical hero: “I shall ascend my funeral pile triumphantly
and exult in the agony of the torturing flames,” he says.
Which of these views do you think is most in line with Mary Shelley’s??
Consolidation
• Create a diagram which shows the
narrative structure
• Include some way of demonstrating the
effects this structure creates
Frankenstein: The Protagonist
• Goal: To identify the main characteristics of the Victor,
and analyse how they’re constructed.
• Starter: 1.3 Practice
• ABCD for F– One feature for each category only.
• Character Quotations – what is suggested by each?
• SXY Essay Time – Go Go Go!
Extract for Chapter 22
What then became of me? I know not. I lost sensation, and chains and darkness were the only
objects that pressed upon me. Sometimes, indeed, I dreamt that I wandered in flowery meadows and
pleasant vales with the friends of my youth; but I awoke, and found myself in a dungeon. Melancholy
followed, but by degrees I gained a clear conception of my miseries and situation, and was then
released from my prison. For they had called me mad; and during many months, as I understood, a
solitary cell had been my habitation.
Liberty, however, had been an useless gift to me had I not, as I awakened to reason, at the
same time awakened to revenge. As the memory of past misfortunes pressed upon me, I began to
reflect on their cause--the monster whom I had created, the miserable daemon whom I had sent
abroad into the world for my destruction. I was possessed by a maddening rage when I thought of him,
and desired and ardently prayed that I might have him within my grasp to wreak a great and signal
revenge on his cursed head.
Nor did my hate long confine itself to useless wishes; I began to reflect on the best means of
securing him; and for this purpose, about a month after my release, I repaired to a criminal judge in the
town, and told him that I had an accusation to make; that I knew the destroyer of my family; and that I
required him to exert his whole authority for the apprehension of the murderer.
•
Identify the metaphor in the second paragraph. Explain how it adds to your understanding of
Victor
•
What has he become? How has he changed?
Victor Quotations
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“It was the secrets of heaven and earth that I desired to learn”
Victor Frankenstein
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Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first break through, and pour a torrent
of light into our dark world.
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“A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures
would owe their being to me.”
Victor Frankenstein
•
“I beheld the wretch, the miserable monster whom I had created”
Victor Frankenstein
•
“One by one, my friends were snatched away, I was left desolate”.
Victor Frankenstein
•
“Seek happiness in tranquility and avoid ambition”
Victor Frankenstein
•
But I am a blasted tree; the bolt has entered my soul; and I felt then that I should survive to exhibit
what I shall soon cease to be--a miserable spectacle of wrecked humanity, pitiable to others and
intolerable to myself.
•
Yet at the idea that the fiend should live and be triumphant, my rage and vengeance returned,
and, like a mighty tide, overwhelmed every other feeling. After a slight repose, during which the
spirits of the dead hovered round and instigated me to toil and revenge, I prepared for my journey.
Choose One
1. Describe an important change that happened
to ONE character or individual in the text.
You get better at writing essays…
Explain why this
change was important.
…by writing essays
For important
this unit you will complete
six essays
2. Describe an
character
or
individual in the
text.
I will
choose one to mark
Explain why he or she was important in the
You will choose one to be marked
text.
A random one will be chosen to be marked by
a panel of your peers
Planning Model
Keep them all together!!!!!
Plan – then write!!
Frankenstein: The Monster
•
Goal: To explore key aspects of the development of the monster and how
our sympathies change
•
Starter: 1.6 Practice
•
How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe, or how delineate the
wretch whom with such infinite pains and care I had endeavoured to form?
His limbs were in proportion, and I had selected his features as beautiful.
Beautiful!--Great God! His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles
and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth
of a pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid
contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the
dun white sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled complexion and
straight black lips.
•
Identify a language feature used in the above extract.
•
Explain what impression of the monster it creates
Branagh’s vision
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzAH150Ush8
&feature=related
• How does this differ from the novel? Is it more
or less effective? Why?
• Intelligent debate time –
• Proposition: That Branagh’s version of the
Monster’s acquirement of language is more
effective than Shelley’s. ALL to contribute!!!!
Quotation Sheet Part Two
•
“I was benevolent; my soul glowed with love and humanity; but am I not alone, miserably alone?”
Monster
•
I ought to be thy Adam; but I am rather the fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy for no
misdeed. Everywhere I see bliss, from which I alone am irrevocably excluded.
•
I, the miserable and the abandoned, am an abortion, to be spurned at, and kicked, and trampled
on.
•
“ “Am I to be thought the only criminal, when all humankind sinned against me?”
Monster
•
"I am alone and miserable; man will not associate with me; but one as deformed and horrible as
myself would not deny herself to me. My companion must be of the same species and have the
same defects. This being you must create.“
•
Have a care; I will work at your destruction, nor finish until I desolate your heart, so that you shall
curse the hour of your birth”
Monster
•
“I shall be with you on your wedding night”
Monster
•
Farewell, Frankenstein! If thou wert yet alive, and yet cherished a desire of revenge against me, it
would be better satiated in my life than in my destruction
Choose The Other One
1. Describe an important change that
happened to ONE character or
individual in the text.
Explain why this change was important.
2. Describe an important character or
individual in the text.
Explain why he or she was important in
the text.
Plan – then write!!
Theme: Monstrosity
• Goal: To explore the presentation of this theme.
• Starter: Three Halves Debate:
• Consider the viewpoints on the following slide. You can
choose to side with one or the other, or be undecided,
and stay in the centre of the room.
• Groups on either side – your job is to convince others to
join you.
• One speaker per round.
• No rebuttal on first round.
• Different speaker each round
Views On Monstrosity
• Andrew Lamb: I think that Frankenstein is more monstrous
than the daemon because if Victor had not created the daemon,
then the daemon would not have ever been born and have the
chance to become a monstourous daemon through his actions.
This in my opinion makes Frankenstein more of a monster than
the actual monster. I also think that if Victor had not abandoned
the daemon, yet cared for him and been his companion, then
the daemon would have had a better, more stable personality
and he would not have committed such violent acts that he did
• James Hanff: I would have to say that the Creation is more
monstorous than Frankenstein. He murdered or caused the
death of four people three of which he murered with his bare
hand. I believe is very monstorous and hard to top. I believe
that Frankenstein had periods in his life where he was mad and
very emotionally unfit to cope with his actions rather than
acting like a monster and this caused him to neglect his
creation and allow it to turn into a monster.
Monstrosity – from sparknotes
Reduce, refine, put into your own words
•
• Obviously, this theme pervades the entire novel, as the monster lies at the
center of the action. Eight feet tall and hideously ugly, the monster is
rejected by society. However, his monstrosity results not only from his
grotesque appearance but also from the unnatural manner of his creation,
which involves the secretive animation of a mix of stolen body parts and
strange chemicals. He is a product not of collaborative scientific effort but of
dark, supernatural workings.
•
• The monster is only the most literal of a number of monstrous entities in the
novel, including the knowledge that Victor used to create the monster (see
“Dangerous Knowledge”). One can argue that Victor himself is a kind of
monster, as his ambition, secrecy, and selfishness alienate him from human
society. Ordinary on the outside, he may be the true “monster” inside, as he
is eventually consumed by an obsessive hatred of his creation. Finally,
many critics have described the novel itself as monstrous, a stitchedtogether combination of different voices, texts, and tenses (see Texts).
Sample Essay Question
• Describe an important idea
• Explain why it was worth reading about.
• WHY WAS IT WORTH READING ABOUT??
• Group Competition – the best possible SXY P –
go!!!
• Feedback
Frankenstein: Purpose
Goal: To consider Mary Shelley’s purpose in
writing this text, and provide key examples to
support this.
Starter: 1.6 Practice
Discussion – Dangerous knowledge??
Interviewing Mary Shelley
Meeting Mary Shelley.
Int: Frankenstein contains two
narrators who are seemingly
obsessed by knowledge and
discovery. What were you
trying to achieve through this
device?
MS: One of my central purposes
in writing
Frankenstein was
to warn …
Dangerous Knowledge
To what extent is the exploration of the idea of dangerous knowledge
Mary Shelley’s purpose in Frankenstein?
The pursuit of knowledge is at the heart of Frankenstein, as Victor
attempts to surge beyond accepted human limits and access the
secret of life. Likewise, Robert Walton attempts to surpass previous
human explorations by endeavoring to reach the North Pole. This
ruthless pursuit of knowledge, of the light, proves dangerous, as
Victor's act of creation eventually results in the destruction of
everyone dear to him, and Walton finds himself perilously trapped
between sheets of ice. Whereas Victor's obsessive hatred of the
monster drives him to his death, Walton ultimately pulls back from
his treacherous mission, having learned from Victor's example how
destructive the thirst for knowledge can be.
Think also of blasphemy and hubris
Draw parallels with atomic energy, perhaps GE? More?
•
From
Walton’s
Letters
He is now much recovered from his illness, and is continually on the deck,
apparently watching for the sledge that preceded his own. Yet, although unhappy,
he is not so utterly occupied by his own misery but that he interests himself
deeply in the projects of others. He has frequently conversed with me on mine,
which I have communicated to him without disguise. He entered attentively into
all my arguments in favour of my eventual success, and into every minute detail
of the measures I had taken to secure it. I was easily led by the sympathy which
he evinced to use the language of my heart; to give utterance to the burning
ardour of my soul; and to say, with all the fervour that warmed me, how gladly I
would sacrifice my fortune, my existence, my every hope, to the furtherance of
my enterprise. One man's life or death were but a small price to pay for the
acquirement of the knowledge which I sought; for the dominion I should acquire
and transmit over the elemental foes of our race. As I spoke, a dark gloom spread
over my listener's countenance. At first I perceived that he tried to suppress
his emotion; he placed his hands before his eyes; and my voice quivered
and failed me, as I beheld tears trickle fast from between his fingers--a
groan burst from his heaving breast. I paused;--at length he spoke, in
broken accents:-- "Unhappy man! Do you share my madness? Have you
drank also of the intoxicating draught? Hear me--let me reveal my tale, and
you will dash the cup from your lips!"
•
•
Identify a language feature used in the section in bold.
Explain how it helps you to better understand a character.
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"You seek for knowledge and wisdom, as I once did; and I ardently hope that the gratification of your wishes may
not be a serpent to sting you, as mine has been."Mary ShelleyFrankenstein
Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first break through, and pour a torrent of light into our
dark world.Mary ShelleyFrankenstein
. . . the moon gazed on my midnight labours, while, with unrelaxed and breathless eagerness, I pursued nature to
her hiding-places.Mary ShelleyFrankenstein
The agony of my feelings allowed me no respite; no incident occurred from which my rage and misery could not
extract its food . . .Mary ShelleyFrankenstein
to me. My companion must be of the same species and have the same defects. This being you must create.“
But I am a blasted tree; the bolt has entered my soul; and I felt then that I should survive to exhibit what I shall
soon cease to be--a miserable spectacle of wrecked humanity, pitiable to others and intolerable to myself.Mary
ShelleyFrankenstein
Be men, or be more than men. Be steady to your purposes and firm as a rock. This ice is not made of such stuff
as your hearts may be; it is mutable and cannot withstand you if you say that it shall not.Mary ShelleyFrankenstein
My heart was fashioned to be susceptible of love and sympathy, and when wrenched by misery to vice and hatred,
it did not endure the violence of the change without torture such as you cannot even imagine.
Frankenstein – Peer Review
• Goal: To critically analyse peer’s essays,
and reflect on your own, in order to clarify
how to make improvements.
• Starter: What themes follow through the
assessment criteria?
Critical Friend
Time
• The Criteria
• Read the
exemplars you’ve
been given
• Read your essay
aloud to your group
• 4 WWWs
• 3 Ebis
• One Grade
Victor’s Voice
What do each of the following suggest about his character?
Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first break through,
and pour a torrent of light into our dark world.
So much has been done, exclaimed the soul of Frankenstein—more, far more,
will I achieve; treading in the steps already marked, I will pioneer a new
way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest
mysteries of creation.
It was already one in the morning; the rain pattered dismally against the panes,
and my candle was nearly burnt out, when, by the glimmer of the halfextinguished light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open . .
•
Frankenstein: Setting
Goal: To analyse the effect the setting of the novel has had
upon the themes and characterisation.
Starter: Come up with the BEST possible definition
The Age of Enlightenment
The Age or Romanticism
Dealing with the question
Fun time
Age of Enlightenment
• Of the basic assumptions and beliefs common to philosophers and
intellectuals of this period, perhaps the most important was an
abiding faith in the power of human reason. The age was
enormously impressed by the discovery by Isaac Newton of
universal gravitation. If humanity could so unlock the laws of the
universe, God’s own laws, why could it not also discover the laws
underlying all of nature and society? This belief was summed up by
Alexander Pope: “Nature and nature’s laws lay hid in night, / God
said, ‘Let Newton be,’ and all was light.”
• Enlightenment thinkers placed a great premium on the discovery of
truth through the observation of nature, rather than through the
study of authoritative sources, such as Aristotle and the Bible. If
the centuries-old medieval view of the physical world had been so
decisively overthrown by reason, then the antiquity of an idea, or
indeed of a law, a privilege, or a form of government, could no
longer be seen as a guarantee of its worth.
Romanticism
Romanticism is a complex artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that originated in
the second half of the 18th century in Western Europe, and gained strength during
the Industrial Revolution.[1] It was partly a revolt against aristocratic social and
political norms of the Age of Enlightenment and a reaction against the scientific
rationalization of nature and was embodied most strongly in the visual arts, music,
and literature.
The movement stressed strong emotion as a source of aesthetic experience, placing new
emphasis on such emotions as trepidation, horror and awe—especially that which is
experienced in confronting the sublimity of untamed nature and its picturesque
qualities, both new aesthetic categories. It elevated folk art and custom to something
noble, and argued for a "natural" epistemology of human activities as conditioned by
nature in the form of language, custom and usage.
Our modern sense of a romantic character is sometimes based on Byronic or Romantic
ideals. Romanticism reached beyond the rational and Classicist ideal models to
elevate medievalism and elements of art and narrative perceived to be authentically
medieval, in an attempt to escape the confines of population growth, urban sprawl
and industrialism, and it also attempted to embrace the exotic, unfamiliar and distant
in modes more authentic than chinoiserie, harnessing the power of the imagination to
envision and to escape.
Setting Question
• Describe an important setting from the
text.
• (Note setting can be a time or a place)
• Explain how this setting helped to develop
an important idea or ideas
Shared Plan
Fun Time!!!
Frankenstein: Key Moments
• Goal: To analyse how key moments affect
the development of ideas and characters.
• Starter: Group discussion – what are the
three single most important events in the
text? Be prepared to justify each choice.
Key Moment: It’s Alive!
• Chapter Five
http://www.literature.org/authors/sh
elley-mary/frankenstein/chapter05.html
• Notes: use the following headings
in a mind-map to jot notes as we
read to clarify the importance of
this moment
•
•
•
•
•
Monstrosity
Dangerous Knowledge
Characterisation – Victor
Characterisation – The Monster
Reader response – manipulation
of sympathies
Exploring Importance
• Describe an important Moment
• Explain how it helped develop an
important idea or ideas
• Shared plan
• Collective Essay Competition
Two halves of a class
Section allocation
Publication and feedback
Key Moment Two: It Speaks
• Goal: To consider the significance of the
beginning of the Monster’s Narrative and
the effect this has on the reader.
• Starter: 1.6 Practice
• Reading: The beginning of the Monster’s
Narrative http://www.literature.org/authors/shelley-mary/frankenstein/chapter11.html
Identify a language feature used in the section in bold.
Explain how it contributes to the mood of the passage
He approached; his countenance bespoke bitter anguish, combined with disdain and
malignity, while its unearthly ugliness rendered it almost too horrible for human eyes. But
I scarcely observed this; rage and hatred had at first deprived me of utterance, and I
recovered only to overwhelm him with words expressive of furious detestation and
contempt.
"Devil," I exclaimed, "do you dare approach me? and do not you fear the fierce
vengeance of my arm wreaked on your miserable head? Begone, vile insect! or rather,
stay, that I may trample you to dust! and, oh! that I could, with the extinction of your
miserable existence, restore those victims whom you have so diabolically murdered!"
"I expected this reception," said the daemon. "All men hate the wretched; how,
then, must I be hated, who am miserable beyond all living things! Yet you, my
creator, detest and spurn me, thy creature, to whom thou art bound by ties only
dissoluble by the annihilation of one of us. You purpose to kill me. How dare you
sport thus with life? Do your duty towards me, and I will do mine towards you and
the rest of mankind. If you will comply with my conditions, I will leave them and
you at peace; but if you refuse, I will glut the maw of death, until it be satiated with
the blood of your remaining friends."
"Abhorred monster! fiend that thou art! the tortures of hell are too mild a vengeance for
thy crimes. Wretched devil! you reproach me with your creation; come on, then, that I
may extinguish the spark which I so negligently bestowed." My rage was without bounds;
I sprang on him, impelled by all the feelings which can arm one being against the
existence of another.
He easily eluded me, and said--
How do the following quotations shape the reader’s
response to The Monster?
Quotation
I was a poor, helpless, miserable wretch; I knew,
and could distinguish, nothing; but feeling pain
invade me on all sides, I sat down and wept.
I was delighted when I first discovered that a
pleasant sound, which often saluted my ears,
proceeded from the throats of the little winged
animals who had often intercepted the light from
my eyes.
"Here [the hovel next to the cottage] then I
retreated, and lay down happy to have found a
shelter, however miserable, from the inclemency
of the season, and still more from the barbarity of
man.
He raised her, and smiled with such kindness and
affection that I felt sensations of a peculiar and
overpowering nature: they were a mixture of pain
and pleasure, such as I had never before
experienced, either from hunger or cold, warmth
or food; and I withdrew from the window, unable
to bear these emotions.
Significance
Review: Two characters, one
novelist and a reader
• Create 3 Tableaux showing aspects of this scene
• You can choose to show the monster telling his tale to
Victor, or Aspects of the Monster’s Narrative
• Two of you will be participant.
• One of you will be Mary Shelley, and explain what your
intention was in including this detail in the text
• The last one of you will be the reader – you will explain
how you responded to the event.
• Go GO GO !!!
Frankenstein – Group Seminar
• Goal: To begin to plan and allocate tasks for a seminar
on a given aspect of the text.
• Starter – Recap – what literary aspects of the novel have
we examined thus far??
• Seminar Task – Topic Setting: Choose your topic.
• Only one group can present each topic.
• Your topic must include a title and focussing question
Seminar Requirements
• Must use visual and verbal communication
• Must include a brief written activity and the facilitation of
feedback from your audience (Cloze paragraph, multichoice, T/F, short answer worksheet, crossword puzzle –
online programs will do this for you)
• Every member of the group must speak
• Each member must have a specific aspect of the topic to
focus upon.
• Seminars can be no longer than 15 minutes, including
the student activity.
• Total Credit Value:
0
Seminar Prep
• Select Topic
• Allocate aspects
• Allocate Tasks – Create powerpoint, make up worksheet
etc.
• Draft an outline plan that EACH member of the group will
have in their book
• Go GO GO!!
1.3 Assessment One
Step One – look through your previous essays for 1.4 and 1.5. Write
any key targets you have – use the resource of your memory too –
what do you need to do better when writing essays?
Planning Time 10 Minutes
Writing Time 30 Minutes – 500 Words Go Go GO!!!!!
Self assessment – give yourself a grade and some feedback
4 WWWs
2 EBIs
Timed Essay One
TOPICS (Choose ONE)
1. Describe an important change that happened to ONE character or
individual in the text.
Explain why this change was important.
2. Describe an important event at (or near) the end of the text.
Explain how this event helped you understand an idea (or ideas) in the
text.
3. Describe an idea (or ideas) in the text that you found interesting.
Explain why you found this idea (or ideas) interesting.
4. Describe an important character or individual in the text.
Explain why he or she was important in the text.
5. Describe at least TWO techniques used to make a character or individual
in the text interesting.
Explain why these techniques made the character or individual interesting.
Note: “Techniques” could include language, structure and / or narrative
point-of-view.
6. Describe an important aspect of setting in the text.
Explain how it helped you understand a key idea (or ideas) in the text.
Note: “Setting” may refer to time and / or place.
Seminar Presentations
• Goal: To use a variety of presentation
techniques to communicate effectively
• To provide well considered, sensitive,
constructive feedback
• Starter: Socratic Feedback – who was
Socrates?
Socratic Discussion – key points
A bunch of you will talk
A bunch of you will listen
None of you will wear togas.
What is a Socratic Discussion?
A group will perform the seminar on their given aspect of the text
Other groups will be allocated an aspect to observe and make notes on as the seminar
progresses.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
The clarity and relevance and validity of the main points of the seminar
The co-ordination and effectiveness of the learning activity
The interaction of the group when presenting
The quality and effectiveness of visual aids
The quality and effectiveness of the speakers’ presentation
The achieving of purpose – hoe effectively did it help you learn???
Each group should come up with 4WWWs and 2 EBIs
All feedback to be delivered in the first person plural (We, us, our …)
At least two groups will be asked to share their feedback at the end.
Each round will mean a new aspect upon which to focus.
1.3 Assessment Two
Step One – look through your previous essays for 1.3. Write any key
targets you have – use the resource of your memory too – what do
you need to do better when writing essays?
Planning Time 10 Minutes
Writing Time 30 Minutes – 500 Words Go Go GO!!!!!
Self assessment – give yourself a grade and some feedback
4 WWWs
2 EBIs
Assessment Two TOPICS (Choose
ONE)
1. Describe a positive OR negative experience that happened to a character or
individual in the
text.
Explain how the writer used the experience to help you understand that character or
individual.
2. Describe an event that was a turning point in the text.
Explain why the turning point was important.
3. Describe at least ONE technique in the text that helped make the writer’s idea(s)
clear to you.
Explain why the technique made the writer’s idea(s) clear to you.
Note: “Techniques” might be language, style, structure or narrative point-of-view.
4. Describe a character or individual in the text whom you found interesting.
Explain how the writer made the character or individual interesting to you.
5. Describe at least ONE way that time and / or place were used in the text.
Explain why the time and / or place were important.
6. Describe at least ONE idea that you thought was important in the text.
Explain how the writer made you think the idea was important.
Assessment Feedback WWW
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Good use of literary and analytical language
Sustained and complex points made
A good sense of relating points to the author’s purpose
Excellent Planning Good knowledge of the story line
Good Length
Responsive and thoughtful comments made
Perceptive and original ideas offered
A very good understanding of the text shown
Very well structured SXY paragraphs
Very good use of examples and quotations as evidence
Excellent links to the major themes of the text
Detailed analysis, exploring layers of meaning
Assessment Feedback WWW
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
Good knowledge of the story line
Good Length
Responsive and thoughtful comments made
Perceptive and original ideas offered
A very good understanding of the text shown
Very well structured SXY paragraphs
Very good use of examples and quotations as evidence
Excellent links to the major themes of the text
Detailed analysis, exploring layers of meaning
Good use of literary and analytical language
Sustained and complex points made
A good sense of relating points to the author’s purpose
Excellent Planning
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
Make sure your choice of quotation suits the point you’re making
Respond to the exact demands of the question – if it asks for ‘a’
challenge/relationship, idea etc, write about one
Tie your argument back to the question by reiterating the key words –
IMPORTANT HERE
Be sure to briefly explain what is happening in a quotation
Make sure you are clear in answering the first part of the question
Revise SXY paragraph structure and use it consistently
Use a formal style when writing essays
Be careful to be accurate when giving an example of an incident from the
story
Use quotations as evidence – frequently – try to weave in two or three very
brief quotations in every paragraph
Develop the ‘you analyse’ part of sxy paragraphs more by using connectives
such as ‘moreover’ to expand your comments
Aim for at least four detailed and developed paragraphs, as well as a brief
intro and conclusion
Answer both parts of the question – don’t forget to describe using the 5ws
and 1h..
Avoid repeating quotations or ideas
Try to make more links to the author’s purpose be clear in showing you
understand that the author is trying to manipulate the reader’s response
Strive to be critically appreciative – show that you understand how effective
the writer’s techniques and ideas are.
Aim to move beyond the text – make references to the social and historical
context, and Shelley’s purpose of criticism of the age of enlightenment ,
Draw frequent, specific examples from the text – avoid writing to generally
about the ideas
Greater care with written accuracy needed.
Revise the rules of the academic voice and use them consistently
Aim to make more links within the text – has does your quotation build on a
previous one, or contrast it, or foreshadow one to come?
Revise literary terminology and use it frequently – protagonist, antagonist,
symbolism, narrative viewpoint, sympathies, authorial purpose, social context
…
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
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Make sure your choice of quotation suits the point you’re making
Aim for at least three detailed and developed paragraphs, as well as a
brief intro and conclusion
Answer both parts of the question – don’t forget to describe using the
5ws and 1h..
Avoid repeating quotations or ideas
Try to make more links to the author’s purpose be clear in showing you
understand that the author is trying to manipulate the reader’s response
Strive to be critically appreciative – show that you understand how
effective the writer’s techniques and ideas are.
Aim to move beyond the text – make references to the social and
historical context, and Shelley’s purpose of criticism of the age of
enlightenment ,
Draw frequent, specific examples from the text – avoid writing to
generally about the ideas
Greater care with written accuracy needed.
Respond to the exact demands of the question – if it asks for ‘a’
challenge/relationship, idea etc, write about one
Explain your ideas fully
Be sure to briefly explain what is happening in a quotation
Make sure you are clear in answering the first part of the question
Revise SXY paragraph structure and use it consistently
Use a formal style when writing essays
Be careful to be accurate when giving an example of an incident from the
story
Use quotations as evidence
Develop the ‘you analyse’ part of sxy paragraphs more by using
connectives such as ‘moreover’ to expand your comments
Victor Frankenstein
Victor Frankenstein's life story is at the heart of Frankenstein. A young Swiss boy, he
grows up in Geneva reading the works of the ancient and outdated alchemists, a
background that serves him ill when he attends university at Ingolstadt. There he
learns about modern science and, within a few years, masters all that his professors
have to teach him. He becomes fascinated with the “secret of life,” discovers it, and
brings a hideous monster to life. The monster proceeds to kill Victor's youngest
brother, best friend, and wife; he also indirectly causes the deaths of two other
innocents, including Victor's father. Though torn by remorse, shame, and guilt, Victor
refuses to admit to anyone the horror of what he has created, even as he sees the
ramifications of his creative act spiraling out of control.
Victor changes over the course of the novel from an innocent youth fascinated by the
prospects of science into a disillusioned, guilt-ridden man determined to destroy the
fruits of his arrogant scientific endeavor. Whether as a result of his desire to attain the
godlike power of creating new life or his avoidance of the public arenas in which
science is usually conducted, Victor is doomed by a lack of humanness. He cuts
himself off from the world and eventually commits himself entirely to an animalistic
obsession with revenging himself upon the monster.
At the end of the novel, having chased his creation ever northward, Victor relates his
story to Robert Walton and then dies. With its multiple narrators and, hence, multiple
perspectives, the novel leaves the reader with contrasting interpretations of Victor:
classic mad scientist, transgressing all boundaries without concern, or brave
adventurer into unknown scientific lands, not to be held responsible for the
consequences of his explorations.
The Monster
•
The monster is Victor Frankenstein's creation, assembled from old body
parts and strange chemicals, animated by a mysterious spark. He enters life
eight feet tall and enormously strong but with the mind of a newborn.
Abandoned by his creator and confused, he tries to integrate himself into
society, only to be shunned universally. Looking in the mirror, he realizes
his physical grotesqueness, an aspect of his persona that blinds society to
his initially gentle, kind nature. Seeking revenge on his creator, he kills
Victor's younger brother. After Victor destroys his work on the female
monster meant to ease the monster's solitude, the monster murders Victor's
best friend and then his new wife.
•
While Victor feels unmitigated hatred for his creation, the monster shows
that he is not a purely evil being. The monster's eloquent narration of events
(as provided by Victor) reveals his remarkable sensitivity and benevolence.
He assists a group of poor peasants and saves a girl from drowning, but
because of his outward appearance, he is rewarded only with beatings and
disgust. Torn between vengefulness and compassion, the monster ends up
lonely and tormented by remorse. Even the death of his creator-turnedwould-be-destroyer offers only bittersweet relief: joy because Victor has
caused him so much suffering, sadness because Victor is the only person
with whom he has had any sort of relationship.