Frankenstein Essays II

British Literature. Tue, Dec 8th, 2009 at 5:37 pm

Themes: Draft, Essay, Formatting, Frankenstein, Links, Peer Review

“That [You] May Infuse a Spark of Being into the Lifeless Thing” You’ve Wrought. Or something like that…

In class today we worked through a peer review of your essays. Here are some things to check as you type your work tonight:

• Proper margins, type, etc.
• MLA Works Cited page
• Is your introduction interesting? Does it capture the attention of the largest audience possible? Make them lean forward?
• Do your paragraphs answer all relevant questions about your thesis? (A great way to check this is to give your thesis to a friend and get them to ask questions about it. Make sure all the answers are covered in your paragraphs.)
• Do you provide relevant support? If your quotations are longer than a sentence, it is usually best to cut them down to the bare essentials; don’t be afraid to tear into the author’s work. Make it your own.
• Are your sources cited correctly? MLA guidelines for books are here, and movies halfway down the page here. If you can’t find the information on the movie, check the IMDB.

As always, post questions below.

2 Responses to “Frankenstein Essays II”

1. Zoe Humphreys says:

   December 10, 2009 at 3:41 pm

   So I changed my works cited page, and i would like to know if I have done it correctly, because I do not want to have any more points off for formatting! Here is my essayyyyyyy:

   Zoe Humphreys

   British Lit. 5th hr

   Companionship

   12-09-09

   In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Viktor’s creation is the only one like him; a monster, alone. He spends a good amount of time wandering around causing
   nothing but terror and despair. He grows lonesome and asks his creator to make
   him a “companion of the same species with the same defects, and of the opposite sex.” (pg. 133- 134) A similar story is in The Bible, where it is stated that, “And The LORD God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make him a companion who will help him.” (Gen. 3:18) Of these two examples it has shown that man wants companionship, and that it is vital towards general happiness.
   In The Bible, it continues to say, “He took one of Adam’s ribs…Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib and brought her to Adam.” (Gen. 3:21-22) After this happened Adam had a fit companion and he was content. It says in The Bible, that, “the two are united into one, husband and wife.” (Gen. 3:25) In Frankenstein, this is what the monster craved; companionship, and to be “united with another being.” (pg. 134)
   When Viktor refuses to make the monster a mate (pg. 134), the monster starts threatening his creator. Viktor tells him, “no torture shall ever extort a consent from me…shall I create another like yourself…I have answered you; you may torture me, but I will never consent.” (pg.134) Viktor realizes that the creation of another monster is not good for the world, and he will not make another; unlike the story of Adam. The monster tries to convince him that, “ I am malicious because I am miserable, and alone…if I cannot inspire love, I will cause fear…I should return them a hundred and a hundred-fold; for that one creature’s sake I would make peace with the whole kind!” (pg. 134-135) He is saying that if Viktor were to create him a companion he would no longer have the urge to kill, and that his companion and his self, “we shall be more attached to one another.” (pg. 135) Just like in The Bible, when God says man and woman will be united, Viktor’s creation wants to have a mate; and having this would make him happy.
   Unlike Adam, Viktor’s monster never receives his mate. Viktor throws the partially assembled body parts into the lake before the creation is finished. This causes the monster to be very upset, and he pledges revenge on his creator. The monster spends the remainder of the book searching for Viktor, and causes only terror among all he encounters. Adam, after receiving his mate Eve, spends the rest of his days in moderate happiness, the exact opposite from Viktor’s monster. Upon having a companion Adam leads a happy life, where as Viktor’s monster does not, proving that; man craves companionship, and having it results in general happiness.

   Works Cited

   The Holy Bible. Ed. Corey Wilkinson. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. 1996.
   Print.

   Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. New York, New York: Bantam Dell, 2003. Print.

2. JStallings says:

   December 10, 2009 at 4:06 pm

   Looks good, but I can’t see the formatting here. I just emailed you. Attach the file to a response (don’t copy and paste).