Frankenstein Response

Hi, class,

Please write a brief response(200-400 words) to this passage, narrated by Victor. It appears in Chapter 24. What advice might Victor be giving to Walton? Please post your response on the blog. 

"When younger," said he, "I believed myself destined for some great enterprise. My feelings are profound; but I possessed a coolness of judgment that fitted me for illustrious achievements. This sentiment of the worth of my nature supported me when others would have been oppressed; for I deemed it criminal to throw away in useless grief those talents that might be useful to my fellow-creatures. When I reflected on the work I had completed, no less a one than the creation of a sensitive and rational animal, I could not rank myself with the herd of common projectors. But this thought, which supported me in the commencement of my career, now serves only to plunge me lower in the dust. All my speculations and hopes are as nothing; and, like the archangel who aspired to omnipotence, I am chained in an eternal hell. My imagination was vivid, yet my powers of analysis and application were intense; by the union of these qualities I conceived the idea and executed the creation of a man. Even now I cannot recollect without passion my reveries while the work was incomplete. I trod heaven in my thoughts, now exulting in my powers, now burning with the idea of their effects. From my infancy I was imbued with high hopes and a lofty ambition; but how am I sunk! Oh! my friend, if you had known me as I once was you would not recognise me in this state of degradation. Despondency rarely visited my heart; a high destiny seemed to bear me on until I fell, never, never again to rise.

Frankenstein's Creature: Hollywood Style!

Hi, all,

Below are clips from several film adaptations of Frankenstein--including the full-length version of the first one, made in 1910 at Edison Studios, the 1931 classic, the 1994 remake with Robert DeNiro, and Mel Brooks's hilarious comedic take. I have tried to group them together so that you can see the "birth/creation" scenes together.

Frankenstein, 1931. "It's alive!" (RT 4:05)

Frankenstein, 1931. The creature's awareness. (RT 3:10)

 

Frankenstein, 1994. Frankenstein gives "birth." (RT 7:37)

Young Frankenstein, 1974. (RT 10:00)

Bride of Frankenstein, 1935. "She's alive!" (RT 6:14)

Frankenstein, 1994. The Creature expresses his loneliness. (RT 3:56)

Frankenstein, 1994. The Creature confronts Victor. (RT 9:58)

Finally, this is the first-ever adaptation!

Frankenstein, 1910. Watch the "special effect" at the end! (Full-length 12:41)