Knowing the Novel
What is the author's full name, and how old was she when the novel was published?
Mary Shelley, 18
Why is Victor feel the need to tell the Captain his story?
To warn him against pursuing knowledge recklessly.
After Victor recovers from the shock of his experiments, what news does Victor get from his father?
His youngest brother, William, has been killed.
What's the name of Victor's hometown? What country is it in?
Geneva, Switzerland
Which vocabulary word from Chapter 9 could you use to describe how Victor is feeling about making his creature?
Remorse
Name 2 PERSONAL experiences of the author that inspired the novel.
1. Mother died while giving birth to her.
2. She had miscarriages of her own.
3. Intellectual parents - they were radical thinkers!
What is Victor's mother's dying wish?
That he and Elizabeth will marry.
Bonus 100: What else does she tell Victor to do?
Who is Justine Moritz, and why is she convicted as William's murderer?
She is a servant girl of the family. Someone has planted a "likeness" of Victor's mother on her.
By the end of chapter 9, what does Victor believe he's responsible for?
Everything - two deaths and the misery of his family.
What is a synonym or quick definition for the word in ALL CAPS in the following sentence?
Victor: "My rage was without bounds and I sprang on him. He easily ELUDED me, and said, 'Be calm!'
escape, move out of the way
Name 2 HISTORICAL or SCIENTIFIC influences and how they might've influenced the novel.
- "Year Without a Summer" - volcanic explosion caused weird, dismal weather
- Galvanism - Real life scientists were experimenting with using electricity to re-animate lifeless matter.
- Industrial Revolution - Disconnected populations from nature
- The Age of Enlightenment - Focus on scientific inquiry and the pursuit of knowledge
As children, according to Victor, how is he uniquely different from Henry and Elizabeth?
He wanted to know the cause of life, why and how things happened, while they took pleasure in the beauty of everything.
Why doesn't Victor tell anyone what he believes about William's murderer? (2 reasons)
1. No one would believe him / they'd think he's insane.
2. The creature is too fast and agile to catch.
So far, what two awful things does Victor believe his creature has done?
Killing William and framing Justine.
Paraphrase the following sentence from Elizabeth's letter to Victor: "How I wish I might have sojourned there myself, as no nurse could ever minister to your needs with the care and affection of your poor cousin."
Something like: "I wish I could have travelled there myself because no one will take care of you as well as I can."
What event made her write the novel in the first place?
A bet between her husband and others on who could write the scariest story.
How did Frankenstein feel when his experiment succeeded, and what did he immediately do?
Disgusted and horrified, he ran away, locked the creature in his apartment, and wandered the streets.
What does the creature ask Victor to do for him, and what does he threaten if Victor doesn't do it?
He asks Victor to hear his story, what's happened to him, and if Victor refuses he threatens to kill the rest of his family and friends.
Where is Captain Walton headed when he comes across Victor Frankenstein?
On a path to the North Pole.
What's the best synonym or quick definition for the ALL CAPS word in the sentence below:
Victor: "It was the COMMENCEMENT of a nervous fever which confined me for several months."
Beginning, start, onset, development
What type of novel is Frankenstein considered and why?
EPISTOLARY because each chapter is a letter from one character to another.
What natural event does Victor observe that directly inspires his experiments, and what "theory linking this great force with the essence within all living creatures" is he referring to? You must have both parts of the answer to get 500 points.
He watches a lightning bolt hit and destroy a tree.
This reminds him of Galvanism!
What does Victor mean when, to himself, he asks "Had I turned loose into the world a depraved wretch whose delight was in carnage and misery?"
Did I create something that takes pleasure in hurting others and causing unhappiness?
Why does Victor decide to make the creature so "gigantic in stature?" Explain in your own words.
It was taking too long to assemble the body with such tiny parts, so he went bigger.
"As the minuteness of the parts formed a great hindrance to my speed, I resolved to make the being of a gigantic stature, that is to say, about eight feet in height, and proportionately large."
What's an appropriate synonym or quick definition for the word in ALL CAPS in the following sentence:
Victor, referring to his creature: "No mortal could endure the horror of that COUNTENANCE."
a person's face or expression