World Literature and Culture 2

Jaussen
Essay 2 prompt
Length: 3-4 pages
Format: SEE STYLE SHEET
Due via Canvas AND Google Drive at 11:59 pm on April 5

A Visual Education

While this class focuses on reading and engaging literature, the skills we are practicing—close
reading, reflection, speculative discussion, application to contemporary issues—are also
applicable to a variety of artistic works, from film to music to sculpture and theater. This
assignment gives you the chance to extend your skills as a reader by bridging two artistic works:
literature and painting.

You have two options available for you in writing this essay. Pick one.

Option 1:
Propose a “mash-up” of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and a painting from the Detroit Institute of
Arts. Specifically, I want you to explore the following scenario. Imagine that the De Lacey family
was able to salvage one artifact from their previous life: a painting. Imagine, in turn, that this
painting is hanging on the wall of their cottage, visible from the Creature’s hovel. How might this
painting have shaped his sense of self, society, and the world at large? How would the painting
have caused him to reflect upon or extend his own experience, as he does with the books he
encounters (hint: think about the role of Milton’s Paradise Lost)?

In your essay, you should quote specific passages that reinforce your claims about how and why
the painting could have shaped the creature, as well as offer a close analysis of key aspects of the
painting. What might he have learned from looking at this image? How does this image relate to
books he reads or stories he hears? Would or could the painting have changed the outcome of the
novel? Or perhaps the painting provided further support for the Creature’s plans?

Option 2:
In our class discussion of Shelley’s novel, we will spend time exploring the book through the
framework of “Enlightenment and its discontents.” That is, we will consider how the book reflects
the legacy of Enlightenment ideas (such as “dare to know!”) as well as challenges those ideals
through its depictions of family, friendship, bias, and identity.

For your essay, compare and contrast “Enlightenment and its discontents” in Shelley’s
Frankenstein with one painting from the Detroit Institute of Arts. How does this painting
dramatize, challenge, extend, or expand on concepts of Enlightenment, as articulated by figures
like Victor Frankenstein or Immanuel Kant? Your essay should closely analyze the painting,
referring to specific formal and thematic elements, as well closely read specific passages from the
novel.
To accomplish either prompt, you will need to do the following.

1) Thoughtfully read and analyze Shelley’s novel. We are already doing this work in the class. As
you read, note passages, characters, themes, and storylines that relate to a) the Creature’s
education, his sense of self, and his understanding of society and b) the concepts of
Enlightenment: reason, progress, the “rights of man,” or “dare to know!”

2) PREFERRED: Visit the DIA and explore the collections that highlight works from the 17th-18th
centuries (1600-1799). The national origin of the work is up to you—it certainly does not have to
be a European or American work. However, it should fall within the timeline of these two
centuries.
ACCEPTABLE: Visit the DIA or a similar art museum’s DIGITAL collection and complete the
remaining steps.

3) Identify one painting that fits the criteria of either essay option 1 or 2. This could be in subject
matter (a painting of a laboratory, for instance, or a portrait of an Alpine landscape) or
thematically (perhaps the painting offers intriguing images of “monstrosity,” familial
relationships, social or political injustice, etc.).

Once you have identified a piece that interests you, examine the piece for at least 15-30 minutes
(this will seem like an eternity, but you will find it a remarkable experience). As you examine the
piece, take notes on its composition. Use the “Guide for Formal Art Analysis,” posted on Canvas, to
help you with this step. Be sure you identify the artist, title, and date of the painting.

4) Using your close reading of the novel and your observations about the painting, write an essay
in which you carefully describe and analyze the painting and then relate it to Shelley’s novel
through either of the two prompt options listed above.

For this essay, I do not want you to use any sources other than the “Guide to Formal Art Analysis.”
You should also have Works Cited entries for the novel and the painting. This piece is a chance for
you to use your imagination and engage in some speculative criticism. It should be enjoyable, and
I look forward to reading your essays.

As always, feel free to stop by my office hours to discuss your paper in progress.

IMPORTANT: Please include a digital copy of the painting as an appendix.