HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
How is the Englithenment reflected in Walton's letters?
Walton's explains his scientific expedition to the North Pole and his ambition to discover trhough reason and observation.
How can the Creature be seen as a symbol of the Industrial Revolution?
The Creature represents something created by humans that society cannot control and then rejects.
Mention one of the main important explorers of the 19th century and what did he do?
Sir John Franklin who Explored the Arctic to find the Northwest Passage. (His expeditions helped map unknown areas of Canada and the Arctic, though he died on his last voyage).
James Cook - Was the first explorer who mapped Australia.
Say one example in the novel where one of the Romantic features (not previously mentioned before) is portrayed.
Example: NATURE --> After Victor becomes sad and guilty over creating the Creature, he goes to the Alps (the mountains) and feels calm and comforted by the beauty of nature.
Supernatural, individualism...
Gothic literature often explores psychological conflict, which is the struggle inside a character’s mind. Where can we see it reflected in Frankenstein?
Victor Frankenstein’s guilt and obsession. After creating the Creature, Victor is haunted by fear, guilt, and regret.
He struggles internally with what he has done.
How does Frankenstein criticize Enlightenment ideas?
It shows that science without responsibility or morals can be dangerous.
What fear about science and technology does Frankenstein show?
That science and technology can harm people if they are not controlled.
How are exploration and science similar in the novel?
Both involve discovering the unknown and testing human limits, which can be exciting but also risky.
How is the feature of isolation represented in Frankenstein?
By the Creature and Victor Frankenstein.
Mention two major Gothic novels of that century.
Dracula by Bram Stoker (1897)
The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole (1764)
Which character in Frankenstein best represents Enlightenment thinking? Explain why.
Victor Frankenstein because his character reflects the movement’s strongest beliefs: faith in reason, science, and human progress. But he also shows their limits and dangers.
Mention one new developement or new invention in the 18th and 19th century.
Steam Enginee or Steamship, the Locomotive...
Why does the Captain W. decide to stop his expedition at the end of the novel?
Because he understands that human life is more important than ambition
What is the sublime?
The sublime in Romanticism is the beauty amplified to its extreme.
Name one Gothic setting (not an element) used in Frankenstein.
Victor’s laboratory, the Arctic, mountains, or graveyards...
Explain what is "The Age of Reason" in one sentence.
It was a 17th and 18th century European intellectual movement that advocated reason, science, and individualism over tradition and religious.
Name one way the Industrial Revolution changed people’s lives.
People worked in factories; cities grew; machines replaced hand work...
Which character represents the spirit of exploration in Frankenstein? and which part of the world does this character explore?
Robert Walton. The North Pole (The Arctic)
Say the name of one Romantic novel of that time.
Jane Eyre by Charlote Brontë
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Name one Gothic element (not setting) found in Frankenstein.
One Gothic element is the Creature itself, because it is frightening, unnatural, and mysterious, creating fear and suspense throughout the novel.
Stand up and write in the blackboard the name of the intellectual movement that was prominent in the 17th and 18th century?
THE ENLIGHTENMENT (also called THE AGE OF REASON)
What major historical change began in the late 18th and 19th centuries with new machines and factories?
The Industrial Revolution
What new regions were being explored during Mary Shelley’s time? (Name three of them)
1. The Arctic (North and South Poles)
2. Africa
3. South America
4. The Pacific Islands
5. Australia and New Zealand
What literary movement was prominent at the time Frankenstein was written? Explain what is it and the main features.
The Romanticism.
Romanticism emphasized strong emotions, individualism, the sublime, nature, and a break from the rational and structured ideals of the Enlightenment.
What type of genre was Frankenstein considered?
Gothic genre