Themes and Symbols in Frankenstein

1. Learning Target: I can identify themes and symbols in a novel and analyze their significance. Themes and Symbols in Frankenstein

2. Independent Reading • Monday: No log • Tuesday’s Focus Question: When and under what circumstances has your character felt guilty? OR what do you think would make them feel guilty? • Tuesday’s Learning Target: I can read text closely to analyze an author’s choices. Standard 2. • Wednesday’s Focus Question: Locate 2 sentences in your book that you can combine using a semicolon or a comma and a conjunction. Write the 2 original sentences and the sentence you create by combining them. • Wednesday’s Learning Target: I can correctly combine sentences. Standard # 10 • Thursday’s Focus Question: Think of a symbol that would represent a character in your novel. • Thursday’s Learning Target: I can make a claim about a symbol in the novel. Standard # 2 • Friday’s Journal topic: Transitions can be difficult and bumpy if not done with organization, thought, or sensitivity. Reflect on transitions you have made within your life that went well, and also some that were a little too bumpy for your liking. What was done right and wrong depending on the situation? Explain. (you might consider moves your family has made, marriages/divorces in your family, graduation from elementary or middle school, etc.) • Friday’s learning target: I can use CEA format to organize my ideas. Standard 11

3. Today’s Announcements Grammar Remediation due by midnight tomorrow (Friday). Bring me handout with your scores recorded on Friday or Monday. Powder Puff game tomorrow – sophomores vs seniors 5:00; championship game 6:00

4. Promethean Myth • Read and annotate the handout “Understanding the Promethean Archetype” • Answer the questions in Part 2

5. Symbols We Know dove Wedding ring snake

6. Literary Symbol • an object, person, or idea used in literature to stand for or suggest something else • occurs more than once in the novel • meaning may be specific to a particular novel

7. Fire as a Literary Symbol in Frankenstein Example: Fire is a symbol that appears more than once in Frankenstein. Think about where it appears in the novel: when the creature is cold, he finds a fire left by beggars and discovers it can warm him but when he puts his hand in the fire, it burns him. What might it stand for? The creature discovers the dual nature of fire. It can be both helpful and harmful. Many of the decisions Victor struggles with have both positive and negative consequences. He discovers a way to regenerate life but also unleashes a menace on society. The dual nature of fire symbolizes the dual nature of many of the decisions Victor makes.

8. Identifying Themes in Literature Learning Target: I can identify themes in a novel and analyze their importance.

9. Announcements • Have a copy of Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison by next Thursday, November 12

10. Themes in Literature Theme: a universal statement of truth that is communicated through a piece of literature • Message may be about life, society, or human nature • Message is broader than the book – it can be true of all people and all times • Message is almost always implied rather than stated directly

11. Big Ideas in Frankenstein Make a list of some of the “big ideas” in the novel. Ask yourself: what is this a book about??? • Playing God • Parent/child relationships • Discrimination • Ethics in science and medicine • The effect of nature on one’s spirit • The power of knowledge • Responsibility that comes with creating life

12. How to Identify Themes in a Piece of Literature • Choose 1 of the big ideas you named. • What is the author saying to the reader about this topic? • Write your theme in a statement of universal truth (don’t mention the novel – this statement is true of all people and all times). • Think about where you see evidence that supports this statement.

13. Let’s Try It Together • Big idea from Frankenstein: The power of knowledge • What is the author saying to the reader about this topic? When Victor wants to create life, he continues his experiments in isolation without considering the potential hazards to the human race. Mary Shelley sends a message to the reader through the disastrous outcome that pure motives often get lost in the passionate pursuit of knowledge.

14. Let’s Try It Together • Write your theme in a statement of universal truth. Too much knowledge when sought in isolation, can produce results that are harmful to society. Be careful not to oversimplify the theme statement.

15. Avoid these Pitfalls • Stay away from theme statements that are too simple or hackneyed like these: • Too much knowledge can be dangerous. • Don’t judge a book by its cover. • Also, avoid “you” statements like these: • You should not judge people by the way they look. • You should always take responsibility for your actions. Too easy and obvious Sounds “preachy”

16. Themes are complex and specific • Instead of stopping with : Society is judgmental • Get more specific: When a person differs from society’s idea of normal, that person often suffers rejection by society.

17. Language is formal and academic • Instead of: Creating life is serious stuff. • Keep language formal: Creating life carries with it serious responsibility that includes a commitment to teach and nurture.

18. Let’s Try It Together • Where do you see evidence that supports this statement? Find specific examples and use MLA format to cite source. Victor says, “. . . But now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart. Unable to endure the being I had created, I rushed out of the room . . .” (Shelley 49).

19. Practice Writing Theme Statements • Write a theme statement to go with five of the big ideas you identified. • Share with the class. Add to your list. • Pick one theme statement you might use to develop a whole essay. Your test next Friday will be a theme essay.

20. Today’s Agenda • Independent Reading • Select 1 theme from the list you generated last week. • Find at least 2 pieces of evidence as support. (Must use at least 2 direct quotes with MLA citations.) • Do some prewriting: • Compose an introduction • Write some analysis that connects the theme both to the novel and to a more universal experience.