Time for a Class Discussion!

According to the preface and the author's
introduction, under what circumstance was
Frankenstein written?
◦ According to the preface and the author's
introduction, the story was written at the
suggestion of Lord Byron, who was suffering from
boredom as a result of being kept indoors by rainy
weather Lord Byron suggested that he, Mary, Percy
Bysshe Shelley, and John William Polidori each write
a ghost story for amusement.
Letters 1-4
FRAME TALE, EPISTOLARY NOVEL, and
THEME
1.
◦
The themes of loneliness, desire for
companionship,/frienship and the dangers of the
search for knowledge are introduced.
SETTING
2.
◦
The setting is cold, icy and lonely. Walton is
invigorated by the setting and its proximity to the
pole, where he seeks answers to his scientific
theories. The setting seems to elevate the
melancholy stranger in his quest "to seek the one
who fled."
What are the narrator's (Captain Robert
Walton) main goals? Based on his first letter,
what qualities do you note in this character?
3.
◦
The narrator hopes to achieve fame by
discovering a sea passage across the North
Pole. Although driven in his goals, he finds
human relationships important. He shows love
for his sister and longs for a friend. His belief in
treating others kindly is demonstrated by his
choice of a ship master who respects the sailors
and treats them fairly.
In what way does the stranger differ from
the various members of the crew Walton has
described?
4.
◦
The stranger shares Walton's intellectual
stimulation and his emotional sympathies.
What is one thing Walton says he is
missing? Who fills this need for him?
5.
◦
Walton says that he is missing a friend. The
stranger rescued from the breaking ice becomes
Walton's friend.
6.
7.
“Nothing contributes so much to tranquillize the
mind as a steady purpose” (Shelley 2). What is
he feeling?
"I have no ambition to lose my life on the postroad between St. Petersburg and Archngel“

Captain Robert Walton, in a letter to his sister, Mrs.
Margaret Saville, describes his whereabouts during a
voyage to the North Pole. St. Petersburg, currently known
as Leningrad, lies to the northeast of European Russia
along the Baltic Sea. The route connects it to Archangel,
now called Arkhangeisk, is a mail route that leads toward
the Artic Circle. In view of the date of his letter December 11 - Walton has reason to take precautions
against the extreme cold.
What strange sight does the crew see one
day? What question does the stranger they
pick up the following day ask? What is the
stranger's goal?
7.
◦
The crew sees a gigantic man riding across the
ice on a sledge. The stranger asks where the
ship is traveling. The stranger's goal is 'to seek
on who fled" from him.
8.
"I am going to unexplored regions, to 'the land of
mist and snow,' but I shall kill no albatross;
therefore do not be alarmed for my safety or if I
should come back to you as worn and woeful as
the 'Ancient Mariner.'"

Walton refers to a famous poem by Samuel Taylor
Coleridge in which the main character, an unnamed
mariner, recounts his killing of an innocent seabird and
the terrible penance he must undergo in order to rid
himself of sin.
The allusion to the poem may suggest that Walton’s
journey will be cursed. Walton, however, confidently says
that he will "kill no albatross," meaning that he will not
bring bad luck on the ship. Instead, he says he will return
safely.
9.
In what way is the stranger's goal similar to
Walton's goal? Why is the stranger upset
when he hears what Walton is willing to do to
reach his goal?


Both the stranger and Walton are driven to accomplish
their goals, and are willing to make sacrifices for
these goals. Also, the goals of both men are taking
them north. The stranger is upset because he does
not want Walton's quest to end the same way that his
is ending.
The goals of Walton and Frankenstein are similar in that
they are both seeking the unknown, a typical function of
science fiction. They are both using known scientific
principles to generate new knowledge: Walton hopes to
help people navigate better through the arctic regions,
and Frankenstein hopes to win fame as the first person
to create life.
9.
How did you react to the two characters introduced in
this section? Use the Graphic Organizer to note
essential characteristics.
And complete Journal Entry and Word Maps.