Write down one observation that you made about the text (such as a repeated image, a striking scene, a theme, or even a single word that you think deserves further inquiry).
Write down one question that you have about the text.
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Write down one observation that you made about the text (such as a repeated image, a striking scene, a theme, or even a single word that you think deserves further inquiry).
Write down one question that you have about the text.
17 replies on “3/20 writing”
The sublime reflects the loneliness of Victor. Throughout the novel, loneliness is rather destructive. If Victor would have created a companion for the monster, the monster would have not murdered Victor’s family members. In Victor’s case, he became very ill because he was consumed by guilt and was alone.
My question was why did Victor not creature a companion for the monster if it would save people’s lives?
I noticed that Victor Frankenstein calls his creation a Daemon. Immediately casting it in a negative evil light. But if he calls him thus what does that make of his creator? Would he not also be relegated to the same word of Daemon? Can something good create something that is evil? It feels a little bit hypocritical on his part to pass judgments on a creature he abandoned because of belated guilt. Not only that but he seems to like to wallow in his own misery. Which could have been avoided had he taken responsibility for his creation in the beginning.
The scene where the creature criticizes man for eating meat and promises to live off of berries and other harvestable food. Was this a reflection of Mary Shelley’s own views?
One striking scene in Volume II of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley that deserves further inquiry is the scene of where the Creature encounters and observes humans in a hut and during this observation he further improves his ability to communicate effectively, eventually increasing his ability to read texts such as “Paradise Lost”. This scene is important in that it shows the creature’s desire to learn of this unknown world around him that he was so abruptly introduced into without any guidance from his creator.
I observed in volume two the change from day to night very often. The monster sits in his hovel all day hiding from civilization. While in his hovel he learns of his senses and starts to understand language and then eventually learns to read as well. When day shifts to night he leaves his hovel and explores the unknown.
does the particular setting of day and night have anything to do with the gloomy year this was written
Frankenstein has a reoccurring theme of light and dark. The first time noticed this was in a reference to the lab where Frankenstein was created but as I kept reading on, I realized when the author was talking about Frankenstein words like gloom and darkness would be used to describe various surroundings but when talking about nature and things such as the sky, words like “serene” were used. This could be a reference to the creation of human kind being a dark thing and the creations of nature are lighter.
My question going forward would be is this what Mary Shelley had in mind writing this.
I think its interesting that Mary Shelley mentioned both Paradise Lost and Mont Blanc in Frankenstein. In the begining of the volume two, she spent a lot of time describing the nature, sublime and how Victor perceived them . My question is why she incorporated these idea in her book?
Often times the ability to create something even when it may seem trivial could have lots of consequences. Things that are intended to be helpful can walk a fine line and tether on either bringing joy or pain or can sometimes even remain mundane.
What I observed or really took out of reading is that creation doesn’t really end with what you can make but if you can care for through and through with what you’ve created.
Should we create or make things just because we can? Should our ideas and creations be stifled if we don’t know the repercussion? Will that ultimately lead to lack of creativity
One scene that stood out to me was the last few paragraphs of chapter 13, where the creature is starting to learn more about society. He learns that society views people without money or possessions as lowly vagabonds. He did not have any friends, property, or money, and he was also “hideously deformed.” The creature began to look down on himself and questioned his existence. He even read Paradise Lost and related to its story. This scene was interesting because the creature – an outsider in society – is reflecting on his own life and how isolated he is.
One question I have about the text is if Shelley meant this scene to be an indictment of society at the time because of how focused it was on material wealth.
Throughout the reading, it was interesting to note the immense parallelism between Frankenstein and Paradise Lost. Reading the scene on Frankenstein’s confrontation with the monster, it seemed to reflect an overarching theme of judgement and how Victor stands as the god-like figure that is confronted by his “Adam”.
Was this specific scene constructed to parallel that of Paradise Lost?
In chapter ten, the monster says to Frankenstein “I am thy creature, and I will be even mild and docile to my natural lord and king if thou wilt also perform thy part, the which thou owest me.” I think the part about the creature calling Frankenstein his “natural lord and king” is important because it shows that he understands his respective position in the world. It also shows that he recognizes Frankenstein as his creator. This is interesting because Frankenstein chose to subvert/turn his back on the creature he created.
My question is – does this quote show that the creature has an understanding of Justice?
The main theme is the pursuit of knowledge and that knowledge can be dangerous. Because Victor’s act of creation eventually results in the destruction of everyone dear to him. The main point is that the thirst of knowledge can be destructive.
Whilst reading our text I realized the monster that Victor created may have correlation to the biblical texts of Adam and Eve. As the tale is understood to be Adam being deceived by curiosity and nature; so does Frankenstein in this case as he realizes his “fate” and displacement in the cruelty of reality. Frankenstein is as clueless as can be about what he loves and cares for, in return he is denied the satisfaction of displaying that. I acknowledge there are always two sides to why actions of Frankenstein and Victor (Guilt) were taken.
victor was depressed and sick because he lost so many of his family members.it felt like he had so much on his chest that he wanted to get off but its all in their and thats making his situation worst. my question is what mary Shelley was trying do discribe by writing it
While reading Frankenstein I noticed Mary Shelley mentioning her other book Paradise Lost. My question is- Did Mary Shelley have any other reasons for mentioning Paradise Lost in Frankenstein aside from the theme of the sublime.
There is a presence of fire in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. This theme is stating the Victor who was trying to act like the greek god Prometheus who was a god of fire. So Mary Shelley was trying to portray him as the modern prometheus. Also it can be compared to the creature when the cottage was burned down.
One of the main theme I have observed while reading the Mary Shelley’s Frankstein text is the Sublime nature. The author reflects this theme by showing the emotion experiences of an individual toward each characters of spiritual purity. Victor felt responsible for the death of William and Justine where victor now wants to lift his spirits by going toward the mountain. Victor has struggle with the nature when he faces the monster where he thought monster will haunt him wherever he goes. However, for the nature being acted upon, Victor chases the monster through the nature. The question I have that always finds my curiosity is that the text is interested in nature vs nurture, how well people formed their intellectual through the environment and experience and how is it differ from people who are already born with nurture?