Existentialism

Interesting link from Mr. Miller - sorry for messing with your organization here :)
http://www.americanscientist.org/template/BookReviewTypeDetail/assetid/15572

How about THIS for messing with your own creation?- J! [This does not necessarily imply that all disabled children are likened to Frankenstein...Feh.] http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6730813 = = =Mr. Miller's English 10 Lit Circles Wiki= ==

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Shane, Mark, Jess, Brandon, 'n Dana
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 * Note from Mr. Miller: As I stated earlier, there is a start here from this group but essentially it is being done by some of the members, not all. We are halfway through the book, and other members need to step up and do their share. One of the major expectations for English 11 honors is working independently, but so far that hasn't been entirely evident from everyone here. If you guys don't step up your game I think your marks may be in serious jeopardy and I might have to smash some chairs.**

A theme that has been reoccuring through out the book is perserverance. It is shown a lot at the end, when Frankenstein is following his monster. He has been looking for a really long time, but he never gives up. The monster leads him all the way up to the North Pole, where the climate is way to cold for Frankenstein to bear. A little bit before he dies, Frankenstein says in his story "My courage and perserverance were invigorated by these scoffing words; I resolved not to fail in my purpose; and, calling on Heaven to support me, i continued with unabated fervour to traverse immense deserts until the ocean appeard at a distance and formed the utmost boundary of the horizon" (page 174) This is proof that perserverance was a main part of the book. Frankenstein even says himself that he has it. The monster, too, had perserverance. He was so determined to have Frankenstein make him a female, that when Frankenstein didn't, he resolved to kill all his friends and finally lead him up to the North Pole where he knew that Frankenstein could not stand the cold. He was determined to have everyone of Frankenstein dead, because he felt that inside him he was dead. He had no communication with humans and the world, so he felt that Frankenstein and his friends and family shouldn't either. -Dana
 * __Blog Due 3/9__**


 * Question from Mr. Miller: How responsible is Victor for the actions of his creation? Is his creation an extension of himself, considering he conceived it?**

I think that Victor didn't realize at first how much responsability would come with creating a form of a human. -Dana

Use the following headings to help you keep track of the required elements:

A theme that has been discussed a lot in our wiki is search for identity. A passage from the second half of the book that shows that theme is on page 112. Frankenstein's monster is talking, and he says, "I required kindness and sympathy, but I did not believe myself utterly unworthy of it." I think that this goes with the searching for identity theme, because it starts to show how the monster is trying to figure out what/who he is. He knows that he isn't like humans and other people because of the reactions that he's gotten when they see him. But he is starting to realize that he has feelings like humans. He is starting to realize that he doesn't want to be alone in the world, and that is why he wants Victor to create a female of whatever he is. he is starting to realize who he is and that he will probably never be accepted by humans, so he wants Victor to make another like him. He thinks that if he has someone like him in the world, he will feel more accepted and he will be happy. He will have someone to go through life with. While the monster is telling his story of how he got to be so smart and know everything, he is also talking about how he is coming to realize who he is and what his identity is.
 * __Blog Due 2/26__**

Sorry this is so late Miller.

-Dana

The theme that I’m going to pick is from the bottom of our page. It says knowledge vs. ignorance. The quote that I picked is, “Devil…murdered.” (83). I picked this quote because I think that it kind of shows how Frankenstein is trying to almost blame everything on the monster. The monster didn’t want to be created and now it has to suffer from this. Frankenstein also has no right to call the monster “devil”, he can’t play God anyways so he’s doing more wrong then the monster at this point. In past parts of the book he has been portrayed as incredibly smart. Until he creates the monster he is like this. After that he just is ignorant about everything, he basically let the monster go without caring what could happen to anybody. Frankenstein takes no responsibility for his actions. -Shane
 * __Blog 2/25__**

The theme I chose for the book so far was also knowledge vs. ignorance. The quote I chose was " I felt the bitterness of disappointment; dreams that had been my food and pleasant rest for so long a space were now to become a hell for me..." (48) Frankenstein was so busy with his experiment that he failed to see the consequences of giving life to a monster. Once the monster was created the reality of its life didn't even give Frankenstein any sense of accomplishment or happiness for all his work. Instead the monster he created bore into him a feeling of fear and dismay for what it might do. Frankenstein also failed to give any thought to whether the monster could be violent, and if he could harm anyone he comes into contact with. -Brandon

I think the predominat themes for the book are perserverance and the search for identity. Through out the book, each character, whether its Frankenstein or his monster, is determined. Frankenstein is determined to kill his creation, and figure out why it killed his little brother. He was also determined earlier in the book to make the creation. It's funny that now he made the monster, but he really regrets that he did. The monster is determined to learn more about humans and history and our language. He is always watching the family in the house in the woods. He wants to learn a lot. That also has to do with the theme of the search for identity. The monster talks a lot about how he has no place in the world and that there is no one like him. He is trying to figure out where he belongs and if anyone will accept him. Another recurring theme is isolation. The creature feels very isolated from the world. He is forced to hide away from everyone so that no one will get really scared of him or try and hurt him like people usually do when they first see him. -Dana
 * __Blog for 2/13:__**

Jess! BlogSLASHMiller's Question!- I think the recurring theme in this book is a struggle between creation from dust, and an improvement of a flawed being. The plus side to initial creation is that a person can make anything out of nothing,and mold it to whatever standards and points it wishes to achieve. It tends to reflect a somewhat cowardly countenance on that creator, because it's a projection of whatever shortcomings they have not managed to render or repair in their own life. It reminds me of a parent who encourages their child or children to succeed and pushes them in a certain direction, regardless of what the child likes or not, soley because the //parent// had an inherent desire to do so at one point...

"..how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow." (43) "I grasped his hand, and in a moment forgot my horror and misfortune; I felt suddenly, and for the first time during many months, calm and serene joy." (49) -Dana
 * Post-its:**

__**Reoccuring Theme In Frankenstein:**__ So far in Frankenstein I think that some reoccurring themes are isolation, perseverance, and search for identity. I picked three themes because I think that they all can go hand in hand. I can see isolation as a reoccurring theme because Frankenstein moved away from his family and almost didn’t think too much of it even though his mother died. I think I’d consider this reoccurring since after his brother’s funeral he left almost right away yet again. It’s like he’s trying to get away from them. I think perseverance is a reoccurring theme also. As I stated a lot in my first blog I think that there’s a tie between Walton’s perseverance and Frankenstein’s. My last theme is search for identity. I found this to be reoccurring because Walton was “searching” in the beginning of the story and Frankenstein did the same when he went to study sciences. He slowly began to become insane and tried to find his identity in a place like Gods. This obviously is a bad place to look and now he is suffering from these consequences. I’m curious to see how these themes develop or if they even stick around much longer or evolve. -Shane 2/12

The theme that most fits the story so far is perserverance. I think this is the theme because Walton is searching for something. He is on a journey to the North Pole, I'm not quite sure what he is looking for. He really wants to acheive greatness, and it seems like he's going to do whatever it takes to do that. It takes strong perserverance to travel all the way to the North Pole, especially in that time period because they didn't know a lot about the earth and how it was shaped and such. The theme of "the search for identity" can also be used because it seems like Walton is trying to find himself on his journey, or at least trying to create a name for himself. He wants glory. I think that that is how he plans on figuring himself out, if he discovers something great or acheives greatness in his own way, whatever that way is. -Dana P.S. I didn't copy Shane's themes, I read his blog thingy after I did mine. I only copied his heading.
 * A theme from //__Frankenstein__//:**


 * Note from Mr. Miller: Shane has started the group off well, but we need to hear from more group members to get the most out of sharing ideas like this. It is interesting to read the feedback to Shane's comments. It might be worth discussing how Walton's letters fit into Victor's story (and vice versa) What is it that Walton learns from Victor's story? What has Victor learned? (feel free to delete my comments after everyone has reviewed them and considered them)**

I think that so far in the story there are many themes that I could pick for this. However, I think one stands out more than others. The theme that I am talking about is perseverance. In the beginning of this story Walton is writing to his sister about how he is going on an expedition of sorts to the North Pole. He doesn't know what exactly he's searching for. The only thing he is focused on is getting up there and discovering something, anything. He almost seems desperate to find something to make him into a "somebody". This is where the next important theme, in my opinion, comes into play, search for identity. If Walton wanted to go up there for a reason he would have a reason. But he's going only to try and make himself into somebody everybody knows. He's trying to find himself in a way, and I think by going up to the North Pole he may get dragged into something he probably would've wanted to avoid.
 * A theme from //__Frankenstein__//:**

-Shane


 * This is in response to shane. I agree with you about htere being many themes and at first I wanted to dissagree with you but the more rhar i think abotu it the more I realize that perseverance is a big theme in frankenstien.**
 * But don't you think that it is a little odd how much he wants to make a living creature? I think that a reason he is trying to make himself into somebody is because maybe he wants to please his family and not fail them, especilly his father. ~ JEsse Period 4**


 * I think that you bring up a very good point. The fact that Robert Walton is wandering aimlessly on an expedition across the world; he would encounter something that he didn’t expect to run into. This brings up a reason why Victor would want to tell his story to Robert Walton. I wonder if Robert Walton would continue his journey after hearing Frankenstein’s story. Because if Robert Walton has a lot of perseverance, he would probably continue his journey. However, I would like to question how much determination Robert Walton actually had when he started this journey. I feel that he might’ve just wanted to go on this journey because he had nothing else better to do. But when he finds out what happened to Frankenstein, he might drastically change his mind and realize that it’s just not worth it.**
 * -Natschja Period 6 2/5/07**


 * In response to Shane's posting, I'm not really sure I would agree with this as being the theme. Other than the letters, the story is about Dr. Victor Frankenstein and how he builds the monster. I can see how perseverance may be a theme because Dr. Frankenstein does have to persevere to finally create his monster, which took him a few years. But I'm not so sure I would agree with the "search for identity" theme, because the book (or as much as I have read so far) is not about Robert Walton and his trip to the arctic. It is strange, however, that he is on this expedition to the North Pole, and I wonder what he is doing there? -Dominique**

__What should I be looking for?__ You should be looking for attentive listeners, while at the same time looking to see that everyone participates actively in the group's discussions. If we arent in a group discussion then you should see us participating by taking notes or doing whatever seems nessecary.
 * Whats is a good literature cirlces discussion?**

__What should I hear?__ Our group actively participating and asking question about things in the story that we might've not understood. Things like this could be vocabulary words, descriptions, or parts of the story we didnt understand.

__What should I see group members doing?__ You should see group members

Make this a heading for summaries of what was discussed on discussion days
Discussion day one - Significance of picture [in Frankenstein's brother's portrait necklace thing] - Mary Shelley's structuring and usage/choice of language. - Clerval's character development and overall significance to the story. Discussion day two Discussion day three

Why Am I Here? Questions that readers may have had during the reading...
[J!] The character of Justine...Justine's characteristics are similar, uncannily so, to the character in a similarly titled book, __Justine__, with similar qualities, such as the self-inflicted ideals of martyrdom, and damnation, first from oneself than from others, whereas it is usually the other way around. [One is told, so many times, that one is damned, that a person starts to believe it themselves. In Justine's case, she believes she is damned after she is condemned, and convinces the others so.] Why the infliction? Death as an outlet from life's pain... -J! PS- And we're also really curious as to why Clerval exists, but we're making progress...

Recurring Themes Throughout Frankenstein...[That PWN your mother.]
- Creation vs. Self-Improvement - Scientific Principles vs. Personal Beliefs, Philosophy - Isolation and Companionship - Light vs. DARK. - Knowledge vs. Ignorance...blissful?


 * Vocab!**

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i love shane