Answer TWO of the following:
Q1: Most first-time readers of Frankenstein are surprised to find that the
novel begins with a frame narrative: that of Walton, the arctic explorer, who
is writing home to his sister, Mrs. Saville. Why do you think Shelley opened
her fictional horror novel with a series of “real” letters from one person to
another? Does this remind you of techniques we use today in films and TV shows?
Q2: Soon after Walton meet Victor, he
writes to his sister, “I have endeavored to discover what quality is it which
he possesses, that elevates him so immeasurably above any other person I ever
knew” (30). Why is Walton so taken with him, especially since most people would
dismiss Victor as a madman? On a related note, does Victor resemble McCandless
is any of his background or personal beliefs? Could we see him as another man
lost “in the wild” on an aesthetic voyage?
Q3: Frankenstein
is full of description of the natural world: we read about terrifying
glaciers in the North Pole, as well as thunderstorms and mountains in Victor’s
native Switzerland. Why do you think Nature is such an important part of the
book, less a backdrop than an actual character in the story? When does Nature
seem to help us ‘read’ or understand the story itself?
Q4: Recalling his early education,
Victor remarks, “And thus for a time I was occupied by exploded systems,
mingling, like an unadept, a thousand contradictory theories, and floundering
desperately in a very slough of multifarious knowledge...” Why is Victor
attracted to old, arcane alchemists and philosophers who have long-since been
debunked? What is his attraction to the writings of Agrippa, Paracelsus, and
Magnus, men who are almost more magicians than true scientists?
1. It's to establish what sort of world the story takes place in. So that readers can look and think "man, this is just like real life" which makes horror stories more effective as a whole. Why would you be scared if you knew it was fake. Media does it all the time. It also starts at the end as a narration of where the character ends up. Which is also somewhat common.
ReplyDelete3. Nature is almost a secondary character. Considering what Frankenstein is aiming to do, most would consider it against the "natural order". And it goes horribly. So it's almost like nature is present and definitely not happy with Frankenstein trying to poke his nose into her business.
Q1: Walton’s letters to his sister and his run-in with the strange man in the North Pole are as we discussed in class, framing devices. In a television show you might consider them to be “cold opens”, something that seems unrelated to the main story until later on. Walton meets Victor Frankenstein and hears his story and chapter one begins with the early years of Victor’s life. The letters allow us to see the world of “Frankenstein” through an outsider in a way; that is, through the eyes of someone who isn’t the main character.
ReplyDeleteQ3: Chris McCandless from “Into the Wild”, and Walton and Victor from “Frankenstein” are all the same type of person: adventurers who share a love of nature. Walton goes on a voyage to the Arctic Circle simply on a whim. He wants to explore in order to not be tied down by everyday life, similar to how McCandless leaves his family suddenly to travel around the United States, ultimately ending up in Alaska. Both men are similar to Victor Frankenstein who admires nature considerably. Victor first becomes interested in nature, and more specifically electricity, when he sees a lightning bolt strike and destroy a tree in his yard. This experience eventually leads to his idea of bringing back a human life with electricity.
Q1 The beginning of the book starts out with a slow tip toe into mystery which enticed the reader into the "horror" aspect of the book. The frame narrative builds a story which we then dive deeper into to find the true content of the book. This is much like modern horror films that depict an every day family that is depicted as having normal troubles and suddenly thrust into some sort of haunting escapade. The letters allow us to leave some gray area around the line of reality and fiction
ReplyDeleteQ3 The nature of this book is intensely described to create an image of how life was in the time the novel depicts. It shows a story of the lives of the people outside of the main characters of the book and allows us to see their perspective while reading the events of the book thus making it easier to understand their actions as well as their reactions
Tyler Purdum
Q1: She opens up the novel writing letters to show what happens in the beginning and how the monster come about. In movies you can’t start it at the end or in the middle because it wouldn’t make sense to the audience.
ReplyDeleteQ3: Nature is scary by the forces it creates and takes away, so when Victor is trying to create life it is unnatural. Nature seems to be upset with him by trying the create something that shouldn’t be done. Nature is one of the only forces we as humans can’t control and that makes us terrified.
Bailey Copeland
Q1: I have always though Shelly's ability to capture the reader with this story within a story is absolutely brilliant. I think the letters really help the reader lose themselves in the story because it offers a degree of separation from reality. As far as its connection to techniques used today, it reminds me of horror films that start with the phrase, "Bases on a true story," or "the following is based on real events," or something like that. This mixing of fact and fiction gives the story some kind of surreal credibility and makes the audience feel as if it just might me possible that the story is real.
ReplyDeleteQ3: I think Nature is closely related with Romanticism in an attempt to embrace emotion and the unseen forces that surround us. I think that Nature helps add a sense of mysticism in Frankenstein because, while Nature in the modern sense seems scientific, it also cannot be something unexplainable. The glaciers in the North Pole, the thunderstorms and mountains in Switzerland, these are all terrifying forces that are beyond human control. And because these things are beyond human control, any attempt to control nature suggests a different question, a question of nature and its connection to morality. Is Victor committing a moral crime by going against the natural order of nature and playing "god" or creator in his construction of the monster? I think Nature is also important in Frankenstein because of its connection to human emotion.
Q3. Over and over, Victor Frankenstein laments his pursuit of scientific acclaim at the expense for the simple appreciation of the natural world. In his efforts to become a father to a new race of creatures, he is disrespecting Mother Nature. He repeatedly says that when he is healthy, he notices the sweet beauty of the environment, and when he is most obsessed, he sees only night and gloom. Thus, the repeated imagery of wild, challenging landscapes serves to remind the reader that whatever understandings science brings us, they will never fully conquer Her.
ReplyDeleteQ4. I think we are meant to remember Candide when we encounter repeated references to Victor's alchemist idols. This is a boy searching for a mentor, and desperate for a philosophy. Just like Candide (and Christopher McCandless), he returns to these authors, trying to fit their ideas on a world that doesn't welcome them.
In Frankenstein we find a mixture of criticism and fascination with science. Mary Shelley constantly goes back to the idea that Nature is greater than all of our attempts to subdue her, When she gives her character an obsession with outdated theories, I think she is reminding us that all of our scientific revelations may one day seem quaint, the objects of scorn for future theorists--whereas Mother Nature is a constant.