Assignment Task:
Each question will ask you to explain a concept from one of the secondary source readings in five sentences; you do not need exact quotes, but your answers should demonstrate your thorough knowledge of each author's concepts and important terms.
One: Explain at least three (hint: there are more than three!) of the influences and circumstances, according to Mary Shelley herself and/or John Polidori's account, that contributed to the writing of Frankenstein.
Two: In your own words, explain Chris Baldick's argument about why, according to Romantic principles, the Creature that Victor Frankenstein creates comes out ugly, despite having supposedly carefully chosen beautiful body parts.
Three: What important element does Susan Tyler Hitchcock say that the adaptations have added to Frankenstein? (Hint: it has to do with the Creature's appearance.) Why does she think that the story has a core of both "hope and fear" at its heart, and do you agree with her? Why or why not?
Four: Using Elizabeth Young's essay for guidance, explain two examples of how the Frankenstein story has been used as a political or cultural metaphor over the years. Who is the creator/Victor, and who is the creation/the Creature, in each metaphor? What do they represent? (Optional: your second example may come from your own outside knowledge, not Young's essay.)
Five: Explain how, according to Stephen Asma, fictional monster stories can help us develop our moral and ethical sense. Do you think he is correct about the function of these stories? Why or why not?
Six: Why does Mary Wollstonecraft argue in 1792 that women should be given equal rights, and be allowed to study medicine, politics, and business? Explain at least two points of her argument. (Hint: consider her argument about women as role models, mothers, wives, and citizens-how would equal rights and education help with these roles? How would that then affect their children, husbands, and countries?)q
Seven: Pick any two (or all three, for up to 2 possible extra extra credit points!) of the War Poets (Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon, J.R.R. Tolkien). Explain, in your own words, what made the war experience so monstrous for each of them. (Hint: it might have to do with the physical conditions, gas attacks, poor leadership from bad commanders, greed, or the forgetting of their sacrifices...)