Frankenstein: Annotated for Scientists, Engineers, and Creators of All Kinds. Edellene, Daiki, Patricia, and Sydney

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1 Frankenstein: Annotated for Scientists, Engineers, and Creators of All Kinds Edellene, Daiki, Patricia, and Sydney

2 Summary of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

3 Introduction Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (Volume 1, 2, and 3) Preface: How was the novel Frankenstein created? Ghost stories, super natrual events, and the weather Letters 1-4: Robert Walton an explorer on a voyage to the north pole writes letters to his sister Marget Saville depicting his voyage

4 Volume 1 summary Victor Frankenstein s Family social status, family members, friends, and his introduction to Natrual Philosophy Overcoming a death in the family and entering a university in Ingolstadt to study science and Philosophy, along with understanding the importance of education rather than self-learning. Frankenstein s engagement to his cousin Elizabeth takes place in this section Frankenstein becomes interested in creating life where death has taken a life, through experimenting on body parts and creating a monster. Victor wakes up startled to find the monster alive and he becomes terrified of it. Frankenstein flees his monster and runs into Henry, his best friend, he confides in him about the monster. When they return to Frankenstein s house the monster is gone.

5 Volume 1 summary cont... The monster is lost and Frankenstein does not know where he is. Two years pass and Frankenstein completely forgets about his creation He later receives devastating news from his father informing him that his brother William has been murdered. When he returns to Geneva he returns to his brother s scene of the crime, this is where he realizes that the monster he created is the murderer. Victor is scared to tell people the murderer was the monster he created in fear they might think he is crazy. When he goes back home he is informed that Justine, the servant in his home, is accused of murdering his little brother. Victor does not confess that the monster is the murderer and now faces two deaths becauses of the monster.

6 Volume 2 Summary Feeling guilty of Jamie s death, Frankenstein goes off on a journey to a glacier field, as he reaches the top of the mountain,but he soon encounters the monster he created. Frankenstein threatened to kill the monster, but the monster defends himself by explaining to Frankenstein why he murdered people.he also explains his isolation, sorrows, and benevolence is derived from his longing of companionship and goodness from Frankenstein. Victor Frankenstein feels it is his duty to listen to the monster and follows him to the hut he was hiding in. The monster tells Frankenstein he is happy to be learning about the world, but wishes Frankenstein was there for him in the process.

7 Volume 2 Summary cont.. The De Lacy family is an idealistic family for the monster. The monster has been observing them because he wishes he had a family like them. He finds ways to help them in secret and wishes he could reveal himself to them without them getting frightened. One day the monster reveals himself to the family, but Felix, the blind man s son, is outraged and lashed out at the monster. The monster knows he can kill Felix but he refuses because he is saddened and in pain by the rejection of the family. The Monster leaves the mountains back to Geneva after this problem and runs into a little boy that is later killed by him out of rage. He avoids getting caught killing the child and goes back to the mountain and finds Frankenstein again. The monster presents Frankenstein an offer. The monster asks him to create another monster just like him to be his wife and companion. Once his wish is conceived he would leave Frankenstein alone and move to South America to live with his new companion. Frankenstein does not agree with the Monster and tells him it would be lethal to create another monster like him.frankenstein believes both will destroy everything and it would be his fault. The monster warns Frankenstein that if he doesn t make another monster to be his companion he will kill everyone he loves. After spending an entire day with the monster Frankenstein leaves later that night to start assembling another monster

8 Volume 3 Frankenstein travels to Scotland, stays on an island coming up with ideas and creating a women monster as the male monster asked for. Victor lives worried of the Monster returning for him. He also worries the monster will kill his loved ones as he promised. The monster warned him that he would watch Frankenstein and would return for his mate when she was ready. Frankenstein notices the monster watching him creating his mate, he worries about the repercussions of creating his mate and begins to destroy the second creation. The monster is upset with Frankenstein and warns him that he will return on his wedding night. Victor leaves the Island in the middle of the night with a basket full of the body parts he dissembled from the monster. He throws the body parts throughout the ocean.

9 Volume 3 cont... Once Frankenstein arrives ashore, he is detained and question for the death of his friend Henry Clerval. Frankenstein is later released to having proof of being on the Orkeny Islands at Henry s time of death. In order for the monster to stop murdering people he decides to immediately marry his cousin Elizabeth, while also contemplating on how the monster would attack him. The day of the wedding night came along but Frankenstein made Elizabeth sleep in a separate room to avoid her witnessing a traumatic event. Shortly after saying goodnight to her he heard Elizabeth scream. His wife was lying across her bed dead, while the monster grinned through the window at him. The town helped Victor Frankenstein find the monster, but he was nowhere to be found.

10 In conclusion Frankenstein decides to seek vengeance against the monster after he killed all of his loved ones. He pursues searching for the monster across Europe, Russia, and the North Pole regardless if it is a dangerous journey. The story goes back to the beginning where Walton finds Frankenstein and rescues him. In this instance Frankenstein asked Walton to find and kill the monster for him if he could not make it. Frankenstein dies and he is found by Walton, with the monster on his bedside muttering his sorrow of his death, along with feeling guilty for killing his loved ones as he also expressed to Walton. He also expresses that all he longed for was affection and happiness, but he was never accepted by humankind. After expressing his grief to Walton, he takes off and tells Walton he will be killing himself after Frankenstein s death.

11 Essay Summaries

12 Traumatic Responsibility: Victor Frankenstein as Creator and Casualty Josephine Johnston discusses responsibility as a theme in Frankenstein, including multiple aspects of responsibility Responsibility is generally understood as either a duty to take care of something or someone or the state of being the cause of an outcome (Johnston, 2017, p.201) Victor Frankenstein caused the creature to exist with the intent to bestow animation upon lifeless matter (p.37) and held high hopes, but failed to think of the downsides of his actions As a result, Victor holds himself responsible for the creature s existence and its evil actions and believes he must destroy his creature

13 Traumatic Responsibility: Victor Frankenstein as Creator and Casualty (continued) In addition to responsibility for the creature s existence, Victor feels responsibility to him, mentioning he was bound towards him, to assure [ ] his happiness and well-being (p.181). Despite the creature s argument and demands for happiness, Victor places his responsibility for the creature s actions and the protection of his fellow people before his responsibility to the creature Like a parent feels obligation towards his or her children, Johnston makes the argument that scientists carry responsibility towards their creations--whether it is a sentient entity or a publication resulting in new knowledge

14 Traumatic Responsibility: Victor Frankenstein as Creator and Casualty (continued) The third aspect of responsibility that Mary Shelley explores Responsibility influences physical and emotional wellbeing After Victor animates his creation, he experiences profound emotional distress which leads to nightmares that night and a compromised physical state for the following months Victor ultimately dies at the end of the book due to the toll the guilt and remorse he had experienced took upon his emotional and physical state

15 I ve Created a Monster! (And So Can You) The Lasting Effects of Frankenstein Science Fiction and its Influence Future and Present Reaction to technology William Woodsworth Douglas Adams: 1)Anything that is in the world when you re born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works. 2)Anything that s invented between when you re fifteen and thirty-five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it. 3)Anything invented after you re thirty-five is against the natural order of things.

16 I ve Created a Monster! (Continued) The theory of Adjacent Possible Technology does not: Happen overnight Happen single handedly Come without a price Creation vs. usage How the railroads were built was the result of individual and often immoral choices. How the railroads were used was the result of a collective choice made by all the people in your social network: family, friends, bosses, and teachers [pg 212]

17 I ve Created a Monster (Continued) Facebook (and all its other related counterparts) A service like Facebook was inevitable, but how Facebook works was not. Consumers being consumed Shelley understood what social exile truly meant The Adjacent Possible made Facebook what it is today It was bulked up to this creature that we have no control over People wield technology to control other people.

18 Changing Conception of human nature Materialist vs Empiricist continued.. Materialist: Nothing exist except matter and motions Empiricist: Verifiable, observable, used through experience and using logic rather than theories Time according to Aristotle is essential to make something alive Frankenstein has an essence of a human due to being recognizable as a man rather than any other organism He also has emotions and sensations which are tied to a human

19 Changing Conceptions of Human Nature Frankenstein themes depicted from Aristotle s theories of 1: Deviations from a normal essence of a species 2: Humans going through a developmental process overtime. Essentialism: World consists of different types of organisms, there are four causes that make an individual 1. The material cause 2.The formal cause 3.The efficient cause 4.The final cause Aristotle s Vegetative Souls: All living organisms are vegetative souls All humans have rational souls which give us reason and emotions Darwin s theory of evolution comes into play in this essay and a comparison of Aristotilian views

20 Undisturbed by Reality: Victor Frankenstein s Technoscientific Dream of Reason Frankenstein is a story about the ancient art of alchemy rather than modern science Frankenstein s world and creation as plastic because plastic materials can be molded and used for anything Science is meant to be approached with an impartial mindset This essay asks the question if looking for knowledge beyond the human mind/ability

21 Frankenstein Reframed; or, The Trouble with Prometheus Essay author argues that Frankenstein is not a good metaphor for the myth of Prometheus While Prometheus did something to better humanity (stealing fire from the Gods to give to people), Frankenstein was selfish and created the monster for his own curiosity/entertainment Prometheus is punished by an unstoppable, divine force (the gods) and Frankenstein is punished as a result of his own actions The monster is a marginalized person, just like Safie (a female Muslim) Walton is the opposite of Frankenstein Essay author states that Frankenstein is not a cautionary tale about science, but a cautionary tale about not taking responsibility for one s scientific endeavors

22 Frankenstein, Gender, and Mother Nature Origins of Mary Shelley Miscarriage Isolated childhood: late mother and hostile stepmother Pregnancy anxieties Life in Geneva The female presence in the novel Mother Nature Frankenstein s goals Frankenstein s fear

23 Frankenstein, Gender, and Mother Nature (Cont) 1) The female creation will have desires/opinions that cannot be controlled 2) Her uninhibited female desires might be sadistic 3) She will not be attractive enough for his male. 4) She will not find her male counterpart attractive and start preferring other males as mates - possibly through force.

24 The Bitter Aftertaste of Technical Sweetness Technical sweetness refers to a state in which the solution to a puzzle or problem manifests with all of the components functioning and interacting Not necessarily bad, but scientists who seek this out often fail to see the consequences before the solution presents itself In Victor s case, his creation led to him running from it and later returning to restrain it In a historical context, the creation of the first atomic bombs is analogous

25 So what does Frankenstein say about Science and Technology?

26 How do we define and differentiate humans and monsters? Frankenstein causes his own problems. The creature did not get to choose to be born Frankenstein loses touch with humanity through isolation. The creature was created by a solitary force. Paradise Lost

27 What is the relationship between humanity and isolation? Frankenstein s voluntary isolation resulted in his pursuit of selfish creation The creature is isolated because of his appearance Frankenstein sees science as playing god. The Creature sees science as language or communication. Walton is also voluntarily isolated, but is the opposite of Frankenstein

28 How should we approach new knowledge and new scientific discoveries/inventions? The question we should ask is Should we? not Could we? We need to take responsibility for our scientific discoveries We need to determine who sets the moral boundaries for science and what kind of moral boundaries we should have

UNIT TEST STUDY GUIDE QUESTIONS Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley English III-1, Mrs. Edmonds and Mr. Oakley

UNIT TEST STUDY GUIDE QUESTIONS Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley English III-1, Mrs. Edmonds and Mr. Oakley People (both fictional and real-life) you should know from Frankenstein: Victor Frankenstein: creator