Frankenstein Socratic Seminar Questions
Due Date: Tuesday, 24 March 2015
· TYPE your answers to the following questions using MLA format
· Each response is one well-developed analytical paragraph (8-12 sentences)
· You must incorporate at least ONE quote, and use internal documentation.
· Refer to thematic concepts, symbols, and other literary elements discussed when appropriate
· Submit your answers to Turnitin.com by 7:25 AM Tuesday, March 24.
· Be prepared to share your analysis with the class and foster conversation
1. Describe the Creature. What are his first impressions of the world? What comprises his early education? Describe his first encounters with society. How does he learn to read? To write? What books form an influence on him? To what characters in literature does he most relate? Why?
2. Explore the parent/child relationship between Frankenstein and the Creature. What does Victor, in effect, do to the Creature when he leaves him? What would be a comparable scenario to this? How does the Creature suffer as a result?
3. Trace the similarities between Victor and the monster. Consider their respective relationships with nature, desires for family, and any other important parallels you find. Do Victor and the monster become more similar as the novel goes on? How does their relationship with each other develop?
4. Victor attributes his tragic fate to his relentless search for knowledge. Do you think that this is the true cause of his suffering? In what ways does the novel present knowledge as dangerous and destructive?
5. How does the Creature learn of his creation? What does he think of Frankenstein? Why? What does he want from Frankenstein?
6. How does the concept of revenge play a part in this novel? Be very specific. What people are involved? Why? What happens as a result?
7. Examine the role of suspense and foreshadowing throughout the novel. Do you think these devices are effective, or does Victor’s blatant foreshadowing reveal too much? How does foreshadowing differ among the three main narrators (Walton, Victor, and the monster)?
8. Why is the Creature never given a Christian name? What does this suggest? What names is he called throughout the novel? Why? How does he perceive himself? (What was his reaction when he first saw his own reflection?) What role does physical appearance play in this novel? How crucial is society’s acceptance/rejection of the Creature? When he is rejected, how does he react?