FRANKENSTEIN by Mary Shelley
ESSAY TOPICS
Below you are given a variety of essay topics from which to
choose. Each topic is designed to give you different ways
to approach the essay. You do not have to answer each
question presented in the topic. The questions are there
to suggest a direction for your essay and to provoke
analysis. Please remember, this is a 500 level class. You
are here because you have demonstrated mastery of the essay
format.
Your goal then is to go beyond this form and
demonstrate style, analysis and creativity. Be sure to
support your ideas with specific examples and/or passages
from the book(s).
DUE DATES:
MARCH 13TH – If you want the opportunity to revise the essay
after I grade it, you must hand it in on Thursday, March
13th.
MARCH 17TH – If you choose to forfeit the right to rewrite
once I grade the essay, you may hand it in on Monday, March
17th. Papers handed in after this date will be marked down
a letter grade for each day late.
TOPICS:
A. In their novels, both Mary Shelley and Aldous Huxley
raise the question: When have we gone too far in scientific
exploration? Write an essay in which you compare the
message about scientific advances in FRANKENSTEIN and BRAVE
NEW WORLD. Feel free to refer to the contemporary articles
we read on genetics or other articles as support for your
own point of view on this question or to compare to
Shelley/Huxley’s views.
B. The monster in FRANKENSTEIN and John Savage in BRAVE NEW
WORLD are similar to each other in their alienation from
society. A close examination may raise the question of who
is the real monster/savage in each book. In your essay
explain what these outcasts reveal about the
"civilizations" into which they are thrust. OR, explain
how each character's education and conditioning prepare
them for the "civilized" world and shape their reaction to
it.
(You may choose to just write about the monster from
FRANKENSTEIN for this topic. You do not have to do the
comparison.)
FRANKENSTEIN by Mary Shelley
ESSAY TOPICS
C. Do a careful analysis of one of the symbols used by Mary
Shelley in FRANKENSTEIN.
For instance, you could trace
the incidents which occur in the frozen regions, the image
of lightning and the "blasted" tree, or the references to
the moon. Choose a symbol and present your theory of how
Shelley uses it to supplement a theme or develop a mood.
Then support your theory with references to specific quotes
which you analyze in detail.
D. Write an essay in which you examine Shelley's references
to time and how time is presented in the novel. Consider
the following: What are the time schemes within which the
events of the novel take place? Consider the inversions
that suggest that Victor as would be God has created an
anti-Creation, a perverse reversal of the normal cycle of
things.
E. Examine the narrative structure of FRANKENSTEIN,
particularly the subjective nature of the narrators. Write
an essay in which you present your theory on the
effectiveness of this structure and what Mary Shelley
achieves through her use of it.
Another approach to this topic might be to consider
the following view: The novel offers no objective
viewpoint from which to verify what each of the highly
subjective (and perhaps mentally unbalanced) narrators
tells us. We in fact have every reason to write off both
Walton and Frankenstein as unreliable madmen. To what
extent might subjectivity itself be a theme of the novel?
Consider both the value and dangers of subjectivity.
F. IF none of these topics suits you and you can develop
one of your own, present it to me in the form of a thesis
and outline for approval BEFORE the initial due date.
NOTE: If you use critical sources to assist you in this
essay please be sure to cite them correctly within the text
and to include a works cited page. Failure to do this
would be considered plagiarism and result in a failing
grade, as well as school disciplinary consequences.