MM Sept 22

Audrey McAvoy Notes for September 22

Today Dr. Mathur split the class up into six groups, so that we could discuss the reading from Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, that we had been responsible for, in greater detail. Dr. Mathur handed out a different slip of paper to each group. The papers had a couple page numbers on them, which showed each group where to start their discussions, and were followed by a number of questions that related to the particular reading that was assigned.

Group one focused on the monster’s reading of the book Paradise Lost and what comparisons the group could make between Adam, Satan, the monster, and Victor. At the beginning of the discussion we found that the monster was both like Satan and like Adam. The monster was first discussed as being like Adam in that both were created as the first of their kind, and as such felt severely alone. The changing factor between Adam and the monster is that the monster was rejected by his creator immediately, similar to Satan, while Adam was at first given full love and acceptance by his creator. We also discussed how the monster became more like Satan as the novel progressed, as his violent and malicious behavior grew. We looked at page 154 to back up our thoughts: “the fallen angel becomes a malignant devil”. This quotation shows us that the monster was forced into his demonic form. In the end we decided that the monster was either a fallen Adam or a satanic creature. After looking at the monster and his relation to Adam and Satan, we discussed the idea of knowledge and learning as being a negative thing concerning the monster. With knowledge he lost his innocence, which caused him to be more wary of Frankenstein’s hatred towards him, and also spurred his interest in having a mate.

Our group concluded our discussion by talking about Victor and which of the two characters in Paradise Lost he related to most. We came to the conclusion that he was more similar to Adam. We thought that Victor began his life with perfect happiness, similar to Adam, but he was tempted by the want for knowledge and the need for greatness outside of his “paradise”. Both in the end fell prey to there mistakes and had to deal with the repercussions.