Intro & Letters
What was the first strange thing Walton and his crew discovered in the frozen arctic?
"I being of gigantic stature riding on a dog-sledge across the ice."
What economic class did Victor Frankenstein grow up in?
Wealthy, affluent, elite
Who is Victor's best friend and why are they friends?
Henry Clerval; they share a kindred spirit for Romantic values (deep passion, ambitious nature, desire for greatness, etc.)
Scarlet Fever
What discovery does Victor make in chapter 4 that changes everything?
How to reanimate life / mastery of galvanism
Why was Frankenstein written in the first place?
Mary Shelley took part in a "ghost story" writing competition / wanted to scare the pants off the men she was competing with.
What was Victor's father's name?
Alphonse Frankenstein
What was the critical event that occurred when Victor was 15 which set the tone for his scientific journey?
In a sense, why did this matter so much for Victor and how did it change his perspective?
While lightning struck a tree, Victor shifts his focus from archaic alchemy to modern, scientific principles
What is Caroline's dying wish to Victor?
That he someday marries Elizabeth.... his sister/cousin.... still weird...
What two fields does Victor excel in during his time in university?
* Natural Philosophy (100 points)
* Chemistry (100 points)
What is Walton hoping to gain by exploring the north pole? (3 reasons)
1) Personal fame/glory (100 points)
2) To unlock the secrets behind magnetism/how a compass functions (100 points)
3) To satisfy his own personal, Romantic curiosity/obsession with the unknown (100 points)
Where did Victor grow up?
{town AND country}
Geneva, Switzerland
How does Elizabeth act as Victor's foil?
{there are at least 3 ways/directions}
*She is tender, patient, and gentle / He is obsessive, restless, and proud (100 points)
*She is content simply soaking up, observing the world through emotion / He feels compelled to understand it with science (100 points)
*She is content with the private life of family / He is driven to prove his glory to the world (100 points)
Where does Victor go to study University?
{points for: institution, city, and country}
!!!DAILY DOUBLE!!!! - How old was Victor when he went off to the University?
* Ingolstadt
* Bavaria
*Germany
Daily Double = 17 years old
What does Victor resolve to create in this chapter - AND why?
{potentially 3 ways}
* An 8-foot tall creature, reanimated from death (100 points) / a new species of life (100 points)
* A lifeless model made of matter in which to test his "elixir of life"
What is Walton's sister's FULL name?
Margaret Saville
Why did Victor's mother adopt Elizabeth Lavenza?
{2 major reasons}
* She found the orphaned child beautiful (200 points)
* She empathized with the girl's impoverished upbringing (200 points)
What is the name of the alchemist that introduces and defines Victor's obsession with science and the occult?
Cornelius Agrippa
Krempe vs. Waldman: describe how each of these professors treated Victor's approach differently?
*Krempe = dismisses Victor's alchemical background as a waste of time (200 points)
*Waldman = shows sympathy for Victor, paying tribute to the ancient sciences as building blocks for modern discovery (200 points)
Why does Victor's experiment need to be so large?
Why is Walton's meeting Victor Frankenstein so meaningful for the captain compared to his crewmates?
And why does Victor find their shared personalities so troubling?
{you must answer BOTH to get the points}
1) Finally, Walton can sympathize with an intellectual and a Romantic; a kindred spirit of science.
2) Victor sees himself in Walton and wants to warn him to abandon his scientific pursuit because it drove him mad, leaving him in his current position.
What is significant about the name Beaufort?
* It is Caroline's (Victor's mother's) maiden name
* The Beaufort family plot explains the ethical character of the Frankenstein family
* That plotline casts a foreshadow for Victor's attitude and actions towards family values
Define: Galvanism
"The contraction of muscle tissue caused by an electrical current, or electricity produced by chemical action"
Upon the death of his mother, what was a major change in Victor's identity/motivation for life itself?
In other words, what is the "thing" that Victor is pursuing to discover/invent?
* His idyllic childhood is destroyed / all his beliefs are fueled by death & the desire to stop it.
* An "elixir of life"
Name 5 details lets the audience know just how bad Victor has gotten; how far the lengths he has gone in his pursuit of knowledge by the end of chapter 4?
{100 points for each correct response}
1) He has just about completely cut off communication with his family (100 points)
2) His physical health has declined (e.g. feverish, emaciated, poor hygiene, etc.) (100 points)
3) His mental health has declined (unsocial, obsessive, extreme isolation, etc.) (100 points)
4) He has resorted to collecting body parts from nearby graveyards in the dead of night (100 points)
5) He discounts all other kinds of science/philosophy / makes his own personal apartment/dorm room his body-part ridden laboratory (100 points)