Frankenstein: Vol 3, Chpts 1-3

1. 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. What is the tone created on these pages? What is the mood? Remember, when we talk about tone we use adjectives. Mood is a feeling created by the language as well.

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?

Frankenstein: Vol 2, Chpts. 8&9

1. Check books & vocab & architecture

Discussion
Let's look at the creature and Victor through the lens of Erikson. Some basic info on the guy.

Big question to answer:
1. At what stage is Victor?
2. At what stage is the creature?
3. At what stage did Victor encounter struggles?
4. At what stage did the creature encounter struggles?

As time permits ...
Empathy versus sympathy. What's the difference?

Personal responsibility ...

Frankenstein: Vol 2, Chpts. 5-7

1. Check books & vocab

2. Vocab review

Let's do a close examination of the creature. We've heard his story and know the path he took to meeting up with Victor again. Now it's time to dissect him a bit.

Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to write the Creature's "Where I'm From" poem. There's one catch, all of your evidence and all of the details you fill in must be connected to and sourced from the text. Have some fun with your poem, but really dig into who the creature is and where his identity comes from. Please work in pairs, and follow the structure of the original.

“Where I’m From"
by George Ella Lyon

I am from clothespins,
from Clorox and carbon-tetrachloride.
I am from the dirt under the back porch.
(Black, glistening
it tasted like beets.)

I am from the forsythia bush,
the Dutch elm
whose long gone limbs I
remember
as if they were my own.

I’m from fudge and eyeglasses,
from Imogene and Alafair.
I’m from the know-it-alls
and the pass-it-ons,
from perk up and pipe down.

I’m from He restoreth my soul
with a cottonball lamb
and ten verses I can say myself.

I’m from Artemus and Billie’s Branch,
fried corn and strong coffee.
From the finger my grandfather lost
to the auger
the eye my father shut to keep his sight.

Under my bed was a dressbox
spilling old pictures,
a sift of lost faces
to drift beneath my dreams;
I am from those moments -
snapped before I budded
leaf-fall from the family tree

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?