Frankenstein

Mary Shelley

Journal Assignment

This is an intensive journal assignment for Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein. Follow directions for each question when specifically given. When specific directions are not supplied use the following as general directions. Each question requires you to read the text closely and analyze Shelley’s story. Be sure to draw upon the different literary criticisms discussed in class and keep these criticisms in mind while reading the text. Journals need to be completed by the end of each section and ready to be used in a class discussion of the novella. Each journal response should be at least one quarter to one half page in length.

Book I: Chapters 1-8. Answer 6 out of the 7 questions. You must answer numbers 1, 6, and 7.

  1. What is the literary purpose being served by having Robert Walton tell Victor’s story (think to the other stories we have read this year)?
  2. Frankenstein has its roots in the popular Gothic genre, which generally tells harrowing stories involving an innocent girl, a sinister castle, an even more sinister authority figure, and frightening supernatural beings. In what ways did Mary Shelley transform the Gothic novel to focus on the influence of circumstances, education, and values in shaping the conduct of individuals and society?
  3. What is the significance of the relationship between Victor and Elizabeth? How do their differences complement each other?
  4. How does Victor describe his discovery of the life principle? Does the discovery itself bring about a further change in his attitude towards scientific endeavor? Describe the change.
  5. What goes wrong once Victor dares to apply his understanding of “animation” to material substance—i.e. to human body? How, that is, do his methods and material underscore and embody the grotesqueness of his quest? When he speaks of the Being he created, what kind of language does he employ?
  6. To what extent is the romantic conception of “imagination” involved in Victor’s actions as a creator? How might his creation of the Being be a parody of the poetic or creative process—i.e. the misuse of imagination?
  7. How does Victor interpret the devastation that has been visited upon his family? How might William’s murder and Justine’s execution amount to “poetic justice” against Victor for his own misdeeds?

Book II: Chapters 9-17. Answer 5 out of the 6 questions. You must answer numbers 1, 4, and 6.

  1. Why can’t ordinary humans accept the monster’s appearance? What does this inability imply about the basis of human community? In other words, why so much emphasis on physical similarity or dissimilarity?
  2. The monster tells the story of his initial moments of consciousness. Describe some of his first impressions about himself and nature and comment on what you find significant about them.
  3. As his narrative develops, we hear about his impressions of language’s value and the nature and habits of other human beings. Describe some of those views and comment on what you find significant about them.
  4. Why does the monster keep comparing himself to Milton’s Satan—what do they have in common?
  5. What does the monster think his creator owes him, and why does Frankenstein agree to create a bride for the monster, then procrastinate and finally break his promise?
  6. Is the monster, who can be persuasive, always telling the truth? Explain.

Book III: Chapters 18-24. Answer 5 out of the 7 questions. You must answer 5, 6, and 7.

  1. Why might it be construed as “poetic justice” (of an infernal sort) that Victor’s worst catastrophe comes just as he is to be married?
  2. Describe the cycle of vengeance that consumes both the monster and Victor in Book 3. Does either one truly renounce this sentiment?
  3. Discuss the final usage made of fire and the natural setting. Why is it significant that the monster determines to immolate himself? Why is it appropriate that he will do this when he reaches the North Pole?
  4. Has Walton the scientist learned anything from Victor? If so, what has he learned? If not, why not?
  5. Discuss and evaluate the use of romantic elements in the novel.
  6. Based on the conclusion of Frankenstein’s and Walton’s story and recalling the monster’s story from Book 2 make an argument for who should be seen as the “true monster” of Shelly’s novel—Frankenstein or his creation? Do not be a weenie and say both. You must pick one or the other and defend your position!
  7. Who has your sympathy by the end of the novel—Victor or his creation? Or neither? Explain.

After you have read: Answer all five questions.

  1. How does Frankenstein emphasize a liberal arts education? Consider Victor’s off hand dismissal of his son’s misdirection in reading Agrippa, compared with the monster’s reading of John Milton, Plutarch, Goethe, and Victor’s scientific journal.
  2. Compare the differences in motivation between the mythological Prometheus in giving humanity fire (knowledge), and Victor in creating and then abandoning his creation? Basically, explain how Shelley’s subtitle, The Modern Prometheus, applies to the story.
  3. In what ways was Frankenstein a story for its time? How or why has it become a story for our time (cloning, genetic engineering, DNA testing, or stem-cell research)? Might this tie into the fact that Mary Shelley does not really actually depict the monster’s death in the novel?
  4. Harold Bloom, in a literary analysis of Frankenstein, states: “the monster is at once more intellectual and more emotional than his maker…the greatest paradox and most astonishing achievement of Mary Shelley’s novel is that the monster is more human than its creator. This nameless being…is more lovable than its creator and more hateful, more to be pitied and more to be feared…” (p. 292 Signet edition). Do you agree or disagree with Bloom that the monster is more sympathetic than Frankenstein? Cite examples from the text to support or disprove these critical comments.
  5. Analyze the significance of the word “daemon” in reference to the creation. Why is it significant that the creature is referred to as “daemon” rather than “demon”? How does this word shed new light on the character of the creature?