Frankenstein Background Research
Frankenstein Background Quest
Frankenstein's subtitle is "The Modern Prometheus." Prometheus is a character in Greek Mythology. Find the Greek Mythology books in the LRC by checking the online catalog for the Dewey number. Use the books to answer the following questions. (Hint- the index of each book is helpful for this task.)
1. What did Prometheus do for humankind?
2. Why did Zeus get angry at Prometheus and how was Prometheus punished?
3. Why or why not do you think Prometheus should be considered a hero?
Find a picture to illustrate Prometheus' punishment on Mount Caucasus; print it and attach it to the back of this assignment. Is this picture copyrighted? If so, write down who owns the copyright in the space below.
Mary Shelley and her Novel
From the TF South Library and Media Center webpage, log into EBSCOhost (user ID is tfsouth and password is ). Choose the "Explora" interface. Search for the article "Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley" by Richard Means (hint- narrow your results to Biographies). Read it and answer the following.
1. What inspired MWS to write Frankenstein?
2. How many children did she have? How many survived infancy? Also, did her husband die before or after the publication of the novel?
3. What else has she written? Name three things.
4. What were the two general views of Frankenstein by the public when it was first published?
Romanticism/Gothic
From the TF South Library and Media Center webpage, select the Gale Virtual Reference Library. Select the eBook "Novels for Students" from the list. Then search for Frankenstein. In the "Style" section of this article, read the short section on Gothicism and answer the questions below in complete sentences.
1. What are four typical characteristics of a gothic novel?
2. What way does Frankenstein differ from a typical gothic novel?
Visit The American Academy of Poets' website and read "A Brief Guide to Romanticism ."
1. Provide a minimum four sentence summary of romanticism. Include some of the elements needed to make a work a part of this genre and some major Romantic artists.
2. In your own words, explain how Romanticism and Gothicism are similar.
Science of Frankenstein
Read the article "The Science that Made Frankenstein " from Inside Science and answer the following questions.
1. Who was Luigi Galvani? What did he discover in 1781?
2. What do we know today that explains Allesandro Volta's voltaic pile and why the frog legs moved?
3. Who was Giovanni Aldini and how could he have influenced Frankenstein?