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Mary Shelley's Frankenstein Essay Questions

793 Words4 Pages

Kels Davis
Grayzel
HIST 1110
First Essay
02/26/18
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein Written in 1818, when Mary Shelley was just 18, Frankenstein, continues to be an example of the romantic movement in WHERE?. The story has been told and retold to the point of possible convolution and Frankenstein is a well-known monster (although that isn't the monsters name) in pop-culture, movies, and Halloween decorations. This pivotal series explores questions of science, progress, nature, religion, humans, as well as good and evil. FINISH WITH A THESIS-ISH THING
P1: HISTORICAL CONTEXT
The 1800’s-1850’s brought us romanticism which was a movement that favored emotion and imagination of the human soul as opposed to the logic and reason stressed during the …show more content…

Some major themes in her book are nature, religion and science, three things that can work together or clash. Some forward thinkers of the enlightenment used the new logical mathematics and science of nature to reaffirm the validity of religion. Only a god could organize such a world, whereas others feared they contradict each other and that is was these rules of nature that made it seem unnecessary to have a god in the first place. Something significant about this is that science is in Mary’s book and in her world, seen as simultaneously good and bad, Something to be revered and feared. Its powers can create awesome things or bring about destruction. Frankenstein's monster embodies both of these attributes. The role of nature in Frankenstein is also dual. Nature can give life just as quickly as it takes it. It can be serene and joyful or cruel and …show more content…

In the book, Victor says,“Whence, I often asked myself, did the principle of life proceed? It was a bold question, and one which has ever been considered as a mystery; yet with how many things are we on the brink of becoming acquainted, if cowardice or carelessness did not restrain our enquiries.” (pp 30). Victor sees himself as the one who is brave enough to create life and in doing so he would be famous and the person people read about. To him, there apparently wasn’t in line that shouldn't be crossed in regards to what things a man should attempt but only those who were too scared to try. However, this all changes once his creation becomes a reality. “The Different accidents of Life are not so changeable as the feelings of human nature. I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body. Previous I had to tag myself of rest and health. I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation, but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart.”

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So, after all those encounters with the story, reading the novel is surprising. The reason therefore, being that the reader, while reading, already has all those other images, of what the book needs to contain or to be more precise, what needs to happen, so that he, right at the beginning of the book might be thrown off by the Opening. It opens not with the story of Victor Frankenstein, or his creation, but with a series of letters from an Arctic explorer. Suddenly, the monster, is not, like widely believed named Frankenstein, in fact, he does not even have a name at all. Yet another difference to the widespread picture of the monster is that he is, a rather articulate creature.

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Victor would stop at nothing to finish his project and became so obsessed that he was isolated from his family and friends. His way of collecting lifeless matter for his creation is unethical and morally wrong. Eventually, he is punished for his actions: “I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body.” (pg.56) Additionally, extreme devotion to the building of his creation caused Victor mental distress due to the fact that he neglected his own needs in order to work exclusively on the creature: “I had deprived myself of rest and health.”

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Kyle Lyon Professor Ed Steck AWR 201 F3 14 April 2015 Annotated Bibliography Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Ed. Hunter, Paul J. Norton Critical Edition.

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Not even hours after the Creature comes to life, Victor feels “mingled with this horror, I felt the bitterness of disappointment; dreams that had been my food and pleasant rest for so long a space were

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Victor even said “Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge”. He admits that he suffered from his relentless search of knowledge.

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Several traits distinguish whether or not a character is a Romantic and Gothic protagonist in a literature piece. Romantic Goth characters have the talent to both see and feel the beauty in the dark and obscure, which often inspires them to react differently to a given situation. Romantic Goth inspired actions can often have large and unfortunate consequences, which may affect the people around them, especially very loved ones. In the novel Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein, someone whose actions have large and unfortunate consequences, is a Romantic and Gothic protagonist because he has one main goal that gives his life purpose, is interested with the past, and shows an uncontrollable amount of emotion. Victor Frankenstein is a Romantic and

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Furthering such a point could be the poignant example of the fallen angel, who had decided that he wanted to be more than a ‘special angel’ – he wanted to be God. As a result, Victor had succeeded in creating a baby in a man’s body, while leaving it to fend for itself without recognizing

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In Mary Shelley’s iconic gothic novel, Frankenstein, Romantic themes are strongly represented in order to propagandize Romanticism over the elements of knowledge and the Enlightenment. In her novel, Shelley uses gothic nature settings to foreshadow dark events that are about to happen in the novel. She also uses nature to intensify the effect that is brought during significant scenes, a strong example being, when Victor Frankenstein’s monster approaches him after a long period of time. Nature and its use to influence mood is one of the most paramount themes of both Frankenstein and Romanticism.

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Frankenstein We all have the assignment books we get in school. The Odyssey, The Iliad, and last but not least Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Frankenstein’s recognized by the vast majority of the world due to its use for education. The story of how a doctor, Victor Frankenstein, creates life but in return creates a monster as well.

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In 1818 Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein, a novel that follows Victor Frankenstein, an ambitious man on his journey to defy the natural sciences. In Volume I of the novel, Victor discusses his childhood, mentioning how wonderful and amazing it was because of how his family sheltered him from the bad in the world. “The innocent and helpless creature bestowed on them by heaven, whom to bring up to good, and whose future lot it was in their hands to direct to happiness or misery, according as they fulfilled their duties towards me” (35). When Victor brings up his childhood, he suggests that parents play a strong in how their kids turn out, either "to happiness or misery" (35). In particular the main character was sheltered as a child to achieve this “happiness” leading to Victor never developing a coping mechanism to the evil in the world.

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Romanticism was artistic movement that ran from the late eighteenth century through the nineteenth century. It gave off strong emotions as a source of experience and it emphasized emotions such as anxiety and horror. It elevated folk art, language, and custom. Romanticism was a reaction against the excessive rationalism of the Enlightenment. It drew some characteristics from the French Revolution's rejection of aristocratic social and political views.

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ENG-3U0 November 20 2015 Frankenstein: The Pursuit of Knowledge Throughout the course of their individual journeys, Victor Frankenstein’s extreme passion for gaining knowledge about creating life, Robert Walton’s curiosity to discover land beyond the North Pole and the monster’s eagerness to obtain knowledge about humans was the principal cause of each of their suffering. As such, In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the pursuit of knowledge is a dangerous path which leads to suffering. Victor Frankenstein develops a keen interest in discovering knowledge about living beings which ultimately results in his personal suffering as well as others suffering. To begin with, Victor embarks on an assignment through combining body parts and following various

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Throughout the novel, the main character Frankenstein, made many poor decisions that I would consider to be morally wrong and unethical. Frankenstein’s research and discoveries are ethically wrong because he was taking dead bodies from cemeteries, cutting off their limbs, and body parts to create a human like creature. He did not have anyone's consent to do this study causing it to be unethical, and he also should not be able to do this because he is playing the role of god. In the beginning of the book, Victor Frankenstein described to Walton that he had created a monster using body parts from a graveyard.

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