Excellent discussions over the past few days! Glad to see we’re back in the swing of things. Below is a short overview of our goals this week and how they tie into the ultimate goal: writing the final paper. If you have questions, post them below, send me an email, stop me in the hall, or ask in class. This is confusing because it is new; don’t be ashamed if you feel like you aren’t getting it. That’s a sign that you’re learning. Keep asking questions until it clicks.

The assignment, as mentioned previously, is to write an essay answering the following question: In what ways is  Frankenstein a Romantic work?

In other courses the teacher may lecture over the Romantic Era and ask you to apply your notes to the novel. ((FYI, this is an example of a deductive exploration/explanation. The teacher gives you a definition, you assert whether or not an example (the novel) matches that definition.)) This is all well and good, but you guys need a challenge. Rather than providing you with a definition of Romanticism, I am asking you to note the themes of a number of Romantic works (the “Frankensources” packet) and use those to come up with a working explanation of the Romantic ethos. ((This is informal inductive reasoning; those who have played with the scientific method before will recognize the pattern.)) You will then use those to support your claims about Frankenstein‘s romanticism.

Today we began with very basic patterns—assertions of mankind’s apparent greatness, the importance of creativity, light-as-knowledge imagery, etc.—and played with how we could tie them together. It is important to realize that there aren’t any “wrong” answers here, just poorly supported ones. You can check the validity of your pattern by finding it elsewhere in the packet, or by finding other symbols arguing something similar. If all signs are pointing to the importance of a person’s humility and you find arguments in favor of man’s godlike nature, go back through your notes to see if you missed something. Or ask during class. Asking is always good.

I gave you each feedback on your journals/annotations/essay drafts in class today. If you’re having trouble making the literary connections (the motifs we’ve been discussing in class), write a list of those we’ve discussed (light imagery, creation, hubris, etc.) and record any quotations you come across that match the motif. Once you have a list, ask yourself why the authors would repeat these elements, or how one author’s use contrasts with another’s. I’m interested in what you’ll have to discuss on Tuesday.

For the record: we are reading through chapter 19 over the break.

We spent Monday looking over your essays, looking for shared connections and discussing composition techniques. I (re)emphasized the importance of outlining, as these essays are going to become part of a larger synthesis later.

Tuesday and Wednesday were devoted to application of the themes and motifs (the sublime, light imagery, creation stories, the beautiful, hubris, etc.) that we found in Frankenstein to other works found in your “Frankensources” packet. By taking copious notes in your journals along the way, you have begun writing your papers in earnest without even realizing it; those patterns you’ve discovered will become major points supported by the quotations you’ve noted. Good times.

Read through the works we discussed today and yesterday and journal through chapter 17 for tomorrow.

We began writing our first essay on Friday, spending most of the hour bringing ideas together into outlines, troubleshooting thesis statements, and collecting evidence. Our endeavors were focused on one of two questions:

• Why does Victor react to his creation the way that he does?
• Why is the novel’s subtitle “The Modern Prometheus”?

You should finish this essay this weekend and read through chapter 14 of the novel.

As you work on this essay this weekend, remember that this is not meant to be a final draft. In fact, we won’t be making a final draft of this essay at all; it is your first major step in answering our overall question: What makes Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein Romantic?

As you begin writing, keep in mind three questions:

• In one sentence, what do I want my audience to understand/believe after reading this? That’s your thesis statement. It will change as you write your paper—don’t worry about that.
• What things do my audience need to know in order to understand/believe my thesis? These things are your topic sentences, and they usually come from your “Literary Connections” in your journal. If they are things you merely pulled from the text, like “Victor is afraid of his creation,” it is not a topic sentence, but a quotation or paraphrase. Couple it with one or more quotation or paraphrase (like “Burke argues that the root of the sublime is fear”) and bring them together: “Victor’s reaction to his monster’s awakening seems to illustrate Burke’s understanding of the sublime.” That is a topic sentence.
• What bits of information from the text do your audience need to support your topic sentences? These will be your quotations and paraphrasing (cite both).

An outline of the above would look like this:

Thesis: Frankenstein’s reaction to his creation can be better understood in the context of Edmund Burke’s beliefs about the sublime and the beautiful.

I. ((One of my answers to the second question above; note that in an actual outline there must be more than one major point.)) Victor’s reaction to his monster’s awakening seems to illustrate Burke’s understanding of the sublime.

A. Victor is afraid of his creation (Shelley 42).
B.  Burke argues that the root of the sublime is fear (13).

II. [Another argument in support of my thesis; likely something about the beautiful.]

This is a very simple outline, but follows the rules we discussed in class:

1. Cited material is located only at the lowest level. (The rightmost indentation.)
2. The points of higher levels are arguments (things that someone may disagree with), not synopses or restatements of plot points.
3. Every level has at least two points. (Every “I” has a “II,” every “A” has a “B.”

All of the above may be a lot to take in, but we will discuss your process and ideas on Monday. If you have a question in the meantime, post a comment below or send me an email.

Been an amazing week so far: great discussions, solid journals, impressive insights. Very excited for this year.

Tuesday and Wednesday were devoted primarily to journal checks. While you are all used to annotations and journaling, the scope of this paper is greater than you’ve likely encountered. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is for you to continue asking questions, seeking answers, trying out connections, and writing down those quotations. The grades are in the grade book. Remember, your current scores are based on a 5-point scale and we’re going for perfection; if you have a 3 in vocab, make sure you’re writing down (and defining!) unfamiliar words. If you were writing down quotations without making connections, make them and your grade will go up.

We’ve continued our discussion of the Romantic Era and its reflection in this novel. Look back for other links about this period, but I’ll recommend this site again. Worth a look—really.

We discussed the romantics’ infatuation with two unlikely heroes: Milton’s Satan and Prometheus. Both challenged the gods and were punished for it, much like our poor cocky hubristic protagonist. We spent most of the hour making connections between Enlightenment/Romantic ideas about the sublime and beautiful and Victor’s reaction to his creation:

I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart. Unable to endure the aspect of the being I had created, I rushed out of the room, and continued a long time traversing my bedchamber, unable to compose my mind to sleep.

I also told the relevant stories of Prometheus ((Though I left out the Pandora bit—gotta have a cliffhanger, don’t I?)), but here is a great resource for further research.

Our discussions resulted in the following, which may only be clear for those who were present for the discussion. ((And my ham-fisted Paint skills coupled with awkward camera angles aren’t helping)) If you weren’t, ask a peer to walk you through it.

We read Goethe’s “Prometheus” (1772–4) and Byron’s… “Prometheus” (1816) in class today, as well. We’ll discuss these tomorrow with Percy Shelley’s Prometheus Unbound (1820), just to drive the point about their obsession home.