MM Sept 27

Before starting class discussion on "Frankenstein," Dr. Mathur made a few announcements. If anyone is interested, extra credit is available for this Wednesday's Wiki-Notes assignment. Also, hard copies must be turned in with the Wiki-Notes assignment.

Guidelines for the second essay are up on Blackboard. Hard copies will not be handed out until the section on "Dracula" is completed. The paper will be similar to the Beowulf paper. The biggest challenge for the second paper will be to keep everything to 4-5 pages. Since "Frankenstein" and "Dracula" are more complex in story and composition compared to Beowulf, there is more to write about and more textual evidences to support paper topics. Dr. Mathur suggested that if you already have a theme in mind for the second paper, to go ahead and start pinpointing specific quotes from the books. There are sample topics available on Blackboard. Unlike the first paper, there will be no individual conferences but Mr. Mathur will be available during office hours to talk about the paper. Rough drafts are due October 18. Peer reviews will be conducted differently as well. Everyone needs to bring in two hard copies of full rough drafts to class on the 18th. Peer reviews will be done in groups of three and two people will be reviewing each rough draft. The paper should be on either "Frankenstein" or "Dracula" because it will be difficult to discuss both in five pages. Lastly, the first reading for "Dracula" is due this Wednesday.

For class discussions, we counted off and split off into six groups. Each group was assigned a different topic to formulate a thesis for "Frankenstein." The topics were: nature vs. nurture, the pursuit of knowledge, science and the natural world, creators and creations, gender roles in the novel, Victor and the Prometheus myth. Each group had to look for quotes in the book that will provide 3-4 points that will help develop and support the argument.

Group 5 (gender roles in the novel) discussed the inequality of women. The thesis was, in "Frankenstein" women lack a voice and power in society that is overwhelmingly dominated by men. The three arguments supporting the thesis were: Safie forced into marriage with Felix, Elizabeth being bound to the home and not allowed to travel freely like Victor, and Justine being accused and charged with the murder of William even though she was innocent.

Here are some of the other thesis topics brainstormed. - The monster is more influenced by nurture. Nature is shaped by nurture. - Social and natural restraints are broken with increase in knowledge. - Science is bad, nature is good. - Victor tries to instill his values into the monster but the monster has its own qualities. - Victor and Prometheus are similar in which they both defy nature, but their creations are different and the punishments resulting from their creations are different as well.