Why do people read Frankenstein?

Here's another answer to that question along the lines of what I said about the more you analyze a good book the more you get out of it. BBC News just published an article about ten interpretations of Frankenstein. And the readers were so inspired that they wrote in with their own interpretations and the BBC published sixteen of them.

Grades should be up by Friday.

EWRT1A-25: 2 final thoughts

There will be no office hours finals week. If you were planning on seeing me, please send me an e-mail.

There is a final at 6:15 in our classroom. That means we must be done by 6, no exceptions. So please show up on time. I'll hand everything out right before 4 so everyone can have the full two hours.

EWRT1A-25: final

The final will have three sections and be 150 points total.

Section 1: five sentence revisions (10 points)
Concepts since midterm:
mixed constructions, misplaced and dangling modifiers, conciseness (wordiness), active verbs (versus passive and to be verbs), parallel structure

Section 2: short answer - on short stories and novel (40 points)
“No Name Woman”
“A Rose For Emily”
Frankenstein

Section 3: essay on Frankenstein (100 points)
There will be a few prompts for you to choose from. The prompts will be based on themes we have discussed in class.

Please bring paper and pens. The only books you can use are Frankenstein and a dictionary. No other books or notes are allowed. No cell phones or other electronic devices are allowed.

The final is on Tuesday, March 22nd from 4 to 6.

EWRT1A-25: bring your readers

Please bring your reader this week as well as Frankenstein.

Also, don't forget the time change.

EWRT1A-25: parallelism

The final worksheet: parallelism.

EWRT1A-25: essay 3 first draft due next class

The first draft of essay 3 is due next time. Get as complete as you can, but I expect the drafts to be pretty rough. This will be the only chance for you to get feedback from me about this paper.

This paper is supposed to be an analysis of two works of literature, one of the short stories and the novel. Analysis means to take things apart, to look for patterns. If your paper is simply describing events in the order they happened, then you probably aren't analyzing and are instead simply summarizing. Also keep in mind that you are analyzing the texts, not real life. The goal is not to come to some "lesson" about life, but to come to an understanding about what the texts mean.

And lastly, don’t just analyze the stories separately. As with paper two, the essay should show synthesis. The thesis should state a connection between both texts and the evidence in your essay should demonstrate that connection.

EWRT1A-25: wordy sentences exercise and reading response 10

Here is the wordy sentences exercise. Be sure to read the chapter in the Longman book (190). The writers do a really nice job of classifying various types of wordiness.

Also, remember that we will be writing reading response 10 in class on Tuesday.

EWRT1A-25: map of the early chapters of Frankenstein

Here is a map that shows some of the place names from the early part of the novel. One thing to notice is that both Walton and Victor follow a similar geographical route. They both travel steadily northward, eventually getting to Russia.

EWRT1A-25: modifiers exercise and reading response 9

Here is the modifiers exercise due Thursday, March 3rd.

Reading response 9 will also be due then. We will not be doing it in class as it says on the syllabus. Instead, it will be homework and reading response 10 will be done in class next Tuesday, March 8th.

Reading Response 9
Keeping in mind what you have read of Frankenstein so far, respond to one of the prompts below. Please use specific evidence from the novel to support your response.

• Compare and contrast the ambitions of Victor and Walton. How do the two men see their responsibilities to themselves and others? What kinds of values and motivations may be operating for each person?
• What are the effects of education as depicted in this novel? Does education liberate characters or ruin them? Consider Frankenstein, Clerval, and Walton (you don’t have to discuss all three, I’m just suggesting examples).
• Do you find Victor Frankenstein to be a responsible person? In answering this, don’t refer only to Victor’s relationship to his creation.
• How is nature depicted so far in the novel? What is its effect on the characters? Please refer to specific scenes.
• Look at the fate of Justine. How is she treated before William’s murder? How is she treated afterward? What does this contrast tell you about the society in the novel?