Frankenstein: Vol 1, Chpts. 4-6

1. Let's learn a new sentence (#3)
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. Introduce SPA structure

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 beginning with "How can I describe". Review 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: What kind of tone is Shelley trying to create around the the Creature's creation and creator?

• Themes thus far?

Frankenstein: Vol. 1, Chpts 1-3

1. A new sentence!
2. Check book
3. Check and review vocabulary


VICTOR

• In what ways does Victor's statement that "the world was to me a secret which I desired to divine" (38) serve as characterization? What is characterization? Think about Walton!
• Is Victor's fascination with the Philosopher's Stone an admirable one? Look closely at the passage on page 42: "Under the guidance of my new preceptors, I entered with the greatest diligence into the search of the philosopher's stone and the elixir of life; but the latter soon obtained my undivided attention. Wealth was an inferior object; but what glory would attend the discovery, if I could banish disease from the human frame and render man invulnerable to any but a violent death!" What is Hubris?
• What does Victor's search for a like-minded thinker tell us about human nature? Why might Shelley have portrayed this characteristic in both Victor and Robert? How are Victor & Robert alike in ideation (formation of ideas/concepts) and language?

HENRY

• In what ways do Henry & Victor differ? Why might Shelley be setting them up as foils? (**A character in a work whose behavior and values contrast with those of another character in order to highlight the distinctive temperament of that character (usually the protagonist)) (Bedford St Martins Press).

ELIZABETH

• In what way does Shelley characterize Elizabeth when she writes "the saintly soul (who) shone like a shrine-dedicated lamp in our peaceful home?" (39). What role does this characterization set for Elizabeth?

THEMES: what's come up so far?

Frankenstein: The Letters

1. Let's learn a new sentence pattern! You love the semi-colon!
2. Check books
3. Check and review vocab
4. Some background.

• Who was Mary Shelley? What is this Frankenstein we speak of?
• Some major themes we'll see: fate vs free will, personal responsibility, loneliness, nature, family, knowledge (it's power and the acquisition of), madness, hubris, and science. This is not an all-inclusive list, but these ideas will pop up quite often.

A little writing: What is wonder? "This appearance excited our unqualified wonder" (25). Think about the denotation (actual definition) and the connotation (the idea or feeling the word evokes).

Discussion questions: use text evidence to support your claims

1. What is Walton's attitude toward his quest? What does his attitude reveal about his character?

2. Why do you think Walton feels lonely even though he is on board a ship with a full crew? Why do you think Walton is attracted to the stranger?

3. What details suggest that both Walton and the stranger are willing to make big sacrifices in the search for knowledge? Look at similarities and differences. Does knowledge promise immortality?

4. Why do you think Shelley chose to lead into the stranger's story by starting with a frame story about Robert?

Day 2: The fun continues

Poems, poems and more poems.

1. Let's share. Be sure to listen and write down those moments than stand out to you.
2. What's for homework for Tuesday? What does annotate mean (see guidelines)? What's this about vocab? All questions answered as we dive into Frankenstein! Check out the essential documents for the syllabus and the vocab sheets.
3. Any questions or worries or anything, send me an email, stop by my office, or otherwise get in touch.
4. Go forth. Good luck. Enjoy!

Welcome! Welcome to E1.

1. Welcome (Who am I? Who are you?)
2. Whipplehill Page & Class Blog
3. Course Description
4. Basic Information
5. Set up DropBox!
6. Where I’m From

PAAE: the end

Free write: "I struggled to my feet and began to walk. My father had been right — the paintings were not to be found — and had turned back as soon as he sensed this, which was almost instantly. I had gone on, blindly. I was a work on paper: weightless, sketchy, all impulse" (210). What is Max realizing about himself? What insight does this offer us into his character? Into the character of his father?

Now -- bring it to you. Reflect on and write about a time when your parents saw something more quickly than you did. And I'm not talking about seeing a spider or a deer crossing the road. I'm talking about seeing something monumental, something important that it took you a while to understand.

Discussion

1. Let's look at Micheline as she appears throughout the novel. In what ways does the discovery of Micheline make Max rethink his past?

2. On p. 220, Daniel says, "Let us never speak of this again." What does Daniel want to forget? Think literally and figuratively.

3. p. 225: "And so my father's picture joined the other images in the lost museum of my mind."

4. p. 227: "The will told me Rose was most likely in Paris, and I felt a vague unpleasant anger toward the dead. How often had my father been in contact with her during my decades of faithful silence? With what knowledge had he died."

5. p. 231: "Did this mean that a son's love and grief for his father triumphed over all? Or that, in a moment of reckoning, I had seen and remembered nothing? I understood then that Rose had begun to bid only once I had stopped. She had been sent to Drouot's, or went of her own accord, in case I had forgotten what I would see there."

6. p. 231: "The shimmering of the city was also part of the canvas: Matisse's lemons seemed to float above the table and the white plate on which they might have rested, if they had been given rest. It was a still life that had not been granted stillness. I thought of the dimensions of the painting, of its flat and hovering planes, and that somewhere, in between the two, lingered those whom I had lost."

PAAE: 176-204

Free write: Max struggles to find a balance between what he wants and what Rose has done for society. He also struggles with the decisions his parents made about keeping his sister's death a secret. This is a classic individual versus society conflict.

**How have we seen this manifested in the novel thus far? (be specific and use the text)

**How has this type of struggle come up in your life OR the life of your character?

Max has a sister! What?! Where can we see Micheline in the text? Break up into groups and find her. Put your findings on the board.