Video SparkNotes: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein summary
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Frankenstein eBook
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Frankenstein - The Structure of the Novel
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Frankenstein - Character Summary
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Building Background Knowledge in History and Culture
Comparisons and Connections
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In 1917, Sir Ernest Shackleton, in a historic quest to cross the Antarctic continent at the South Pole, found himself and his crew surrounded by ice for nine months. When it became evident the ice would sink the ship and take the lives of his crew, Shackleton made a series of decisions that saved every single man on board.
Survival! The Shackleton Story
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Patriarchy and Theories of Locke
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1. The male pursuance of goals against all odds.
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2. The role of women as passive and dependent on men.
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3. The usurpation (removal) of female reproductive power by science
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4. John Locke’s “tabula rasa,” or “blank slate” theory of individual character.
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Building Background Knowledge through Exploration of Genre
The Romantic View of Nature
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In the 21st Century we owe much about the way we understand the natural world and our place in it to the Romantics.
The Romantics - Nature (BBC documentary) |
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Gothic Comparisons
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Popular in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, Gothic novels are characterized by the use of intense emotion, the characterization of nature as a powerful and destructive force, the use of weather and atmosphere to depict mood, and the evocation of terror and horror.
Michael Jackson - Thriller |
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Frame Story
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Definition: Think of those Russian Matryoshka dolls. The big doll contains all of the other little dolls; the big box holds all the little boxes.
That's exactly what a frame story does in terms of narrative structure. It's the big overarching story that contains all of the little stories within it. It provides the background story that gives the real story an excuse to be told. Princess Bride - Opening scene
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Building Background Knowledge through Initial Exploration of Themes
The Double Self
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Doppelgangers
Definition: A doppelganger is a German term, literally meaning a ‘double-goer', an apparition or double of a living person. Man Randomly Finds Doppelganger Sitting Next to Him on Plan |
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"The Modern Prometheus"
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The subtitle to Shelley’s 1818 edition of Frankenstein expressly links her novel to the Ancient Greek myth of Prometheus.
Animation: The ancient myth of Prometheus |
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