Frankenstein Letters 1–4

12 april 2021 Active Reading Frankenstein Letters 1–4 Robert Walton and the stranger he rescues share a number of similarities. As you read Walton’s letters, make notes in the chart below about each character’s situation, goals, attitude, and personal qualities. Consider both the character’s statements and his actions. When you complete the chart, take time to think about the things the men have in common. Walton The Stranger Is searching for the source of magnetism in the polar regions eager to knowledge but then he lost everything Goals to discover Arctic,North Pole unlock secrets of the world he follows the creature when the crew has seen before wanted personal glory but didn't succeed Attitude determined to complete his journey calm ambitious single minded Situation Personal Qualities cheerful stubborn caring intelligent good person intelligent upset Responding Frankenstein Letters 1–4 Personal Response How did you react to the two characters introduced in this section? Explain. Fascinated about how they "need" one another. Walton craves intellectualism and needs the stranger to talk to. Clearly, the stranger is intellectual and scientific. Walton felt compelled to listen to his tale. His warnings compel the reader. What is he trying to prevent Walton from doing or becoming? Analyzing Literature Recall and Interpret 1. Who is Robert Walton? What is he searching for? What is his attitude toward his quest? What do these details suggest to you about his character? He is an explorer traveling to discover something no one has seen before, a secret passage to the North Pole and how it's related to magnets. He has this Deep Seeded Ambition To Be the First. 2. In this letter to his sister, what does Walton say he longs for? Why do you think Walton feels lonely even though he is on board a ship with a full crew? He feels lonely because there is no one on the ship who is "possessed of a cultivated as well as of a capacious mind, whose tastes are like my own, to approve or mend my plans." 3. How does Walton respond to the stranger? Why do you think Walton is attracted to the stranger? He was very hospitable and nursed the Stranger back to health. He felt a connection - the stranger is educated, understands his ambition, and is like minded. Analyzing Literature (continued) Evaluate and Connect 4. Why is the poem The Ancient Mariner important to Walton? How is the stranger similar to the ancient mariner? What mood does Shelley create by alluding to this poem? The poem is important to Walton as it seems to have inspired his own love of exploration in far-flung regions. The poem is of course set in the polar wastes, and that is where Walton has ended up too. He is pursuing the romance, the challenge of a voyage to these perilous lands 5. Walton has a thirst for knowledge, as the stranger once did. What details suggest that both are willing to make sacrifices in the search for knowledge? Do they seem unusual in this respect? Walton abandoned his family for his journey and study. Victor invested all his energy finding out about science and even sacrificed his well-being and social life for the production of life. Walton's hunger for learning of investigation drives him to complete separation. Victor alienated himself from society by making life which prompted calamity. They later turned out to be distant from everyone else and troubled because of the result of their thirst for knowledge.