Frankenstein

IMPORTANT! Deadlines for this week and next have been adjusted to accommodate the four-day weekend!

First Things First

Please go to the boards and ask one relevant question about the novel. Is there a section that isn't clear to you? Or just one you're wondering about, like what's up with Walton? Explain what makes you ask this question, which is to say why did this question form in your head?

Make sure you reply to at least two peers.

Initial post due by February 15 at 11:59 PM

Replies to peers due by February 17 at 11:59 PM

 

Notes

Time to focus on working with quoted material. As I mentioned before, quotes are your evidence, so don't just drop them in to satisfy a requirement. You need them to support your assertions, to prove that you're right and not just makin' stuff up.

Think of it like a trail. If you were to act as a prosecutor and have no evidence to prove your case, you'd lose, right? You need evidence to prove your point, and not only that, you have to explain how the evidence supports it!

In the AEES model, quotes are the first E and are supported by the second E, Explanation. Look at this section from the example essay:

(E1) She explains that the smell of her own home is a “mystery” because “I couldn’t smell it at all. I didn’t think it had a smell, which was strange considering all that went on there” (10). (E2) Here, she notes how strange this mystery is since her house is pungent with several competing odors, so it seems to her like there should be some smell she can detect, but she doesn’t notice anything at all until one of the Bleach People comments on it (11).

See that the explanation immediately follows the quote to help the reader focus on what I want them to focus on. Also see that I set up the quote with a signal phrase that lets the read know the quote is coming.

Read about integrating quotations in preparation for this week's assignment, and keep in mind that the work you're doing here can be used in the essay on Frankenstein and the definition of evil you have due on February 25.

Assignments

Choose what you believe are the three best quotes that explain/describe either Victor or the creature. In other words, if you were telling someone who hadn't read the book about either one of these characters, what quotes would you use?

After you choose these quotes, explain why you think they are the best. What do they tell you about the characters?

For example:

"The demon broke into my apartments and made merry with all of my snack treats. This affront to my person enraged me beyond all measure, and I swore bloody vengeance" (Shelley 123).

In this quote, it's clear that Victor has no sympathy for the suffering of the creature. Surely, a good father would be worried that his child was starving and offer him treats instead of cursing the child for stealing them. This is just another example of how bad a parent Victor really is.

Email me your quotes and explanations as an attachment.

Email due by February 20 at 11:59 PM