F rankenstein Chapters 1-5

* What do you think of the epistolary novel?  How would the story have changed if Victor Frankenstein told it?  Are your feelings for Frankenstein influenced by hearing of Walton’s affection for him?

 What information about his family does Victor present at the beginning of his tale?  Why do you think Frankenstein begins with this information about his family?  What does this information reveal about him as a character?

 What were some of the themes of the writers who influenced Frankenstein?  How does Prof. Waldman differ from M. Krempe?  In what way do the reactions of his father and professors affect Frankenstein’s studies?

 “The father of their charge was one of those Italians nursed in the memory of the antique glory of Italy – one among the schiavi ognor frementi, who exerted himself to obtain the liberty of this country” ◦ Victor describes Elizabeth’s foster father as one of the “slave always thrilling,” meaning that he never gave up his hope for military glory, shuch as Rome had in ancient times.

 “the Arabian who had been buried with the dead and found a passage to life aided only by one glimmering and seemingly ineffectual light.” ◦ The allusion reinforces the work that Frankenstein has been doing with dead bodies and his return to the world of the living. The comparison also suggest the difficulty and slow progress of his work

The birth of the creature

 Most pivotal chapter in the novel  All the factors of the experiment and years of study come together in the “birth,” the awakening of the creature  An additional problem arises that Victor has never thought through ◦ What if the awakened creature should be different from what the creator imagined?

 What specific details of the creature’s appearance horrifies Victor?  How many times does Victor reject the creature? Can you understand the rejections?

 “Like one who, on a lonely road, / Doth walk in fear and dread, / And, having once turned round, walks on, / And turns no more his head; / Because he knows a frightful fiend / Doth close behind him tread.” -Rime of the Ancient Mariner” ◦ DESOLATION – Victor, like the Mariner, becomes tormented by his guilt. He becomes ill and disconnected from the world. He is paranoid & unsociable. The Mariner is obviously alone (his shipmates drop dead), he is left alive to be tormented.

TOPIC: Imagine that you had met the creature and he asked you to be his friend. Write s letter to him explaining your feelings and decision…

HW: Prepare Literature Circles For Tomorrow