Frankenstein/ Conception
1)The article, “Conception”, begins with two quotations. What is the significance of the quotations to the text and to each other?
2)Immediately after he animates the creature, Frankenstein calls the act a “catastrophe” (par.2). Why? Examine the details of Frankenstein’s description of the creature to support your answer.
3)Why does Frankenstein call his own creation a “demoniacal corpse” (par.3)? If his creation is a demon, what does that say about Frankenstein as a creator?
4)Analyze Frankenstein’s immediate repulsion toward his creation. What is the basis of his repulsion? Note that Frankenstein claims he had “selected [the creature’s] features as beautiful” (par.2). What is the relationship between beauty and horror? Cite specific passages from the text to support your position.
5)Hitchcock cites the work of Luigi Galvani, who sent electric charges through the bodies of dead frogs to watch their muscles move. How did scientific experiments and advances shape the environment in which Mary Godwin Shelley created the story Frankenstein? How do current developments, such as the creation of genetically modified organisms or other advances in medical technology, create the conditions in which scientists or doctors act like God? Are developments in medical technology as threatening today as they were in Shelley’s time? Why or why not?
*You will need to reference “Conception” by Susan Tyler Hitchcock and ” Frankenstein: the modern Prometheus” by Mary Shelley; Both of these articles can be found in the “Monsters a Bedford Spotlight Reader” by Andrew J. Hoffman*
