Anticipation Guide

1
Anticipation Guide

• Technology will eventually solve most of our
  problems.
• Everyone has the right to become a parent. 
• Companionship is a basic need that is important
  as food or shelter.
• Every child needs mothering in order to become
  human.
• People make judgments about a person based on his
  or her appearance.
• Science should explore every possible angle for
  the progress of humankind even if the advancement
  appears to go against religion or nature.
• Being ambitious in reaching your goals is more
  important than family, friends, and having an
  intimate relationship.

2
Frankenstein,the Modern Prometheus
Mary Shelleys

• DECHS 2014

3
Introduction

• Written by Mary Shelley in the early 1800s
• Classified under two genres Gothicism and
  science fiction.

4
Frankenstein the Novel

• Written between the Romantic and Victorian
  periods
• Written by Mary Shelley, wife of author Percy
  Shelley
• A number of Shellys own viewpoints and opinions
  are found in the novel.

5
Structure and Point of View
Frame Story
Epistolary carried by letters
6
Major Characters

• Victor Frankenstein protagonist, product of an
  ideal education fueled by possibilities of
  science and a desire for fame!

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Major Characters

• The Creature - never named is Victors
  doppelganger (alter ego) Creature rationally
  analyzes the society that rejects him
  sympathetic character, admires people and wants
  to be a part of human society only results in
  violence when he is repeatedly rejected

8
Major Characters

• Henry Clerval Victors childhood friend true
  romantic, wants to leave mark on the world, but
  never loses sight of the moral relations of
  things
• Elizabeth adopted as an infant by Victors
  family marries Victor
• Robert Walton Arctic explorer whos obsessed
  with gaining knowledge and fame rescues Victor
  in the Arctic tells the story

9
Themes

• Consequences of irresponsibility in the pursuit
  of knowledge
• Consequences of pride
• Consequences of societys rejection of someone
  who is unattractive
• Destructive power of revenge
• Parent-child conflicts
• Sympathy

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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 hes not physically attractive

11
Symbols

• White/light knowledge
• Water knowledge
• Ice danger
• Lightning natures power
• Nature acceptance, nuturing, calm
• Mountains sublime in nature

12
Allusion

• Paradise Lost by John Milton story of mans
  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

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Influences on Frankenstein Prometheus

• Prometheus was a titan who had sided with the
  Olympian gods in the rebellion against Kronos,
  the ruler of the titans. And though he chose the
  Olympian gods over the titans, he never had true
  respect for them.
• As Zeus, after the revolution, became the
  almighty ruler, he took his interests in the
  celestial, and ignored the human race on Earth.
  He intended them to be primitives, with no gift
  of knowledge, and forbid any god to impart them
  with enlightenment. Prometheus looked upon these
  mortals with pity, and gave them various gifts of
  knowledge.
• But of these gifts, the most valuable and the
  most damning for Prometheus was fire, which
  enabled men to overcome ignorance and become
  enlightened. Once Zeus saw that men had overcome
  ignorance through the rebellious act of
  Prometheus, he had Prometheus chained to the
  Caucasus mountains with shackles, and had
  carnivorous birds swoop down to peck out his
  liver.
• And because he was immortal, his liver would grow
  back during the night, and his torture would
  continue on every day. But in Ovid's version of
  the story of Prometheus, Prometheus is not the
  savior of men, but creator of men who manipulated
  them to his will.

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Paradise Lost

• The epic detailing the fall of Lucifer by Milton
  was of a great influence to Frankenstein.
• In Milton's piece, Adam, God's creation,
  questions his creator, "Did I request thee,
  Maker, from my clay/ To mould me Man, did I
  solicit thee/ From darkness to promote me...?
• The lines were even used in the 1818 edition of
  Frankenstein, and covers the attitude of
  Frankenstein's creation.

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Rime of the Ancient Mariner

• A seven part poem written by Samuel Coleridge, a
  friend of Mary Shelley's father, it is often
  alluded to in Frankenstein, and has much
  influence over the story. According to accounts,
  Mary Shelley would stay up late at night to hear
  Coleridge himself recite the poem at her house.
• The poem itself is about a mariner who after
  killing an an albatross, a sea bird of good luck,
  undergoes a torturing experience that is meant to
  be reparation for his deeds. Mary Shelley alludes
  to the albatross in her story, and the idea of an
  outcast scorned and enduring suffering is again
  repeated.

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Letters 1-4

• Allusion to Rime of the Ancient Mariner
• Structure of the book arranged (epistolary
  letters)
• Stranger general narrator
• Walton substitute for audience
• THEME Quest for Knowledge can lead to
  self-destruction
• Walton suffers from hubris believes he is
  invincible
• Waltons values are questionable does not honor
  his fathers dying request

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Letters 1-4

• epic hero like, Walton is consumed by a need to
  be immortal
• Jumps from dream to dream, experienced or not and
  refuses to let the dream go, no matter what the
  cost
• THEME Humans have a basic need for
  companionship.
• Walton has no connection with others thinks he
  is above them
• Sees Victor as a kindred spirit

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Letters I-IV (Prologue)

• Epistolary
• The narrator Robert Walton writes to his sister,
  Margaret Saville
• Walton embarks on a Romantic Quest
• Wants to discover a passage near the North Pole
  to Asia
• Wants to discover the secret of the compass magnet

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Letter I

• December 11th
• Walton is far north of London in Saint
  Petersburg, Russia
• Imagines the North Pole not as the capital of
  frost and desolation but the region of beauty
  and delight
• Reveals his Romantic Quest
• Has dreamed of being an explorer since he was a
  boy, but his father forbid it
• Inherited cousins fortune, which allowed him to
  pursue exploration

20
Letter II

• March 28th
• Surrounded by frost and snow
• Expresses desire for friendship
• Surrounded by people, but no one is his equal
• Wants someone who is gentle, courageous,
  educated, intelligent, well-mannered, and with
  similar tastes
• Alludes to the Rime of the Ancient Mariner
• I shall kill no albatross. Therefore, do not
  worry about my safety or about my coming back to
  you as scornful and woeful as the Ancient
  MarinerI have often attributed my attachment
  tomy passionate enthusiasm forthe dangerous
  mysteries of the ocean to that poem by Coleridge
  (13).

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Letter III

• July 7th
• Writes to assure Margaret of his safety
• Mentions floating sheets of ice that continually
  passindicating dangers ahead
• Tells her that he will be cool, persevering, and
  prudent (15).

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Letter IV

• August 5th
• A week prior, nearly surrounded by ice and fog,
  which was dangerous
• Mist cleared and Walton and crew saw low
  carriage, fixed on a sleigh and drawn by dogs,
  moving north, half a mile away.
• Being that had the shape of a man, but was
  gigantic, sat on the sleigh.
• Disappeared among the distant glaciers
• Two hours later, ice broke and freed ship
• Spent night at location to be safe

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Letter IV (Continued)

• Next morning, found someone else in a sleigh
• Drifted toward ship on slab of ice
• Only one dog remained alive
• Human being inside the carriage
• Not savage, like other being on previous
  sleigh, but European
• Spoke English, but with foreign accent
• Man was on brink of death

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Letter IV (Continued)

• Man inquired where Walton was headed satisfied
  with Waltons response of North Pole and agreed
  to come aboard
• Mans limbs nearly frozen, body emaciated by
  fatigue and suffering
• Man slowly recovered, under Waltons care
• Two days later, stranger finally spoke
• Walton describes him as having eyes which express
  wildness or madness, but whose face lights up
  when someone is kind to him. Stranger is
  generally melancholy and despairing, crush by
  weight of woes

25
Letter IV (Continued)

• Stranger tells Walton that he has traveled upon
  the ice To find someone who has run away from
  me (19).
• Walton tells the stranger that the crew had seen
  the man whom the stranger pursued the previous
  day
• Stranger asked questions about where the demon,
  as he called the giant, had gone
• From then on, stranger was eager to be on deck,
  watching for the sleigh
• Walton describes the stranger as being polite and
  gentle, and though he is a wreck, appealing and
  friendly.
• Remarks that the stranger must have been a noble
  creature when he was better off
• Says that he has begun to love the stranger as a
  brother, and feels sympathy and compassion for
  the stranger

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Letter IV (Continued)

• August 13th
• Walton says that his affection for the stranger
  grows, as the stranger stirs his admiration and
  pity
• Stranger speaks eloquently and listens
  attentively
• Walton confides in him
• Walton mentions how he had sacrificed everything
  for the sake of discovery, even his life or death
• This displeased the stranger greatly
• Stranger burst into tears
• Said, Unhappy man! Do you share my madness?
  Have you drunk from the cup of your imagined
  power? Let me tell you my tale, and you will
  throw the cup from your lips! (21).
• Stranger says that he has lost everything

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Letter IV (Continued)

• August 19th
• Stranger said, I have suffered great
  misfortuneI had decided that the memory of these
  evils would die with me, but you changed my mind.
  You seek knowledge and wisdom, as I once did, and
  I deeply hope that it will not become a serpent
  and sting you, as it did meI think you may learn
  from my tale (22).
• Walton will tell the strangers story to his
  sister. He says, So strange and harrowing is his
  storyso frightful the storm that embraced the
  gallant vessel on its course and wrecked
  itthus! (23).

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Chapter 1

• THEME Family and kinship parenting
• Victor speaks in 1st person everything is in
  relation to him
• Traditional family structure (parents Alphose and
  Caroline)
• Raised in a loving happy home with loving
  parents we assume that Victor would have the
  same instinct.
• For those who have been created and abandoned, it
  is required that someone are for them to do
  otherwise is unthinkable. (adoption of Elizabeth)

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Chapter 2

• THEME Quest for knowledge leads to destruction
• Victor is predisposed to secrecy (even as a young
  man)
• Foreshadows how experiments come into play
• Father tells him that Agrippa is trash but
  doesnt explain why this book influenced his
  later work

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Chapter 3

• THEME Parenting
• For Victor, knowledge substitutes for people
  disconnects
• This attitude is dangerous
• He doesnt do well with strangers
• We learn his last name removal of first name
  makes him less personal scientific self

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Chapter 4

• THEME Boundaries/ trespass
• Two years go by without him going home why?
• This doesnt speak well for his character
• Either Victor is normally kind and has become
  demonized by scientific knowledge OR he is
  actually a selfish character
• How is he like Macbeth in this instance?
• Victor has no respect for natural boundaries
  contempt for restraints
• Lost the ability to feel anything no remorse

32
Chapter 4

• THEME Boundaries/ trespass
• To poke around something more powerful than
  yourself is dangerous
• He has an epiphany (he has discovered the secret
  of life)
• He hesitates to begin research indicates that he
  isnt fully convinced it is the right thing
  like Macbeth
• Driven to reanimate why?

33
Chapter 5

• THEME Abandonment/ parenting
• Fickleness of human nature Victor is horrified
  by what hes done
• Creature emerges in a non-violent state happy
  and shy
• We are supposed to see him as a child

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Chapter 6

• 1st time we learn of Victors brother
• Elizabeth shows herself to be gentle like
  Caroline
• Victor wants to forget desire to be reborn
• He is unable to act directly unless confronted.
• His character allows him to see only what is
  before his eyes, not beyond immature though full
  of knowledge

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Chapter 7

• Victor is still self-centered
• We are inclined to see the Creature through
  Frankensteins eyes
• Victor keeps creature secret in order to preserve
  reputation and save face

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POP QUIZ Ch. 7-9

• What happens to William?
• Who does Victor see in the storm?
• What does he realize
• What has Justine been accused of?
• Why doesnt Victor tell anyone about the
  creature?
• What happens to Justine?

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Chapter 8

• Frankensteins selfish desire to conceal the
  truth causes Justines death
• The word creature is used to refer to Elizabeth
  and Justine
• Shelley challenges us to ask how much we can
  trust language words can be manipulated

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Chapter 9

• Victor is suicidal oh poor victim
• Revolts him to the reader
• romantic images nature

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Chapter 10

• Meets creature will ultimately bring misery upon
  him
• Victors conversation with creature fallen
  angel supreme innocence with evil
• Sees himself as Adam creature begs for
  compassion
• THEME parenting
• Creature is like a sheep gone astray
• If Victor hate the creature, who will love him?
• Victors abandonment is what makes the creature
  what he is

40
Chapter 10

• THEME parenting
• No one to foster kindness in him
• How dare you sport thus with life?
• Lack of looking ahead and unwillingness to care
  of consequences
• If the creature is evil, so is Frankenstein

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Chapter 11

• Creature begins narrating
• Creature is very infant-like experiences the
  world as a child might
• Creature weeps out of fear and pain
• Does not kill anything to obtain nourishment
  truly peaceful truly innocent
• The more we learn about the Creature, the more
  our opinion of Victor falls

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Chapter 12

• THEME Knowledge brings destruction (ignorance
  is bliss)
• When the Creature sees his reflection, he is
  horrified
• The reader knows the can never over come the
  obstacles of his appearance
• We are intended to identify with the creature as
  an outcast
• We understand that he will NEVER integrate into
  human society

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Chapter 13

• Creature asks WHAT am I? not WHO am I?
• Consuming desire to belong to this family
• Identifies with them they were exiled as he was
  exiled
• Creature is ignorant of human nature humans
  cannot get along with each other, let alone a new
  species
• THEME parenting
• Creature contemplates the lack of guidance in his
  life
• Victors neglect is horrifying

44
Chapter 14

• Shows attachment to the family portrays various
  types of human interaction
• The tale of the family contains the best and
  worst traits of human nature
• Danger if creature is not well-received, he now
  has tools to wreak vengeance
• THEME basic human need for companionship
• From his hovel, the Creature cranes his neck to
  hear every word from his friends

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Chapter 15

• Creature is becoming more human
• Extreme rejection is ironic never has he been
  more learned, never more human
• Creature realizes how he came to be no love in
  his creation

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POP QUIZ Ch. 11-16

• How does the Creature feel when he realizes how
  he was created?
• How are the Creature and Satan different? The
  same?
• What happens when he rescues the little girl?
• What does the Creature want from Victor?
• What does Victor agree to do?

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Chapter 16

• Image of fire is prevalent anger/ fire is
  unleashed
• Vengeance unleashedlogical target is
  Frankenstein
• Essentially declares war on all humans
• Problem how he chooses his victims
• If the creature looks to reproduce marriage, if
  that is his ultimate goal, how will Williams
  death achieve this?
• Creature looks to reproduce marriage

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Chapter 17

• Frankenstein is back as the narrator
• Frankenstein is convinced to make another
  creature by the Creatures reasonable tone (you
  are my creator)
• The Creature begs Victor to help him not to hate,
  to banish evil from his body.
• Even Satan was loved by his creator he CHOSE to
  reject his creator the Creature had no such
  choice
• Why did God make Eve?

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Chapter 18

• Puts off marrying Elizabeth
• Victor goes to England
• Doesnt alert his family to the danger
• Only acts when a stimulus is applied or when
  disaster has already struck and it is too late to
  take precautions failure to plan ahead
• Until Creature is happy, Victor will not be happy
• THEME Secrecy
• Victor is enslaved by his secret

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Chapter 19

• Image of blasted treechaos, destruction
• Frankenstein felt a boltsevered, cut off
  relishes his sorrow
• Decision to create 2nd creatureselling his soul
  forever (in cold blood)
• Creature threatens to kill his family, not him

51
Chapter 20

• Frankenstein breaks his promise noble or stupid?
• Makes an aggressive stand for the first time and
  refuses to sell his soul abandonment of
  commitment??
• Chooses to save himself and not his family?

52
Chapter 21

• Ironic that he is accused of Clervals murder
  why?
• He is actually guilty.
• Acquittal by man is meaningless he is guilty in
  his heart.
• Frankenstein slowly dies with each murder
• Frankenstein has low emotional intelligence.

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Chapter 22

• Lack of control last happy day of Frankensteins
  life
• Involvement of Elizabeth in scheme is selfish
• Frankenstein is entranced in magic does he
  stand a chance?
• Why does he think HE will be murdered?
• Creature CAN deliver on his threats
• Creature sees himself as less than human
• Gap between Frankenstein and Creature is
  closing

54
Chapter 23

• Reader knows Elizabeth will be killed why
  doesnt Victor (very scripted)
• This is the one murder he had the chance to
  prevent and doesnt
• Victor and his creature have never been more
  alike both utterly alone in the world parallel
  situations

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Chapter 24

• Victor lives only for revenge
• Cat and mouse game with Creature
• Creature has what he has always wanted Victors
  absolute attention
• Power inversion the Creature is now in control
• Walton returns as narrator
• Frankenstein loses his strength and his soul bit
  by bit

56
Chapter 24

• How do we view his story?
• Has Victor changed at all through the course of
  his story? Has Walton?
• If the purpose of scientific research is to help
  mankind, how has Victor helped?
• Victor told his story to Walton to advise him
  not to be foolish in his pursuit of knowledge
  Walton has not learned anything from it. He
  still desires to pursue knowledge at any cost,
  though he agrees to go home.

57
Chapter 24

• Creatures final scene is touching
• He views Victor as his father, but his father
  never gave him a name.
• What does this say about Victor?
• Frankenstein has become associated with the
  idea of monster
• Who is the monster?

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Conclusion

• Though Frankenstein was written almost 200 years
  ago, many of its themes are still applicable to
  todays society. Some themes man playing god,
  for instance are even more pertinent to todays
  world than to Mary Shelleys. Mankind is growing
  more and more powerful in terms of scientific
  discovery, through its understanding and
  manipulation of biology and of DNA in particular.
  With great power comes opportunity for great
  corruption and turmoil. Frankenstein helps us
  understand that it is not, necessarily, bad
  people we have to fear a greater danger might
  come from good people with good motives, like
  Victor, who are capable creating monsters. Are we
  destined to lose control over the monsters? For
  this reason, understanding the significance of
  Frankenstein is essential for todays youth, to
  be aware of both the benefits and the
  consequences of science.