Author:
Mary Shelley. She was 21 when the book was published. The idea for this novel came to her in a dream one summer when she was challenged by her husband and his friend to come up with a horror story.
Summary:
-Walton is writing a introduction letter to his sister which informs us that he is on a voyage and meets a man named Victor Frankenstein.
- Frankenstein begins to tell his story. We learn that as a child he was spoiled and not held accountable. His parents adopted a girl (Elizabeth) solely for the purpose of marrying Frankenstein.
- Frankenstein goes off to college and becomes obsessed with the idea of discovering the secret of life.
- He then begins to work on building a monster for several years. After it is created he is disgusted by it and leaves.
- Frankenstein got horribly ill and while he is recovering the monster goes to his home town and kills his brother and is trying to frame their family nanny for the murder.
- Frankenstein sees the monster and the monster confesses to the murder. The monster demands that Victor creates a lady monster for him.
- Victor agrees to the demand and builds the 2nd monster. As soon as it comes to life, Frankenstein destroys her.
- Frankenstein is accused to killing Clerval and goes to jail. He is soon let out because of his bad health.
- Victor marries Elizabeth. The monster kills Elizabeth on their wedding night.
- Frankenstein goes out to get revenge on the monster, finds Walton, and dies on his ship.
- The monster stands over Victor's body and then dies.
Motifs:
Natural Order
Responsibility
Isolation
Regret
Alienation
Theme Statement:
The inaccurate judgment of character based on society’s prejudices contributes toward alienation and unnatural instability.
Important Quotes:
"Accursed creator! Why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in disgust?"
The monster asks this question to Frankenstein. This quote repeats the importance of outward appearance that shows up throughout the whole novel.
Hey Hunter,
ReplyDeleteNice summary of the plot, I think you hit it right on, and covered it well enough, without being too long. There are a few things you are missing in this post that you might want to add there-- specifically the symbols section, character section, analysis section, and more than one quote.
That said, you did a nice little summary of Mary Shelley, that might help on the AP in case you need to comment about the author, or use a psycho-analytic criticism.
Also, I am just starting to remember this now, but I believe you need a setting section, in this case western Europe, particularly Switzerland, and the college in Germany.
Add those, and I think you will be in good shape.
Erik
Hi, Hunter!
ReplyDeleteLike Erik said you did a really nice job summarizing Frankenstein! I think that'll definitely help you when you are studying for the AP exam. You might want to include a section for setting, symbols, and you could add another quote just to be on the safe side. Other than that, your post is very nicely written. All of the material that you have is acxurate so I don't know what else to tell you! Good luck studying for the exam!
Hi Hunter,
ReplyDeleteGood job on this post. I think, like Erik and Alyssa said, you did a good job covering the major points in the plot. One thing I would add is to add a tone/narrative section. I think that particular section really helps with understanding the characters better and even the events that transpire. Nice job commenting on Mary Shelley also. Good job overall!