The Frankenstein Application Essay

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ENG102_MH_V3 | Topic 5: Writing About Literature
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Assignment Instructions: Frankenstein Application
Essay
The Frankenstein Application Essay
Literary works like Frankenstein explore the “human condition” or experiences that humans encounter. The
study guides for Frankenstein offer several “Real Life Considerations” meant to help you critically analyze
the applications of the work’s themes in today’s world. Now, you will choose one of these topics and
explore it using secondary resources to learn more about the novel and its relevant social topics. You
might nd information about social issues in familiar sources such as magazines, newspapers, or social
science journals. Make sure your sources are credible – you do not want a random website or an
encyclopedic website such as Wikipedia. Your sources will preferably be scholarly ones. Here are some
ideas of places where you might nd appropriate sources for this assignment:
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/ (note that this is different from regular Google)
Microsoft Academic Search: http://academic.research.microsoft.com/
Cornell University’s arXiv (open access sources in math, biology, physics, and other
elds): http://arxiv.org/
Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (BASE): https://www.base-search.net/
Your local library
Your thesis statement and paper must address both the literary qualities and the social issues as you
evaluate the novel, Frankenstein. However, keep in mind, your essay does not have to answer ALL of the
questions listed under each topic. Only answer the questions you feel are the most relevant to the thesis
statement you choose. Develop your essay so it has a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. Ensure that
each of your claims is supported with valid evidence from the novel, Frankenstein, and at least three other
credible external sources.
Using proper MLA style, insert parenthetical citations and signal phrases for all borrowed information in
addition to a Works Cited page for Frankenstein and your chosen external sources.
You have several options for this assignment:
Option #1: Can science go too far?
There is an ongoing battle between faith or spirituality and science that has been active even before the
time of Mary Shelley. What are some of the dilemmas she addresses that are still important today? What
are some of the ethical questions she brings up regarding the scientic denition of life and death? What
does she illustrate about the power science has to blur the line between life and death? What is a current
news item that is similar to this issue?
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Hint: Develop a thesis that answers a question like this one: “How and how well does Mary Shelley’s
Frankenstein address ethical issues of science and/or faith for audiences, regardless of when they read the
novel?”
Option #2: Discovery
Both Frankenstein and Walton are trying to discover something important to them. What parts of their real
lives drive them to discovery? Does that drive still exist today? While we’ve mapped the globe, are there still
geographical places for people to explore? In science, are people still trying to discover the meaning of life,
how to save life, and how to defeat death? What methods do they use? Are there better ways to accomplish
these goals than others? What are some of today’s motivations for discovery?
Note: Develop a thesis that answers questions like this one: “How and how well does Mary Shelley’s
Frankenstein address human discovery as a theme?”
Option #3: World Perception and Prejudice
Reread the paragraph where the creature describes the book from which Felix teaches Sae. It begins: “The
book from which Felix instructed Sae was Volney’s Ruins of Empires…”
What are some of the perceptions and prejudices from the book that Felix teaches Sae? How have these
perceptions and prejudices changed, if they have, in today’s society? What are some present-day situations
and references that may claim a lack of prejudice or an open-mindedness, but, in fact, are still very
prejudiced, racist, sexist, etc.? Why do you think these situations still happen? Can anything be done about
it?
Hint: Develop a thesis that answers a question like this one: “How and how well does Mary Shelley’s
Frankenstein address human prejudice in the world throughout time?”
Option #4: Personal Perception
It could be argued that the creature did not consider itself a monster and didn’t do awful things until people
treated him like a monster. What are some real-world instances in which people’s actions could be a
reaction to abuse from others? Who do you feel is accountable in these situations? Why?
Hint: Develop a thesis that answers a question like this one: “How and how well does Mary Shelley’s
Frankenstein address the effect of peer perceptions on personal development?”
Option #5: Death and Suicide
At the end of the book, the creature promises to destroy himself. Is this a justiable end for him? Could he
have been redeemed? Would he have had a place in the world of Shelley’s novel? How could this relate to
current-day issues like suicide or the death penalty?
Hint: Develop a thesis that answers a question like this one: “How and how well does Mary Shelley’s
Frankenstein address the value of an individual’s life and death?”
Option #6: Nature vs. Nurture
The creature argues that had someone properly guided him, he would not have been so wretched.
Frankenstein argues that the creature was evil to begin with, so it would have been useless to teach him at
all. What are some current debates – especially in education – where these kinds of arguments still arise?
How much of behavior of you think is based on nature (how a person IS) and how much is based on
nurture (what a person LEARNS or EXPERIENCES)? What examples from the present support your opinion?
What do you feel is the truth? Why?
Hint: Develop a thesis that answers a question like this one: “How and how well does Mary Shelley’s
Frankenstein address existing personality traits versus how a person is taught to act?”
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Option #7: Feminism
The feminist perspective is often explored in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. How are the women characters
treated in the novel? What perceptions of women did Shelley use and comment on? How did she handle
the theme of motherhood?
Hint: Develop a thesis that answers a question like this one: “How and how well does Mary Shelley
incorporate responses to feminist issues into the novel, Frankenstein?”
The guidelines for this assignment are as follows:
Header: Include a header in the upper left-hand corner of your writing assignment with the following
information:
Your rst and last name
Course Title (Composition II)
Assignment name (Frankenstein Application Essay)
Current Date
Format:
MLA-style source documentation and Works Cited
Your last name and page number in the upper-right corner of each page
Double-spacing throughout
Standard font (Times New Roman, Calibri)
Title, centered after heading
1″ margins on all sides
Save the le using one of the following extensions: .docx, .doc, .rtf, or .txt
Length: This assignment should be at least 750 words.
Underline your thesis statement in the introductory paragraph.
Remember to italicize titles of books. Thus, if you are referring to this book’s title, you should italicize it as
Frankenstein. However, if you are talking about Frankenstein the character, it will not be italicized (e.g.,
Victor Frankenstein is the main character in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.)
Tip: Part of your grade will be assessed on the credibility of your sources.
Failure to use the minimum source requirement will constitute a severe point deduction.
It is a common misconception that the creature is named Frankenstein. Keep in mind that the creature
itself is not Frankenstein. Victor Frankenstein is the human protagonist in the novel. The creature, or
monster, is Victor’s creation.
This resource may be helpful as you are making MLA formatting decisions: MLA Formatting and Style
Guide

ANSWER

Frankenstein Application Essay

Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus (1918) is a novel by Mary Shelley an English author. The story is about Victor Frankenstein, a scientist who creates a creature in an experiment considered unorthodox. This essay considers Frankenstein’s monster and how he perceived himself as decent, a notion that was overrun by how people treated him as a monster and he obliged to become the monster they thought him to be.

More than often, a society’s perception of a person affects how one’s identity is shaped (Levine 1983). It often begins with those closest extending to the society’s conventions. By meeting human beings, the monsters begin to see himself through other people’s eyes and the idea that his birth was unnatural sets him apart from them. The monster is dejected and to further worsen his fate, his creator Frankenstein abandons him. However, deep down he longs for companionship with the same people who rejected him and even fantasized about them. He keeps hoping for a sense of kindness from human beings, a misplaced idea since even his very creator did not hesitate to leave him.

Mary Shelly through the character of Frankenstein’s monster proves that society’s perceptions of an individual often pushes them to create an idealistic view of their life as a survival mechanism to escape the truth. In other words, “the perceptions of a society of individual shapes how one realizes truth or creates ideals” (Frankenstein 1979). Eventually, the monsters after too much desperation for acceptance become vain and bitter. He dismisses his benevolence and picks up cruelty where he burns down the cottage as his imminent rebirth as the monster everyone sorts him to be.

The truth is idealising an idea that is a fantasy and accepting the truth is a choice everyone goes through at one point in life. Most often the society’s perceptions come into play influencing our identity making it the most basic need for any person to strike a balance between the two.

Works Cited

Frankenstein, Endurance Of. The Endurance of Frankenstein: Essays on Mary Shelley’s Novel. Univ of California Press, 1979.

Levine, George. The Realistic Imagination: English Fiction from Frankenstein to Lady Chatterley. University of Chicago Press, 1983.