Matthew Chu
Frankenstein Notes
3.1 Letters - Ch. 8 (VIII)
Thursday, December 17, 2020
8:05 AM
Directions: Use the table below to track your thinking about the novel. Note that the boxes expand to
accommodate your typing, so don't let the current size of the boxes limit your thinking. Your response
to each prompt should include multiple specific details along with notes about your initial thoughts
about the significance of these.
 
Narrators: How are Robert
Walton and Victor Frankenstein
similar to each other? How are
they different?
Family relationships: What
stories of family relationships
(e.g. parent/child, siblings,
adoption, etc.) do we get, and
what patterns do they
establish?
Significant details (summary,
paraphrase, or quote) with page
numbers
Page 15: describing Robert's thirst
for knowledge and exploration
through his readings of his uncle's
books.
(Most of Chapter 3)
Leaving to attend university,
Frankenstein is so focused on his
studies that he does not think
much about his family and other
people, driven by knowledge much
like Robert.
 
 
Elizabeth Lavenza is adopted into
the Frankenstein family after
seeing that the family she is with
cannot sustain her. Victor's mother
decides that Elizabeth and Victor
should marry (seems to establish a
Significance of details
(separate comments about
individual details, comment on
pattern and meaning of
collection, or both)
Both Victor and Robert both
seem to want to explore the
unknown, they both have
desires to learn more.
In both circumstances, the
men leave a life of structure
and family to embark on a
quest fueled by their passion.
 
Though the types of motives
that fuel the two men are
similar, the quests and the
goals they are trying to
achieve are starkly different.
Both want to make a discovery
that will benefit humans.
Both have a fascination with
life-
Differences in faith and
religion
After finding Elizabeth, we see
an introduction to the family
and how the main characters
are close to eachother.
 
After the death of his bother,

Intertextuality: Where does
Shelley directly reference "The
Rime of the Ancient Mariner"?
Once she's made those
references, what other
connections do you see
between the two? How do the
characters and experiences in
Frankenstein align with the
characters and experiences in
"Rime"?
pattern of friendship and
companionship )page 20
 
Page 50: Elizabeth's letter
adressing Victor and how ill he is,
wants him to re-establish the
family connection after he had
shunned his family out of his life
for so long to focus on his studies.
 
Page 58: death of Victor's brother
brings victor closer to his family,
driven by grief. He goes to the city
and sees the monster he created,
and begins to think it is the
monster that had killed william.
 
Page 64: Justine framed for the
killing of William. Justine is the
family caretaker and has been a
close part of the family. This brings
out distrust among the family and
an inner conflict within Victor. He
cares about Justine but also cares
what his family would think of him
if he defended her. Establishes
pattern of conflict for victor.
Page 5
Alludes the rotam to show how
frankenstein has been affected by
the events in his life, drawing a
connection between the two men.
 
Page 8
Life death allusion- both men
 
Page 13
The connections that both men
have to knowledge and the idea of
gaining knowledge - pushing their
limits to explore and gain for the
good of humankind
it seems to have drawn Victor
both closer to reality and
farther from it. He begins to
reconnect with his family but
at the same time begins to
draw conclusions about the
monster and grows his
paranoia.
 
Victor strongly believes that it
is his fault. After Justine
confesses to them that she did
not murder him, he further
thinks that it is his monster
that has commited the murder
and therefore he holds himself
accountable.
Using rime of the ancient
mariner to communicate
emotions that Frankenstein is
feeling
 
Communicating the
importance that certain events
have to both frankenstein and
walton- such as drawing
parallels between their
connection to nature and
devotion to their passions.
 

3.2 Ch. 9 - 16 (IX - XVI)
Thursday, December 17, 2020
8:06 AM
Directions: Use the table below to track your thinking about the novel. Note that the boxes expand to
accommodate your typing, so don't let the current size of the boxes limit your thinking. Your response
to each prompt should include multiple specific details along with notes about your initial thoughts
about the significance of these.
 
Narrators: How is the creature
similar to Robert Walton? To
Victor Frankenstein? How are
they different?
Family relationships: What
further stories of family
relationships (e.g. parent/child,
siblings, adoption, etc.) do we
get? What patterns do they
establish, or what existing
patterns do they fit into?
Motivation: What are the
strongest motivators for
individual characters in the
novel? What do they want?
How do they act because of
these motives, and do their
actions get them what they
want? Why or why not?
Significant details (summary,
paraphrase, or quote) with page
numbers
97- develops an interest of the
unknown. For the creature, this is
the light of the fire and the cottage
with the young girl.
Victor feels bound to elizabeth and
this prevents him from committing
suicide in the lake. 78
 
Safie is Felix's love, Agatha is Felix's
sister, and De Lacey is his father, or
the old man who lives in the cottage
with his children.
Death of Francine awakens a guilt in
Frankenstein. He wanted to help
humantiy but he felt that his
creation only caused destruction of
those he loved. 77
Avenge the deaths of william and
justine (gnashing teeth ) 79
 
Seeking peace of mind in Arveiron,
he goes to visit a place he had gone
in his childhood (84)
 
The creature is motivated to
befriend the family that he had been
Significance of details
(separate comments about
individual details, comment
on pattern and meaning of
collection, or both)
All three men have embarked
on a quest for self-fulfillment.
In doing so they encounter
the wonders of the unknown,
bringing on new emotions
and experiences
Family relations of those that
lived in the cottage that the
creature had watched so
intently.
Frankenstein was right that
his monster had caused the
destruction, and when he
went to the mountains to
relax, he meets the monster
The monster provides his side
of the story, in the time that
had been between the last
time they saw eachother,
expressed his sentiments and
issues an ultimatum to
frankenstein: create a
monster like him so he may
not be alone on earth, or he
 watching for so long, to gain their will become a scourge to
trust as a means to become a part of humanity and cause even
the human world 124 more death and destruction.
 
After being shot by the man in the
woods, he is motivated to cause
destruction for mankind, as he has
more than countless times been
abused in payment for his kindness.
128
 
The creature wants frankenstein to
create a second monster, one that
can understand him so that he will
no be alone in the world.

Intertextuality: Where does
Shelley directly reference
Paradise Lost? What other
connections do you see
between the two? How do the
characters and experiences in
Frankenstein align with the
characters and experiences in
Paradise Lost?
87- Frankenstein and the creature
have a dialogue which
the creature compares to "paradise
lost" their relationship is more
complicated as revealed
 
88- after the creature delivers his
story, he will issue an ultimatum- to
be unhostile to humanity or become
"the scourge" all dependent on if
Victor gives him a second chance.
This is parallel to Satan and God's
dilemma
 
93- Demons and pandemonium are
referenced in comparison to the
creature finding the hut and staying
inside.
 
127- created me to be scorned by
mankind! Parallel to the rhetoric of
Satan
The creature declares himself
as one that should have been
treated like Adam, as
Frankenstein was his lord and
god. But instead he is being
treated like satan, cast away
and not given a chance to be
forgiven and is being forced
to be frankestein's enemy.
 
The creature does not want
to be hated by Victor, as he
sees him as his master and
lord.
 
While resting in the Old
Man's hut, the creature
compares it to the safety and
warmth that the demons of
pandemonium felt.

     
 
Page 100; refers to the cottage people as friends
 
Referred to the family that hated him as his "protectors"

3.3 Ch. 17 - 24 (XVII - XXIV)

Thursday, December 17, 2020
8:06 AM
Directions: Use the table below to track your thinking about the novel. Note that the boxes expand to
accommodate your typing, so don't let the current size of the boxes limit your thinking. Your response
to each prompt should include multiple specific details along with notes about your initial thoughts
about the significance of these.
 
Narrators: How is the creature
similar to Robert Walton? To
Victor Frankenstein? How are
they different?
Motivation: What are the
strongest motivators for
individual characters in the
novel? What do they want?
How do they act because of
these motives, and do their
actions get them what they
want? Why or why not?
Significant details (summary,
paraphrase, or quote) with page
numbers
The creature is similar to
frankenstein in that they are both
very determined in reaching the
goals of their personal desires,
mostly both are revolving around
love. Victor takes away the
oppurtunity for the monster to have
someone to love, and in return, the
monster takes away Elizabeth, his
wife. (184)
 
"revenge endowed me with strength
and composure" (189). Here,
Frankenstein and the monster share
a similar response to emotional
damage done to them. After the
creature is shot in the forest a few
chapters back, we see an interesting
similarity in how they describe their
sentiment in a sense of anger as
justification and motivation.
The creature is driven to be
accepted by someone, he is only
acting out because he is not being
accepted and instead is being
attacked- reason (138)
 
"Ghastly grin" page 154,
Frankenstein is rethinking his
decision, and sees that if he creates
a second monster it would just be
curse to humanity as they would
Significance of details
(separate comments about
individual details, comment
on pattern and meaning of
collection, or both)
This draws a parallel between
the creature and the creator,
that their desires are both
truly human and they are
both willing to go to lengths
to achieve what they desire.
 
 
 
Anger and very human
emotions are being used to
justify actions and unfold the
course of the story- their
superego and id clashing to
know what is right, what is
wrong, and how to respond
to being hurt.
These details reveal the true
motivations behind the
actions of these characters,
how they are both driven by
very human desires and
emotions and we see how
they end up battling over
what is right and what is
wrong for them to live their
happiest lives.

Intertextuality 1: What
connections do you see
between Frankenstein and
Paradise Lost? What parallels
do you see between the two?
Intertextuality 2: What
connections do you see
between Frankenstein and "The
Rime of the Ancient Mariner"?
What parallels do you see
between the two?
have devilish children that would
haunt humanity forever
Page 162, Frankenstein just wants to
be left alone, and to do that he must
create a second monster. But by
doing so he believes he will curse all
of humanity.
154- creating a second creature that
the first creature would breed with
and they would have "daemon
children
" response to cure his
 
155 "shall each man have a wife for
his bosom, and each beast a mate"
Pg 197 As frankenstein is out in the
waters and chasing the monster
across northern europe and
eventually out into the ocean.
Draws parallels to Adam and
eve garden of eden story, the
first creature is adam and the
second creature is created in
loneliness, and they go on to
populate the world with their
kin
Lost out in the eternal
expanse of the sea, and
frankenstein searching
desperately for the monster-
following this path of
determination that we also
see in ROTAM.