Frank: Vol 3, Chpts 4-6 (almost done ... oh no!)

The great debate!

Insiders & Outsiders

Let's get some inspiration

Frankenstein 1931


Young Frankenstein


Beauty & the Beast

Free writes
1. In what way have you been run out of a community or group? OR In what way were you forced to be an outsider?
2. How did that experience change your perspective on the community you were pushed out of?

Discussion: We've talked about ways in which the creature is an outsiders, so let's look at Victor. In what was is Victor an outsider? And remember to think about what causes each character to become "the other". Think beyond the obvious.

If time permits: Erikson's stages of development

Frank: Vol 3, Chpts 1-3

1. New Sentence

2. Check books and vocab whilst you free write:

Must a person experience desperation to know the true meaning of joy? Must a person know hunger to really understand the concept of being full? In other words, must we experience opposite emotions to truly understand life?

Discussion Questions

1. Where does Victor travel in Chpts 1-2? In what way does the journey further develop Victor's character? Clerval's?

2. Close reading p. 168-169. Let's look at tone and mood

3. At the close of Chpt 2 Victor says, "I looked towards its completion with a tremulous and eager hope, which I dared not trust myself to question, but which was intermixed with obscure forebodings of evil, that made my heart sick in my bosom" (169). Remember that Victor is telling a story. Using only this passage, what does Victor want the listener/reader to think of him?

4. At the start of Chpt 3 the creature says, "Shall each man ... find a wife for his bosom, and each beast have his mate, and I be alone? I had feelings of affection, and they were requited by detestation and scorn" (172). Is the creature's argument a reasonable one? If so, in what way does this develop Victor's character and the creature's?

Frank: Vol 2, Chpts 8-9

Discussion questions:
B Block
1. How are the creature's emotions similar to those of Robert's & Victor's?
2. How does the mistreatment of the creature justify the murder he committed?

F Block
1. In what way do Victor and the creature share a connection to nature?
2. How has the creature's upbringing helped to shape his morals and values?
3. Why does the creature want Victor to create another creature? What is Shelley trying to tell us about human relationships?

For later ...
1. In what way is Victor's decision to create another monster due to sympathy/fear?
2. What does it mean to be human? Is the creature human? Is Victor?
3. The creature wants to both kill Frankenstein and enlist his help. What does this show about his character?
4. What effect did Mary Shelley's choice to abruptly chase the creature's companions out of the story have on the creature?
5. Why do you think Victor has agreed to make a female version of the creature even though he is hateful and angry with his original?
6. How was Victor's agreement to create the second creature justification for creating the first?
7. Why is creating a female creature the morally correct/incorrect thing to do?
8. Compare & contrast the creature and Victor.

Frank: Vol 2; Chpts 5-7

1. New sentence pattern! Yes, a new one.

2. Check books & vocab

3. Vocab review

In-class

1. What makes a good discussion question good?

• Engages in the morals and ethics of the novel
• Specific but relatable to big picture
• Not too abstract
• Arguable/debatable/invites opposition

2. What are the components of a good discussion?

• Freedom to express opinion/contradict others
• No domination from one person
• Speak AND listen
• Articulate opinion before you voice it (think before you speak)
• Textual evidence to support ideas
• Stay on topic
• Everyone gets involved
• Be engaged
• Stay open-minded
• Build off each other rather than repeating
• Have fun

Questions for now ...

1. Who is the real monster in Shelley's Frankenstein: Victor or the creature?

2. How did the creature's rejection by Felix and Agatha enforce the ideas that were introduced by the books he read?

Questions for later ...

1. Why do you think the creature gave humans a second chance after his unfortunate experience with the villagers?

2. What does it say about society when the creature is rejected by Felix & Agatha for his outward appearance?

3. In what ways has the creature's encounter with the old man taught him about humanity?

4. Should the creature be known as human or animal and why?

5. In what way has the cottagers' attack on the creature altered his views of humans and himself?

6. How does the creature's connection with the DeLacey's inform his identity?

Frank: Vol 2, Chpts 1-4

1. Sentence review!

2. Check books and vocab

3. Review vocab

Discussion questions

1. At the close of chapter 1, in what ways has Victor changed? How does Shelley use Victor's fascination with nature to remind us of his actions against nature?

2. Close reading: p. 100 ("The ascent is precipitous, ...) — what is the tone of this paragraph? Is this Victor's way of expressing remorse for his actions?

3. "You accuse me of murder, and yet you would, with satisfied conscience, destroy your own creature. Oh, praise the eternal justice of man!" (103). Victor believes in an eye-for-an-eye. Is that justice or revenge?

4. How does the tone and language change from chapter three to chapter 4? What does this reveal about the creature's development?

NOTE: track the language of the creature. Pay close attention to when it is overtly negative and overtly positive. What's the correlation between his language and his sense of self? And the correlation between nature and Victor's sense of self.

Frank: Vol 1, Chpts. 7-8

1. Sentence time! Last one before we review the different ones we've learned.

2. Check books and annotations

3. Review vocab words

4. Architecture handout

5. Review denotation and connotation

Discussion questions

1. Who is at fault for William's death? Is anyone other than the murderer responsible for what happened?

2. In chapter 7, what statement suggests that Victor views the creature as part of himself?

3. In what ways does Victor's guilt affect his health? What is Shelley's purpose in this recurring plot device?

Frank: Vol. 1 Chpts 4-6

1. Let's learn a new sentence!
2. Check books and vocab
3. Free write for five minutes: Looking at the passage on p. 54 ("Learn from me ... than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow.) In what ways does Victor's warning relate to all mankind?
4. Review architecture handout.

Discussion questions

• Victor and God: p. 54

• In what ways does Shelley display Victor's hubris? Look particularly at the contrast in Victor's desire to conquer nature yet ignore its beauty.

• Chpt. 5: Close reading of passage on pp. 58-59. Lesson on connotation (an idea or feeling that a word invokes in a person in addition to its literal/primary meaning) and denotation (the literal/primary meaning of a word, in contrast to the feelings or ideas that the word suggests). Step 1: read passage out lout. Step 2: read silently and circle/underline all words with negative connotations/denotations. Big question: hat kind of tone is Shelley trying to create around the the Creature's creation and creator?