FRANKENSTEIN READING JOURNAL

The Situation

As you read Frankenstein, focus in on one or two themes to keep you focused.  You should have at least 15 specific quotes and/or examples with commentary by the time you draft your Frankenstein’s Legacy essay focusing on one or more of the following themes

Philosophical principles — what makes a human human? Who is a good person/hero or villain in the novel?

Gender — especially the ways men and women are represented in the text

Science/ethics/and scary science — aka “the techno-gothic” 

The Purpose

Frankenstein is a challenging text with lots of important themes and ideas.  One of the best ways to read it is to find your own path(s) and interests and try to keep focused on that to help keep you oriented to what’s going on in the text.

The Details

This assignment is worth 25 points and is due with the Frankenstein’s Legacy essay.  Journaling is a pretty personal thing and there are lots of ways to do this.  It would be very un-Kantian to tell you how to think, wouldn’t it?  You can write by hand, type up your notes, and even include some art and images if you’d like.  What I do want to see in the journal is “I saw/I thought.”  This means I want to see the theme you’re focusing on and specific evidence (this is the “I saw”) and your commentary or analysis of your evidence (this is the “I thought).  You can also graphically organize your journal entries if you wish.

1. Templates for completing the assignment are below if you want some ideas about how to organize your journal.
2. Theme:  Gender
3. Quote:

Commentary:

OR

Theme

I Saw

I Thought

The role of women/gender relations

OR

I’ve been tracking how men are represented in the novel Frankenstein. In…