Rhetorical Devices
The gloomy Arctic setting reflects isolation and ambition, this device
What is setting as mood?
“My departure was therefore fixed at an early date; but, before the day resolved upon could arrive, the first misfortune of my life occurred – an omen, as it were, of my future misery” (Shelley 31). What character was involved in this “first misfortune” and what happened to them?
Who is Caroline Beaufort Frankenstein (Victor’s mom)? She died of scarlet fever.
“Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein in Britain after the conclusion of the war of 1812. Victor’s desire to rebuild life and solve human turmoil could be an allegory for the reconstructive nature of the time.” This used what critical lens?
What is historical?
The novel opens through this form of written communication sent from the Arctic.
What are letters?
Mary Shelley began writing the novel when she was only this age.
What is 18?
The story being told through Walton, then Victor, then the Creature is this narrative structure
What is frame narrative?
“His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of arteries and muscles beneath; his hair was a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost the same color as the dun white sockets in which they were set, his shriveled complexion, and straight black lips” (Shelley 45). Who’s being described in this quote?
Who is Frankenstein’s monster/ The Creature?
“Elizabeth has been a mother figure to the Frankenstein children and is considered to be Victor’s future wife. Her blind faith in Victor and support despite his years of distance and secretiveness are because she has been trained to be the docile and helpful version of a women.” This used what critical lens?
What is feminist/gender?
Victor becomes obsessed with creating life after studying these outdated scientific traditions.
What is alchemy or occult sciences?
Many people mistakenly think this is the Creature’s name.
What is Frankenstein?
The Creature described with exaggerated, monstrous features
What is grotesque imagery?
“…how kind, how very good you are to me. This whole winter, instead of being spent in study, as you promised yourself, has been consumed in my sick room” (Shelley 50). Who is Victor talking to and what is their relationship?
Who is Henry Clerval, Victor’s close family friend?
“Victor arrives to college and is immediately put down by a professor who believes his studies are of unscientific men and their work is worthless. Victor then devotes himself to creating life, much like the goals of his favorite natural philosophers. He does this because he needs to prove himself as an impactful man of science, one that no professor would scoff at.” This used what critical lens?
What is psychoanalytical/Freudian?
The city where Victor first attends university and creates his experiment.
What is Ingolstadt?
Frankenstein is considered this first true book in this genre.
What is Science Fiction?
The repeated warning about dangerous knowledge communicates the novel’s lesson.
What is theme? (or didacticism)
Victor studied primarily 3 different natural philosophers before going to university. These philosophers inspired his search for the elixir of life, the philosopher’s stone, and a way to get rid of disease entirely. Name at least 1.
Who is Cornelius Agrippa, Paracelsus, and Albertus Magnus?
“Mary Shelly begins Frankenstein Volume 1 with letters and continues to use letters to show communication with Victor. This communication that isn’t direct dialect adds to feelings of Victor’s isolation as he gets more engrossed in his work.” This used what critical lens?
What is formalism/new criticism?
Victor’s childhood exposure to death begins with the loss of this family figure, shaping his fear of mortality.
What is the death of his mother?
Despite being described with yellow skin and black hair, the common idea of the Creature’s appearance is of a green man with black and white hair and bolts in his neck. Where did this imagery come from?
What is Frankenstein? The film starring Boris Karloff from 1931.
The subtitle connects Victor’s ambition to a mythic figure who stole divine power.
What is an allusion to Prometheus?
This character was the third of four children. Loved by their dead father and despised by their mother, this character goes to work in the Frankenstein home. Who is this character and what significance do they have in chapter 6 and 7?
Who is Justine Moritz? She is accused of, tried, and found guilty of the murder of young William Frankenstein.
“Justine was from a poor family and was taken in by the affluent Frankenstein’s as their maid. When William dies, she is quickly accused and punished. However, Victor, a rich and educated man, claims to know the true killer and is not even looked at as a suspect or involved. If their social classes had been reversed Justine would have certainly had more time to build defense and Victor would have been thought of as dangerous or involved with the death.” This used what critical lens?
What is marxist/socio-economic?
Victor keeps silent during the trial despite knowing the truth, creating this internal conflict.
What is guilt / moral responsibility?
The Creature never receives this in the novel.
What is a name?