Thesis statement: In the novel, Frankenstein, Mary Shelley’s factual evidence, verbal demands, and personal confessions demonstrate candor. The reader finds a definite correlation between personal confessions and death shortly after. Specific sentences and/or sections of the work you intend to address (give specific page numbers and explanations or copy and paste the excerpts here): Factual evidence: Frankenstein’s father’s account of William’s death: “I will not attempt to console you; but will simply relate the circumstances of the transaction.” Frankenstein’s father’s opinion regarding Victor’s lack of openness:“Reserve on such a point would be not only useless, but draw down treble misery on us all.” Verbal demands/expressions of anger: …show more content…
This pattern suggests that complete honesty and openness leads one to the only fair consequence for wrongdoing: death. Even Victor dies only once he finishes telling his full story to Walton. The exception to this pattern, Henry Clerval’s death, reflects an undeserved death. Henry lives a righteous, selfless life, so no guilt burdens him, and the effects of Victor’s mistakes haunt him. Goal(s) for audience understanding: I will begin with a short story about a time I was direct and honest with my sister, and I will briefly discuss the effects of my words. Afterwards, I will give a brief definition of candor, and explain my interpretation of it. I will separate my argument into three sections: Frustration and factual evidence driving candor, personal guilt and feelings driving candor, and absence of candor. After I describe these, I will focus on the direct and indirect effects of being completely honest, using multiple examples from the story. I will briefly mention the exception of the creature—he never explicitly dies, but one might also argue that he never lives,