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Literature & Language
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Topic:
The Frankenstein Application Essay
Essay Instructions:
Writing Assignment: The Frankenstein Application Essay
Literary works like Frankenstein explore the “human condition” or experiences that humans encounter. The study guides for Frankenstein offered several “Real Life Considerations” meant to help you critically analyze the applications of the work's themes in today's world. Now, you will choose one of these topics and explore it using secondary resources to learn more about the novel and its relevant social topics. You might find information about social issues in familiar sources such as magazines, newspapers, or social science journals.
Your thesis statement and paper must address both the literary qualities and the social issues as you evaluate the novel, Frankenstein. However, keep in mind, your essay does not have to answer ALL of the questions listed under each topic. Only answer the question(s) you feel are the most relevant to the thesis statement you choose. Develop your essay so it has a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. Ensure that each of your claims is supported with valid evidence from the novel, Frankenstein, and at least three other credible external sources. Using proper MLA style, insert parenthetical citations and signal phrases for all borrowed information in addition to a Works Cited page for Frankenstein and your chosen external sources.
You have several options for this assignment:
Option #1: Can science go too far?
There is an ongoing battle between faith orspirituality and science that has been active even before the time of Mary Shelley. What are some of the dilemmas she addresses that are still important today? What are some of the ethical questions she brings up regarding the scientific definition of life and death? What does she illustrate about the power science has to blur the line between life and death? What is a current news item that is similar to this issue?
Hint: Develop a thesis that answers a question like this one: “How and how well does Mary Shelley's Frankenstein address ethical issues of science and/or faith for audiences, regardless of when they read the novel?”
Option #2: Discovery
Both Frankenstein and Walton are trying to discover something important to them. What parts of their real lives drive them to discovery? Does that drive still exist today? While we've mapped the globe, are there still geographical places for people to explore? In science, are people still trying to discover the meaning of life, how to save life, and how to defeat death? What methods do they use? Are there better ways to accomplish these goals than others? What are some of today's motivations for discovery?
Hint: Develop a thesis that answers a question like this one: “How and how well does Mary Shelley's Frankenstein address human discovery as a theme?”
Option #3: World Perception and Prejudice
Reread the paragraph where the creature describes the book from which Felix teaches Safie. It begins: “The book from which Felix instructed Safie was Volney's Ruins of Empires…” What are some of the perceptions and prejudices from the book that Felix teaches Safie? How have these perceptions and prejudices changed, if they have, in today's society? What are some present day situations and references that may claim a lack of prejudice or an open-mindedness, but, in fact, are still very prejudiced, racist, sexist, etc? Why do you think these situations still happen? Can anything be done about it?
Hint: Develop a thesis that answers a question like this one: “How and how well does Mary Shelley's Frankenstein address human prejudice in the world throughout time?”
Option #4: Personal Perception
It could be argued that the creature did not consider itself a monster and didn't do awful things until people treated him like a monster. What are some real world instances in which people's actions could be a reaction to abuse from others? Who do you feel is accountable in these situations? Why?
Hint: Develop a thesis that answers a question like this one: “How and how well does Mary Shelley's Frankenstein address the effect of peer perceptions on personal development?”
Option #5: Death and Suicide
At the end of the book, the creature promises to destroy himself. Is this a justifiable end for him? Could he have been redeemed? Would he have had a place in the world of Shelley's novel? How could this relate to current day issues like suicide or the death penalty?
Hint: Develop a thesis that answers a question like this one: “How and how well does Mary Shelley's Frankenstein address the value of an individual's life and death?”
Option #6: Nature vs. Nurture
The creature argues that had someone properly guided him, he would not have been so wretched. Frankenstein argues that the creature was evil to begin with, so it would have been useless to teach him at all. What are some current debates – especially in education – where these kinds of arguments still arise? How much of behavior do you think is based on nature (how a person IS) and how much is based on nurture (what a person LEARNS or EXPERIENCES)? What examples from the present support your opinion? What do you feel is the truth? Why?
Hint: Develop a thesis that answers a question like this one: “How and how well does Mary Shelley's Frankenstein address existing personality traits versus how a person is taught to act?”
Option #7: Feminism
The feminist perspective is often explored in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. How are the women characters treated in the novel? What perceptions of women did Shelley use and comment on? How did she handle the theme of motherhood?
Hint: Develop a thesis that answers a question like this one: “How and how well does Mary Shelley incorporate responses to feminist issues into the novel, Frankenstein?”
The guidelines for this assignment are:
Length: This assignment should be 3-5 typed pages or approximately 750-1000 words.
Header: Include a header in the upper left-hand corner of your writing assignment with the following information: ○ Your first and last name ○ Course Title (Composition II) ○ Assignment name (Frankenstein Application Essay, Writing Assignment 5) ○ Current Date
Format:
- Standard 12 point font (Arial, Times, Verdana)
- 1” margins on all sides
- Save the file using one of the following extensions: .docx, .doc, .rtf, or .txt
Underline your thesis statement in the introductory paragraph.
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Frankenstein Application Essay
Frankenstein is the title of a novel authored by Mary Shelley about a creature made by unconventional scientific experiments. The story is narrated by a third party omnipresent narrator and starts with Captain Robert Walton exchanging letters with his sister, Margaret Walton Saville. Walton sets out to explore the North Pole in order to expand his scientific knowledge and experience so as to achieve eminence. It is during his voyage that he meets Victor Frankenstein who is nearly frozen and gaunt. After being nursed back to health, Victor then shares his epic with Captain Walton on his long hunt of a demon as he prefers to call him. Victor Frankenstein, who is the protagonist in the novel and partly narrator of the story, discovers the secrets of life of an intelligent but dangerous monster that is causing torment to many including his own brother William and eventually kill him (Glut, 56). After secretly creating the monster, Victor deserts the creature unguided due to his inability to bear the guilt and shame of that has come with his quest. The created monster is an eight-foot, intelligent but ugly and ironically sensitive emotionally. It tries to assimilate himself into the human social pattern but is shunned by all including his own creator and due to this cold treatment and abandonment he come sup with a plot to revenge. He ends up killing several people including his creator’s brother then culminates with the murder of Victor, his very creator (Shelley xxv).
Prior to his death, Victor is portrayed as a man eager to acquire knowledge and this spirit leads him on to have numerous questions about the nature of life and souls. He is a brilliant scientist devoted to his study of various educational disciplines alongside other areas of spiritualism and quackery and his dedication finally pays off when he learned how to give life to inanimate biological objects. He gathers all the materials he needs then creates an ugly creature. But no sooner does he finish creating this ugly creature than he flees it in disgust. This rejection is evident as he does not give it a name and this leaves the creature with no identity and it is therefore referred by horrible names such as monster, creature, demon, devil, fiend, and by pronouns like “it” (Glut, 63). Victor even refers to it as vile insect, abhorred monster and other cruel names at some point when he converses with it in chapter 10. The creature tries to tell Victor of his own experiences with people and portrays a picture of a more knowledgeable, educated and self-conscious side of itself. He tries to befriend the De Lacey family but due to his ugly physical appearance the family drives him away and the family moves out permanently. In disgust, the creature then burns down their cottage and leaves. The creature then leaves and it is during his travels that the creature comes across a young girl in need and rescues her from drowning, but during this rescue operation which in itself is an act of good faith from the monster, a man sees the creature hold the girl in its arms persuades it then fires at it wounding it. The creature confesses how he had murdered William and framed the nanny. The monster concludes the tale by demanding hi...
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