Chapters 1-4: In My Own Words

"Remember, I am not recording the vision of a madman.  The sun does not more certainly shine in the heavens, than that which I now affirm is true.  Some miracle might have produced it, yet the stages of the discovery were distinct and probable.  After days and nights of incredible labour and fatigue, I succeeded in discovering the cause of generation and life; nay, more, I became myself capable of bestowing animation upon lifeless matter."

"I was like the Arabian who had been buried with the dead and found a passage to life, aided only by one glimmering and seemingly ineffectual light."

In the above quote, Victor alludes to a story from The Arabian Nights, specifically to "The Fourth Voyage of Sinbad" in which Sinbad is given a beautiful wife as a present by a friendly king. He later discovers that in that particular country it is custom to be buried along with your dead spouse.   Soon after Sinbad discovers this, his wife dies. So Sinbad is "buried" with his wife in a cave.  However, he is able to see a small spot of light by which he eventually is able to escape from the cave.

For this post, recount the lifestyle that Victor is familiar with, his relationship with his parents and Elizabeth - his "more than sister," his educational interest in alchemy, and explain why his discovery allowed him to find a "passage to life."

Letters I-IV: Running Down the Devil

"About two o'clock the mist cleared away, and we beheld, stretched out in every direction, vast and irregular plains of ice, which seemed to have no end.  Some of my comrades groaned, and my own mind began to grow watchful with anxious thoughts, when a strange sight suddenly attracted our attention, and diverted our solicitude from our own situations.  We perceived a low carriage, fixed on a sledge and drawn by dogs, pass on towards the north, at the distance of half a mile; a being which had the shape of a man, but apparently of gigantic stature, sat in the sledge, and guided the dogs.  We watched the rapid progress of the traveller with our telescopes until he was lost among the distant inequalities of the ice." 

This strange scene witnessed and told by Captain Robert Walton was followed the next day by the emergence of another weary visitor who boarded the ship from the vast loneliness of the arctic.  Although we don't discover it until later - the second man is Victor Frankenstein. 

For your first post, you're asked to take on the role of Victor Frankenstein and do the following: share who you are chasing, how you came to the arctic, explain your decision to board the ship, and your purpose for telling your horrific tale to Captain Robert Walton.  

I understand that you may have to fabricate some of these ideas in the beginning, but please make an attempt to enter into the mind of Victor Frankenstein.  As with all posts, you are to write as Victor in the genre of a diary complete with detailed explanations that allow the reader to have a deeper understanding of the character.

Victor Frankenstein's Blog

During our study of Frankenstein we will be recording our responses, thinking beyond the text, and considering the point of view of Victor Frankenstein. The main themes that will act as our lenses for learning will be: unintended consequences; the role of technology; and moral limitations we put on the use of technology.

Each student will contribute to the weekly class blog, posting an approximately 250-word response to the week’s readings. I will post prompts and questions at least once a week, but possibly bi-weekly. You may be asked to post to your blog as a homework assignment in order to engage in the text while the reading is fresh in your mind. Strive for thoughtfulness and nuance when posting your responses.

The rubric for student blog posting can be found on the class wiki. I plan on graded your posts via comments to your entries from time to time. Each graded post will be worth 10 points.