Transcript Frankenstein

Frankenstein
Assignments
Pre-reading: The BIO
Objective: 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 Prometheus
The 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]
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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
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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
Frame Story
Epistolary – carried by letters
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 Sublime
Frankenstein 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
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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 Mariner
See 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: Background
Comparison Chart
Points of
Comparison
Victor
Elizabeth
Henry
Disposition,
Temperament
Intense
Solitary
Violent
Calm
Concentrated
Enterprising
Hardworking
Daring
Response to the
Natural World
Loves
investigating
nature
scientifically
Loves nature
None
Interests
Science
Poetry
Chivalry
Romance
Chapters IV-VI: Debate
Objectives: 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 #1
Main points of the explanation:
• Argument #2
Main points of the explanation:
• Argument #3
Main 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 #12
Main points of the explanation:
• Argument #2
Main points of the explanation:
• Argument #3
Main points of the explanation:
Chapters VII-IX: Debate
Objectives: 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 #1
Main points of the explanation:
• Argument #2
Main points of the explanation:
• Argument #3
Main points of the explanation:
Victor should have told the truth.
• Argument #1
Main points of the explanation:
• Argument #2
Main points of the explanation:
• Argument #3
Main points of the explanation:
The Allegory of the
Cave
http://www.monica.com.br/ingles/comics/pi
teco/welcome.htm
See Handout
Chapter X: Imagery Bonus
Objective: 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 Film
Interesting 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 #1
Reason the creature is guilty:
Evidence that supports this reason:
• Argument #2
Reason the creature is guilty:
Evidence that supports this reason:
Additional Notes:
Notes for Arguments FOR the Creature
• Argument #1
Reason the creature is innocent:
Evidence that supports this reason:
• Argument #2
Reason the creature is innocent:
Evidence that supports this reason:
Additional Notes:
Chapters XX: Writing
Objective: 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: Dramatization
Victor is charged with:
• Abandonment
• Crimes against Humanity
• Irresponsible and Reckless Use of Science: Placing Others in
Danger
• Desecration of the Dead
The 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: Dramatization
Roles that will need to be filled for each of the two trials:
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Judge
Prosecuting Attorney
Defense Attorney
Witness 1
Witness 2
Witness 3
Creature
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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.