Wednesday, July 23, 2014

In the book How to Read Literature Like a Professor, which quotes refer to the book Frankenstein?

Foster uses such a variety of works—from novels to poetry to plays—in his analyses that most works aren't referenced repeatedly. However, there are so many ways that you could tie various chapters of focus into the plot and themes of Frankenstein. Here are some ideas:
1. Chapter 1: Every Trip is a Quest (Except When It's Not): Both Victor and the monster make several trips in the book, and in each case, they are searching for something. Consider Victor's travels to Ingolstadt. It is here that he becomes passionate about the sciences, which will lead to his creation of the monster. Also consider when the monster removes himself from the close physical proximity of Victor and places himself in the woods close to the DeLacey family. It is here that he grows abundantly in knowledge and desires to be part of a family like the one he observes. In several instances in the book, the characters are really on a quest for self-knowledge when they embark on a trip.
2. Chapter 6: The Bible: There are several Biblical parallels in Frankenstein. The creature can be likened to Adam, the first man. He wants Victor to create a female (Eve) for him. Does that make Victor God? Not exactly, but in his creation of life, he does assume a god-like position, which he then abandons completely. Perhaps this is why the monster finds solace in Paradise Lost.
3. Chapter 11: Violence: The creature commits numerous murders in the novel, the first being William Frankenstein (directly), which is then blamed on Justine. One could argue that he is indirectly responsible for her murder as well. Through William, we see the symbolic death of innocence that Victor's creation has caused. Does he, then, as the creator, bear the ultimate responsibility since he has given no moral leadership to the creature? That's a great debate.
There are other chapters where it is easy to tie in Frankenstein as well. It's a great piece to analyze, as it is so rich in character development and plot complications.


There are actually a few references to Frankenstein in the book. In Chapter 21, Marked for Greatness, the author discusses physical deformities as symbols for inner dysfunction or moral turpitude (depravity).
He discusses Mary Shelley's monster from a historical perspective; the atrocious figure of the monster explores nineteenth-century fears about the unholy alliance between science and supernatural quackery.

Thanks to Hollywood, the monster looks like Boris Karloff or Lon Chaney and intimidates us by its sheer physical menace. But in the novel, it's the idea of the monster that is frightening, or perhaps it’s really the idea of the man, the scientist-sorcerer, forging an unholy alliance with dark knowledge that scares us. The monster represents, among other things, forbidden insights, a modern pact with the devil, the result of science without ethics.

In fact, the dubious science of galvanism was the central premise that gave birth to Frankenstein, the monster. In Chapter 21, the author also introduces the hypothesis that Frankenstein unwittingly represents the ugly parts in all of us that we would rather keep hidden from public view.

Romanticism gave us the notion, rampant throughout the nineteenth century and still with us in the twenty-first, of the dual nature of humanity, that in each of us, no matter how well made or socially groomed, a monstrous Other exists.
What they share with Shelley’s monster is the implication that within each of us, no matter how civilized, lurk elements that we’d really prefer not to acknowledge – the exact opposite of The Hunchback of Notre Dame or “Beauty and the Beast,” where a hideous outer form hides the beauty of the inner person.

In the above quotes, the author makes the point that, when a writer takes the trouble to clothe a character with significant physical anomalies, he "probably means something by it," and we should try to understand the inherent symbolism behind his actions.

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