Frankenstein

by Mary Shelley

What do you already know?

Try to list at least three things you know about the novel or the myth itself.

Themes

Reflect on your experiences/ knowledge of the following and to jot down some ideas about each theme.

Think: What comes to mind when you first see the word? Where have you heard/seen the word used before? How could it work as a theme in the book?

What do you think about when you hear the theme…

Beauty Think: What comes to mind when you first see the word? Where

have you heard/seen the word used before? How could it work as a theme in the book?

What do you think about when you hear the theme…

Revenge Think: What comes to mind when you first see the word? Where

have you heard/seen the word used before? How could it work as a theme in the book?

What do you think about when you hear the theme…

pursuit of knowledge

What do you think about when…

ambition

What do you think about when…

Science Remember - Think: What comes to mind when you first see the

word? Where have you heard/seen the word used before? How could it work as a theme in the book?

Keep going…

conflict with parent and child

Two more…

friendship

Last one!

nature

Frankenstein (Ultra-condensed version) by Faron P. Cedotal

Walton: “Dear Margaret: My ship picked up this guy. He RULES.”

Frankenstein: “I discovered the secret of life, and everyone died.”

Frankenstein's Monster: “Inexplicably, I have become suicidal.”

THE END

Key FactsType of work: Novel

Genre: Gothic Science Fiction (mystery, horror, & the supernatural)

Time and place written · Switzerland, 1816, and London, 1816–1817 during the Romantic Movement (a rejection to the order, calm, and rationalism of the Enlightenment in favor of innovation and emotional expression)

More key sttuufff…

Narrator · The primary narrator is Robert Walton, who, in his letters, quotes Victor Frankenstein’s first-person narrative; Victor, in turn, quotes the monster’s first-person narrative.

Setting (time) · Eighteenth centurySetting (place) · Geneva; the Swiss Alps;

Ingolstadt; England and Scotland

Last little bit…

Tone · Gothic, Romantic, emotional, tragic, fatalistic

Motifs (a.k.a. recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes) - Passive women; abortion

Symbols - Fire and light

Victor FrankensteinVictor Frankenstein

The doomed protagonist and narrator of the main portion of the story. Victor discovers the secret of life and creates an intelligent but grotesque monster, from whom he recoils in horror.

The monsterThe monster

The eight-foot-tall, hideously ugly creation of Victor Frankenstein. Intelligent and sensitive, the monster attempts to integrate himself into human social patterns, but all who see him shun him. :(

RobertRobert

WaltonWalton The Arctic seafarer

whose letters open and close Frankenstein. He records the incredible tale in a series of letters addressed to his sister, Margaret Saville, in England.

AlphonseAlphonse

FrankensteinFrankenstein

Victor’s father, very

sympathetic toward his son. Alphonse consoles Victor in moments of pain and encourages him to remember the importance of family.

William William FrankensteinFrankenstein

Victor’s youngest brother and the darling of the Frankenstein family.

Justine MoritzJustine Moritz

A young girl adopted into the Frankenstein household while Victor is growing up.

Your thoughts?

“Did I request thee, Maker, from my clayTo mould me man? Did I solicit theeFrom darkness to promote me?----”

Milton’s Paradise Lost