Find an example of a literary device or technique in Frankenstein. Explain the context from which it is taken. (5 points)
Example: "...William and Justine, the first hapless victims to my unhallowed arts" (Shelley, 90). In this sentence the words "first hapless victims" lead the reader to believe there will be more victims and functions as an example of foreshadowing.
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"you seek knowledge and wisdom, as I once did; and I ardently hope that the gratification of your wishes may not be a serpent to sting you, as mine has been." (p 31)
ReplyDeleteThis is an example of metaphor as he compares the gratification of his wishes to a serpent that stings. Also there is foreshadowing. We don't know what bad thing happened to Victor and if something bad will happen to Robert.
"Like one, on a lonesome road who,
ReplyDeleteDoth walk in fear and dread," (60).
This quote shows an example of allusion used to describe the lonely wandering of Frankenstein after the creation of his creature. "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" also parallels Frankenstein as they both spread their stories to teach others a lesson.
"Like Adam, I was apparently united by no link to any other being in existence; but his state was far different from mine in every other respect" (132).
ReplyDeleteThis quote is an allusion to the Bible character, Adam, who was the first human created by God. The creature compares himself to Adam because they were both the first of their kind, but he also contrasts the love God feels for Adam and the hatred Frankenstein feels toward his monster.
"I saw him descend the mountain with greater speed than the flight of an eagle" (150).
ReplyDeleteThis quote shows a simile of comparing the creature's swiftness to an eagle flying.
"Sleep fled from my eyes; I wandered like an evil spirit, for I had committed deeds of mischief beyond description horrible, and more, much more (I persuaded myself) was yet behind." (93).
ReplyDelete"I wandered like an evil spirit" is an example of a simile which describes Dr. Frankenstein and also shows the Doctor views himself.
"...I was in reality very ill...The form of the monster on whom I had bestowed existence was forever before my eyes, and I raved incessantly concerning him" (Shelley 63).
ReplyDeleteThis quote is an example of both symbolism and foreshadowing because the idea of Victor falling ill in times of great stress serves as a symbol of escape from reality, especially with the kindness of his friend Clerval. The idea of using an escape like this while he "raved incessantly" proves that there is more to come (which is why this is foreshadowing), and just like the monster will not leave his mind, it symbolizes how the monster will not leave his life.
"I, the miserable and the abandoned, am an abortion, to be spurned at, and kicked, and trampled on." (Shelley 224)
ReplyDeleteThis quote has the metaphor relating the monster to an abortion.
"I ardently hope that the gratification of your wishes may not be a serpent to sting you, as mine has been” (31)
ReplyDeleteHere Victor is telling Walton about how the search for knowledge can end up biting back, like a serpent. Victor is using the serpent to personify gratification.
"I thank you for your sympathy, but it is useless ; my fate is nearly fullfilled," (shelley 31)
ReplyDeleteHere victor uses the word fate implying that it is inevitable that he will end up with misfortune.
"the ascent is precipitous, but the path is cut into continual and short windings, which enable you to surmount the perpendicularity of the mountian. It is a scene terrifically desolate. In a thousands spots the traces of the winter avalance may be perceived, where trees lie broken and strewed on the ground; some entirely destroyed, tohers bend, leaning apon the juttins rocks of the mountian or transversely upon other trees" (shelly 100)
ReplyDeleteThis quote is taken from volume 2 when Victor travels into the mountian to get away and think about the problems he believes he has caused. This quote uses much imagery to create an accurate picutre of the landscape victor is traveling through
"I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body...but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart" (Shelley 58).
ReplyDeleteThese words from Victor show that he is now disgusted by the very thing he thought would bring him joy and comfort. This is an example of irony because Victor is unexpectedly disgusted by what he originally thought was beauty.
"One by one, her brothers and sister died; and her mother, with the exception of her neglected daughter, was left childless. The conscience of the woman was troubled; she began to think the deaths of her favourites were a judgemnet from heaven to chatise her partiality" (67).
ReplyDeleteElizabeth writes this to Frankenstein after he has created the monster and it functions as foreshadowing Victor's punishment.
"You accuse me of murder; and yet you would, with a satisfied conscience, destroy your own creature. Oh, praise the eternal justice of man!" (page 90 of my copy)
ReplyDeleteThe monster highlights the irony of Frankenstein's actions.
"Still, as I ascended higher, the valley assumed a more magnificent and astonishing character. Ruined castles hanging on the precipices of piny mountains; the impetuous Arve, and cottages every here and there peeping forth from among the trees, formed a scene of singular beauty" (Shelley 97).
ReplyDeleteIn this quote Mary Shelley uses imagery to show the beauty of the landscape around Victor.
" I saw a line of high land towards the south. Almost spent,as I was, by fatigue, and the dreadful suspense I endured for several hours, this sudden certainty of life rushed lke a flood of warm joy to my heart, and tears gushed from my eyes"
ReplyDeletepg 177
This quote is a good example of Irony. Just as she was ready to kill herself and give up, BAM! there is land. How much more ironic can you get?
"I saw him descend the mountain with greater speed than the flight of a eagle, and quickly lost among the undulations of the sea of ice."
ReplyDelete-pg 150
This is a similie that is comparing the speed of the monster to the speed of a eagle in flight.
"I ardently hope that the gratification of your wishes may not be a serpent to sting you, as mine has been." (p 31)
ReplyDeleteThis quote has a lot of meaning behind it. It talks about how Victor's wish came true however it ruined him in the end. This is an example of irony, but is also a metaphor. It compares the gratification of your wishes, to a serpent's sting.
I, the miserable and the abandoned, am an abortion, to be spurned at, and kicked, and trampled on. (224)
ReplyDeleteThis likens the creation to an abortion, which in most cultures tabboo and looked down upon, just as he is in Germany. Or, this could be the idea that usually people want to keep abortions quiet and perhaps the Creation thinks that Frankenstein is treating him like an abortion, a dirty little secret that he wishes he would have never happened.
"...by opening my eyes, as I now suppose, the light poured in upon me again...i presently found a great alteration in my sensations."
ReplyDeletelight is used as a symbol and also a metaphor. Light represents knowledge and the absorbtion of it. When the monster opens his eyes he takes in more, In this case senses.
"In my joy I thrust my hand into the live embers, but quickly drew it out again with a cry of pain."
ReplyDeleteThe fire that the "monster" burns his hand in is symbolic of man's creations and knowledge and how it can hurt one.
"The pleasant sunchine, and the pure air of day, restored me to some degree of tranquility..." (pg. 139)
ReplyDeleteThis is an example of both imagery & description, showing how the scene he saw calmed him and you can almost picture that from the heavy use of imagery & description.
"As he went on I felt as if my soul were grappling with a palpable enemy; one by one the various keys were touched which formed the mechanism of my being: chord after chord was sounded, and soon my mind was filled with one thought, one conception, one purpose." (49)
ReplyDeleteThis metaphor shows the growing progression of Frankenstein's curiosity of natural science. The more knowledge he gains, the further engrossed he becomes in his studies to uncover creation.
"Thus spoke my prophetic soul, as, torn by remorse, horror, and despair, I beheld those I loved spend vain sorrow upon the graves of William and Justine, the first hapless victims to my unhallowed arts," (90).
ReplyDeleteIn this statement, the creature is narrating the events occurring around the time of his first murders. When he says "Thus spoke my prophetic soul," he is using an apostrophe for artistic effect which ushers in the idea that he is not such an evil creature if he has the capacity to feel all these emotions.
"I was so guided by a silken chord" pg 35
ReplyDeleteFrankenstein is referring to the way that his parents brought him up, and uses the silken chord as a metaphor for how well he was raised
"You seek for knowledge and wisdom, as I once did; and I ardently hope that the gratification of your wishes may not be a serpent to sting you, as mine has been." (31)
ReplyDeleteIn this quote, Victor Frankenstein tells Whalton that knowledge and wisdom can be very dangerous, and explains that he has experienced the "sting" of knowledge, forshadowing both the experiences and troubles of Victor's knowledge, along with the narration of Victor's experience to Whalton. This quote also uses metaphor to compare the gratification of Whaltons search for knowledge to the serpent's sting, and along with it personifies the gratification of knowledge using the serpent.
"he felt like a child picking up the shells beside the great and unexplored ocean of truth." (p. 41)
ReplyDeleteThis is totally a dual-strike because it's got the simile of feeling like a child (because of his curiosity and lack of knowledge) and the metaphor of the ocean of truth (because of how vast and impossible the task of combing it all is).
So Booya.
"Prepare to hear of occurrences which are usually deemed marvellous" (Shelley 31).
ReplyDeleteThis quote shows the foreshadowing of all the misfortunes Victor is about to tell Walton about to help give him a different perspective on what he really wants to accomplish.
" I am going to unexplored regions to the 'land of mist and snow'; but I shall kill no albatross...if i should come back to you as worn and woeful as the Ancient Mariner" (Shelly 21).
ReplyDeleteThis is an allusion describing how brave Walton is before his journey is a letter to his sister.
"My mind was intently fixed on the consummation of my labour, and my eyes shut to the horror of my proceedings. But now I went to it in cold blood, and my heart often sickened at the work of my hands."(pg. 169)
ReplyDeleteIn this personification of how he didn't really think of what he was doing when he created the first monster but this time, because he is doing against his free will, he knows just how horrible the things he is doing are.
"Soon a gentle light stole over the heavens, and gave me a sensation of pleasure" pg 106
ReplyDeleteShelly talks about the monster and how light and dark affect his life. She talks about when he first opens his eyes and see's light and it gives him joy and then talks about him closing his eyes and seeing dark. She references light and dark throughout the book and its entirety.
"I had gazed on him while unfinished; he was ugly then; but when those muscles and joints were rendered capable of motion, it became a thing such as even Dante could not have conceived" (59)
ReplyDeleteThis is an allusion to Dante's Inferno where some of the strangest and most bizarre things were created. Shelley is saying that the creature Victor created was so deformed and ugly that no man could have even conceived the idea for the monster to look like that.
"I remainded motionless. The thunder ceased, but the rani still continued, and the scene was enveloped in an impenetrable darkness" (Shelley 78).
ReplyDeleteThis quote prvoides vivid imagery after Victor Frankenstein finds out about his brother William's murder. The landscape of the school, reflects Frankenstein's anguish and emotional pain.
DuncanG
ReplyDelete"It was as the ass and the lap-dog, yet surely the gentle ass whose intetions were affectionate, alhtough his manners wre rude, deserved better treatment than blows and execration"
The monster compares his voice the ass, his voice sounds scary;, but he has good intentions and deserves better treatment/ acceptance.
"I quitted my seat and walked on, although the darkness and storm increased every minute and the thunder burst with a terrific crash over my head" (pg 77)
ReplyDeleteThis is an example of imagery. The story revolves around a dark and scary setting which is a perfect example right here on page 77. It also could be building up intensity to foreshadow a terrible event in the near future.
"Justine died, she rested, and I was alive. The blood flowed freely in my veins, but a weight of despair and remorse pressed on my heart which nothing could remove. Sleep fled from my eyes;"
ReplyDeleteChapter 9
This is an example of imagery. This passage gives the reader a true sense of the feelings of stress and despair that Victor was going through after the death of Justine.
"Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow." Chapter 4
ReplyDeleteThis is an example of foreshadowing. It also acts as a parallel to "Rime of the Ancient Mariner," in the sense that searching for too much knowledge can lead to danger and one should be happy with where they are in the world.
"Like Adam, I was apparently united by no link to any other being in existence; but his state was far different from mine in every other respect" (132).
ReplyDeleteThis is an allusion to the biblical character Adam who was the fist human man on earth. He had no link to any other being besides god. He was the fist like himself.
"You seek for knowledge and wisdom, as I once did; and I ardently hope that the gratification of your wishes may not be a serpent to sing you, as mine has been." (shelley, 31).
ReplyDeleteThis is an example of personification. Victor is telling Walton that the repercussions of his quest for more knowledge ended badly, hurting himself and his family, as a serpent's sting would. He is trying to illustrate that some lines of exploration are not meant to be crossed.
"I ardently hope that the gratification of your wishes may not be a serpent to sting you, as mine has been” (31)
ReplyDeleteTHis is where Victor tells Wharton about how the search and finding of knowledge is like a snake. It will bit back in the end. The snake is a representation of gratification and is what you get for completeing a task, but it bits which is the back lash of the knowedge you have gained.
"A flash of lightning illuminated the object and discovered its shape plainly to me; its gigantic stature, and the deformity of its aspect, more hideous than belongs to humanity, instantly informed me that it was the wretch, the filthy demon to whom I had given life." (ch. 7)
ReplyDeleteThis example of imagery illustrates the image of the monster that Victor brings to life. It's a really clear picture of what he has created, and it opens reader's eyes to the severity of the situation.