Amber H.

FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION

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In today�s society one of the largest fears for young adults is being rejected from their friends, or not having friends at all. Sadly more and more we hear of children being picked on in school for being different, children with learning disabilities, physical disabilities, and children with physical abnormalities are the ones that are constantly being picked on. The idea of not being accepted into society, the cool group in school, or even at home is a serous fear for most children.

I chose linking Frankenstein and Cold Tom because I felt that they both illustrate the fear of rejection and in both stories we see that the creature and Tom are rejected from not only their families or creators, but from society in general. I feel that the students can learn from these stories how to deal with rejection in non violent ways. I also feel that students may be more aware of their own actions and how they make other people feel that are unique in their own way. Maybe by reading these stories students will learn tolerance for differences in cultures, looks, behavior, and actions of fellow students. If we teach them now, maybe as adults they will pass this tolerance on to their children and so on. It could only improve our world as I see it.

Launching the Unit

Before You Read � 1) INTRODUCING THE NOVEL

Background before reading
�

I busied myself to think of a story, . . . One

which would speak to the mysterious fears of

our nature and awaken thrilling horror.

�Mary Shelley

In the introduction to the 1831 edition of Frankenstein, Mary Shelley explains how she came to write her famous novel. In the summer of 1816, she and Percy Shelley were living near the poet Lord Byron and his doctor-friend John Polidori on Lake Geneva in the Swiss Alps. During a period of incessant rain, the four of them were reading ghost stories to each other when Byron proposed that they each try to write one. For days Shelley could not think of an idea. Then, while she was listening to Lord Byron and Percy discussing the probability of using electricity to create life artificially, according to a theory called galvanism, an idea began to grow in her mind:

Perhaps a corpse would be

reanimated; galvanism had given

token of such things: perhaps the

component parts of a creature

might be manufactured, brought

together, and [endued] with vital warmth.

The next day she started work on Frankenstein. A year later, she had completed her novel. It was published in 1818, when Shelley was nineteen years old.

Frankenstein is an example of a gothic novel. This type of novel was popular between 1760 and 1820. The main ingredients of the gothic novel are mystery, horror, and the supernatural. The word gothic itself has several meanings. It can mean harsh or cruel, referring to the barbaric Gothic tribes of the Middle Ages. It can also mean �medieval,� referring to the historical period associated with castles and knights in armor. In literature the term applies to works with a brooding atmosphere that emphasize the unknown and inspire fear. Gothic novels typically feature wild and remote settings, such as haunted castles or wind-blasted moors, and their plots involve violent or mysterious events.

While the atmosphere of Shelley�s Frankenstein is nightmarish, the novel is much more than a horror story. Shelley�s central characters�a young student of science and the man-like being he creates�are both morally complex. Through their conflict, Shelley poses profound questions about science and society and about the positive and destructive sides of human nature. These questions struck a chord with Shelley�s readers in the early 1800s�a time of startling breakthroughs in science and technology and a growing faith in the power of science to improve human life. Today, in a world where scientific advances such as cloning and genetic engineering seem to be redefining life itself, her questions are no less relevant.

� THE TIME AND PLACE �

The novel takes place in the late 1700s in various parts of Europe, especially Switzerland and Germany, and in the Arctic. Frankenstein was published in 1818 in England at the height of the Romantic movement. This movement in art and literature was based in part on the feeling of optimism about human possibilities that pervaded Western culture after the American and French revolutions.

In England the post-revolutionary period was also a time of economic suffering and social disorder as the new industrialism transformed English society. Shelley�s readers lived in hopeful, but also disturbingly turbulent, times.

The Romantic movement, which lasted from about 1798 to 1832, pulled away from the period known as the Enlightenment, which emphasized reason and logic. English writers of the Romantic period believed in the importance of the individual. They valued subjectivity, imagination, and the expression of emotions over rational thought. The typical Romantic hero, found especially in the poetry of Lord Byron and Percy Shelley, is passionate, uninhibited, and unconventional. Often the hero is an artist who is a social rebel or a melancholy outcast from society.

The Romantic poets, including William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, John Keats, and Percy Shelley, transport their readers to the private worlds of the poets� imaginations. Often, they isolate themselves in nature and celebrate its beauty or its elemental rawness.

They were also attracted to stories and settings from the past. Percy Shelley, for example, made Prometheus, the symbol of creative striving in Greek mythology, the hero of his poetic drama Prometheus Unbound.

Mary Shelley�s gothic novel Frankenstein was labeled �romantic fiction� by an early reviewer. It is a powerful work of imagination that uses exotic natural settings and emphasizes the emotions of fear and awe. Many scholars also see her novel as a critique of Romantic ideals. The �modern Prometheus� she holds up for readers� evaluation, Dr. Frankenstein, is an ambiguous character who may or may not be worthy of our admiration.

DID YOU KNOW?

In the early 1800s, scientists were on the verge of discovering the potential of electricity. At this time, scientists knew about the existence of static electricity as well as electricity produced by lightning. But they were just beginning to discover that electricity could be produced by a chemical reaction.

In the 1780s, Luigi Galvani, a professor of anatomy in Bologna, Italy, conducted experiments on animal tissue using a machine that could produce electrical sparks. He concluded that animal tissue contained electricity in the form of a fluid. Galvani�s theory of �animal electricity� was shown to be incorrect, but he had proven that muscles contracted in response to an electrical stimulus. His research opened the way to new discoveries about the operation of nerves and muscles and showed that electrical forces exist in living tissue. In the novel, Frankenstein learns about the controversial theory of �galvanism� as part of his scientific training at a university in Germany. Today, galvanism refers to a direct current of electricity produced by a chemical reaction.

� 2) ACTIVITIES: DURING AND AFTER READING THE NOVEL
Discussion and written answer

� Letters 1�4
I.�Personal Response
�� How did you react to the two characters introduced in this section? Explain.

II.��Literature and Writing � A Good Beginning?
Urged by her husband, Percy Shelley, to expand her ghost story into a novel, Mary Shelley added Walton�s letters as a frame to Frankenstein�s tale. Do you believe the letters are an effective device for drawing readers into the story? What did you learn about explorers through Walton�s letters? What did you learn about the stranger? Why do you think Shelley chose to lead into the stranger�s story by starting with a frame story about Robert Walton? On a separate sheet of paper write your analysis of the letters as a frame for the novel.

� Chapters 1�10
I. Personal Response
What do you think of Victor Frankenstein as a student and scientist? What do you admire or dislike about his goals? Explain.

II. Literature and Writing � Thrills and Chills
Gothic novels emphasize horror, mystery, and the supernatural. Write an analysis of the gothic features of the novel Frankenstein that are evident in Chapters 1 through 10. How does Shelley establish an atmosphere of mystery? How does the action create a feeling of terror in the reader? What supernatural elements does she include? Consider setting, plot, and character in your analysis.

Chapters 11�16
I.��Personal Response
What questions would you like to ask the creature?

II. Literature and Writing � Friend or Fiend?
Analyze the creature�s personality. In your written analysis, discuss the different aspects of his character by addressing questions such as these:
a.�In what ways is he like any human being? In what ways is he different?
b.�What does he want most in life? Why does his goal seem unattainable?
c.��How have the creature�s experiences shaped his opinion of himself?
d. Does he have the potential for good as well as evil? e. To whom does he compare himself and why?
f.� Support your analysis by citing events from the story as well as quoting statements made by the creature.

� Chapters 17�21
I. Personal Response
Which of the events in this section of the novel surprised you the most and why?

� II. Literature and Writing � The Second Time Around
� Imagine that Victor Frankenstein has decided to write a letter to Elizabeth or his father that describes his thoughts about creating another creature. Take on the role of Frankenstein as you write a letter of explanation. You may want to compare Frankenstein�s creation of the second creature to his creation of the first one. Does he have the same motives or different ones? Do you think his attitude toward such ambitious projects has changed?

� Chapters 22�24
I. Personal Response
���� Did the ending of the novel surprise you? Can you imagine a different ending to the novel? Explain.

II.� Literature and Writing � Creating Dialogue
On board Walton�s ship, the creature sees his creator for the last time. If they had had a chance to talk at this point, what might they say to each other at the end of their long chase? Write a dialogue that reveals each character�s feelings about the other and about himself. You may wish to incorporate or paraphrase quotations from the novel. Make sure your dialogue accurately conveys the character�s attitudes, feelings, and insights. After you have written your dialogue, ask two other students to read it aloud and offer comments.

Responding
I.��Personal Response
���� What is your reaction to the fate of Victor Frankenstein? to his creature? Explain.

II.�� Writing About the Novel
What do you see as the strengths and weaknesses of the novel? Did you find yourself engaged in the central conflict Shelley presents or the questions she raises? Do you believe that Frankenstein is a well-crafted work of literature? Write a short evaluation of the novel. State whether you would recommend the book to others.

� 3) OTHER ACTIVITIES
Novel to Movie Magic

�I. If available to get, watch parts of Frankenstein (1931) and compare to more recent interruptions Frankenstein (2004).

a. Discuss: How in the movie version and the novel, the creature/ monster is portrayed?

b.� Discuss: Which is the better interruption of Mary Shelley�s Frankenstein the older version or the newer version and why might neither be a good representation of the creature from Mary Shelley�s novel?

� 4) EXTENDING THE UNIT
Young Adult Literature Section

� Reading of the YA novel will be out side of class.

� Cold Tom by Sally Prue

Tom is a teenager. He feels like an outcast. He can't find the place where he belongs.� He's not sure who he is � or what he is. Tom is a lot like you. But he's also very different. Tom has been a part of the Elfin Tribe living on the common all his life.� He's hated the demons that live in the city, yet, Tom fears that he is becoming more and more like them.�

Tom is both elfin and human, and running for his life. Cast out from the elfin Tribe, he must hide among the hated humans, whom the Tribe call "demons." Tom's Tribe-half seeks freedom and thrives on a connection with nature which lets him "call on the stars" and turn invisible when in danger. But Tom's human side is emerging, and he is confused and appalled by this change. For he fears the twining emotional bonds, which he sees literally as vines, that bind one human to another. But when he is helped by a kind "demon" girl, it is these strong bonds that save him-and draw him to his true home.

Sally Prue's adventure/fantasy offers beautiful language to explore, a fascinating imagined world to get to know, lots of action, and themes that are both very personal and universal. You'll have a lot to talk about.

� Discussion Points

1.�� Discuss and compare the two societies, demon and Tribe, depicted in the novel with respect to: habitat, family, home, relationships, and values.

� 2.�� Tom remembered the touch of Anna's hand. Her eyes. And then like a flower opening, at last he knew that Anna had not wanted him as a slave. She had been trying to tell him�but he didn't know what she had been trying to tell him. Give him. He was almost sure she had been trying to give him something.� (Page 150).� What was Anna trying to give him? What is Anna's motivation in helping Tom? What is Joe's?

� 3.�� Which character in the novel do you, as the reader, trust to explain the situation truly? Tom, Anna, Joe, or Edie? Why?

� 4.�� From the first time Tom enters the demon city, he feels a strange force pulling on him. What is it?

� 5.�� In the fantasy adventure genre there is usually a hero. In Cold Tom the hero is not clear-cut. Discuss what hero means. Who in the story approaches that ideal?

� 6.�� The stars have a special meaning to the Tribe. What is it? How does it change for Tom in the course of the book?

� 5) SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES: Frankenstein and Cold Tom

� In Class Discussions

� 1. Discuss the similarities and differences between the creature in Mary Shelley�s Frankenstein and Tom in Sally Prue�s Cold Tom.
a.��Ask the class if they can point out any distinct themes that are in both Frankenstein and Cold Tom.
b. Are there any themes that the class points elaborate on?.b. How are they similar in the way they were rejected?
d.�How do both characters evolve in the novels?

� 6) CONCLUDING ACTIVITIES

At the end of the unit, the students should have a new insight on the aspects of rejection and acceptance. Using Cold Tom as a model, students will be asked to do a tandem write of a short story about acceptance and or rejection. (3 minutes for the first writer then the paper will be passed to the second writer who will have 3 minuets � this will go on for 30 minutes.) Students will be free to write about rejection and acceptance however they want. In this unit I am using Frankenstein and Cold Tom to have students come to terms about rejection and acceptance so that students understand that rejection and acceptance is all around and if they give it power then they give it power over them. These two books allow students to identify the importance of their own unique traits.

The last activity that students can do to show their understanding about rejection and acceptance is to make a list of things that they have done or have not done when meeting a new person and didn�t want them to feel welcome. What did you do and why did you do it? Also explain if you did it to feel more important in your own standing. As the teacher I can list all of the important reasons on the board that the students have thought up. The class will be able to come to terms with their own actions and why they do the things that they actually do.

� 7) WORKS CITED

�Frankenstein. (2004) Video cassette or DVD. Kevin Connor, Director. Mark Kruger, Writer. Cast: Luke Goss, Alec Newman, Julie Delpy.

� Frankenstein. (1931) Video cassette or DVD. James Whale, Director. John L. Balderston, Robert Florey, Francis Edwards Faragoh, Garrett Elsden Fort, Writers. Cast: Colin Clive, Boris Karloff, Mae Clarke.

� http://www.glencoe.com/sec/literature/litlibrary/frankenstein.html

� �Prue, Sally. Cold Tom. Scholastic, Incorperated. 2004

� http://www2.scholastic.com/teachers/authorsandbooks/teachingwithbooks/producthome.jhtml?productID=14066&collateralID=11489&displayName=Discussion+Guide

� Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein: Or, the Modern Prometheus, 1818 Text Edition. Oxford University Press. 1998

� Other Information received from Jenni Gonzales who is a freshman and sophomore teacher at Sequoia High School in Redwood City.