The Monster Flashcards
-Is Victor’s creation ever given a name? It is often referred to by readers as ‘The M……’ or ‘The C…….’.
-What is he made of? Who’s experiment bought him to life?
-His appearance is g…….. .
-What society does the Monster want to become a part of? The Monster attempts to learn through e………., w……. and r…… .
-The Monster displays i……….. and e…… for other humans. Why does the Monster seek violent revenge on Victor and his family?
-Victor’s creation is never given a name, but is often referred to by readers as ‘The Monster’ or ‘The Creature’.
-He is made of body parts and was bought to life by Victor’s experiment.
-His appearance is grotesque.
-The Monster wants to become a part of human society and attempts to learn through experiences, watching and reading.
-The Monster displays intelligence and empathy for other humans but his mistreatment by all those he meets eventually leads him to seek violent revenge on Victor and his family.
-What does the Monster experience when observing the De Lacey family? Why?
-What does the Monster do when he realizes that stealing food from them has hurt them emotionally?
-What human trait does the Monster show here? What character does this contrast with?
-Shelley uses the Monster’s appreciation of the De Lacey family as a way of depicting his i….. g……. .
-When the Monster first comes across the family and observes them, he experiences emotions he doesn’t understand from witnessing their closeness and affection for each other.
-When he realizes that stealing food from them has hurt them emotionally, he reverts to foraging in the woods.
-This shows that the Monster has empathy for the family, a human trait. This contrasts to Victor’s lack of empathy for the Monster when he rejected him.
-Shelley uses the Monster’s appreciation of the De Lacey family as a way of depicting his innate goodness.
-Does the Monster help the De Lacey family for the sake of helping or for a praise?
-In these earlier stages, Shelley suggests that the Monster is not a v…… and she presents the Monster as an a…….. and l……. character.
-Whose rejection of the Monster seems all the crueler? The reader is encoruaged to see him as a v….. of society’s n…..-m………, rather than the m…….. v…… that Victor has suggested him to be.
-The monster actively helps the De Lacey family by chopping wood for them, simply for the sake of helping them rather than for a praise.
-In these earlier stages, Shelley suggests that the Monster is not a villain and she presents the Monster as an appealing and likeable character.
-This serves to make the De Lacey’s rejection of the Monster seem all the crueler and encourages the reader to see him as a victim of society’s narrow-mindedness, rather than the monstrous villain that Victor has suggested him to be.
-Who is the protagonist and antagonist of the novel? Shelley demonstrates how their fates are u………. i………. .
-By the end of the novel, what are Victor and the Monster motivated solely by? They both want to enact their f…. r…… .
-What does the Monster do when Victor finally dies? Without Victor to p….., the Monster’s life lacks any m…… .
-Alongside Victor as the protagonist of the novel, the Monster is the antagonist, and Shelley demonstrates how their fates are unavoidably intertwined.
-By the end of the novel, each of the characters is motivated solely by the desire to catch the other and enact their final revenge.
-The interconnected nature of the two characters is clearly demonstrated when Victor finally dies and the Monster then embraces his own death. Without Victor to pursue, the Monster’s life lacks any meaning.
-What type of reading could suggest that the Monster and Victor could be read as t.. h….. of a s….. e….. . What is the difference between the two halves?
-Why does the Monster commit the murders of William, Clerval and Elizabeth? What does Victor send the Monster into the world without?
-One psychoanalytic reading suggests that the Monster and Victor could be read as two halves of a single entity. This encourages the reader to consider if one of the ‘halves’ is ‘good’ and the other is ‘evil’.
-Whilst it is unarguable that it is the Monster that commits the murders of William, Clerval and Elizabeth, Shelley suggests that these actions only come from Victor’s own inaction. It’s Victor’s failure to take responsibility for his creation that turns the Monster out into the world with no protection or guidance.
-‘m….. made him a f….’. (Volume …, Chapter …)
-What two factors could have led to the Monster’s ‘monstrosity’?
-In Volume Two: Chapter 2, the Monster tells Victor how ‘misery made him a fiend’.
-This question of whether it is nature or nurture which has led to the Monster’s ‘monstrosity’ is a key idea of the novel.
-‘His …… …. scarcely covered the work of ……. and …….. beneath; his hair was of a …….. ….., and flowing; his teeth of a …… ………; but these ……….. only formed a more horrid contrast with his …… …..’ (Chapter ….)
-What type of imagery does the Monster use? This presents the Monster as i…… .
-Are all the Monster’s features grotesque? Give examples.
-What do these contrasts highlight?
-‘His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes.’ (Chapter Five)
-Shelley’s colour imagery present the Monster as inhuman, focusing on his juandiced skin and the darkness of his lips.
-Not all of the Monster’s features seem so grotesque: he has glossy hair and bright white teeth.
-These contrasts highlight the composite (having many parts) nature of the Monster.
-‘Believe me, Frankenstein: I was ……….; my soul glowed with …. and ……..: but am I not ….., miserably …..?’ (Volume …, Chapter …)
-Shelley aims to shock us with the Monster’s e…….. and i……….. with the Monster’s own narrative.
-Rather than use v……. and t……, the Monster attempts to persuade Victor using r….. and i………. p……. .
-What does this undermine from the first Volume of the novel?
-‘Believe me, Frankenstein: I was benevolent; my soul glowed with love and humanity: but am I not alone, miserably alone?’ (Volume Two, Chapter Two)
-Shelley aims to shock us with the Monster’s eloquence and intelligence with the Monster’s own narrative.
-Rather than use violence and threats, the Monster attempts to persuade Victor using reason and impassioned pleading.
-This undermines the image of the Monster that Victor creates in the first Volume of the novel.
-‘I was a …. ,helpless ,……… wretch; I knew, and could distinguish, …….; but feeling …. invade me on all ….., I sat down and …. .’ (Volume …, Chapter …..)
-When the Monster retells the beginning of his life from his own perspective, why does the readers opinion on the Monster change?
-What does this narrative encourage the reader to feel for the Monster? The Monster is a…….. and c… o.. into a world about which he knows n…… .
-What is the image of the Monster weeping reminiscent of?
-‘I was a poor, helpless, miserable wretch; I knew, and could distinguish, nothing; but feeling pain invade me on all sides, I sat down and wept.’ (Volume Two, Chapter Three)
-As the Monster retells the beginning of his life from his own perspective, the reader is presented with a very different picture to that created by Victor.
-The narrative encourages the reader to feel sympathy for a being who is abandoned and cast out into a world about which he knows nothing.
-The image of him weeping is reminiscent (a reminder) of a neglected child.
‘When I run over the ……… ……… of my sins, I cannot believe that I am the same creature whose thoughts were once filled with sublime and transcendent visions of the beauty and the majesty of goodness. But it is even so; the fallen angel becomes a malignant devil.’ (…… in continuation)
-How does the Monster feel towards the end of the novel after all the terrible deeds he has committed?
-He reflects on his developments from a p… and i……. being to a c……. of e… . Who does he compare himself to?
-‘When I run over the frightful catalogue of my sins, I cannot believe that I am the same creature whose thoughts were once filled with sublime and transcendent visions of the beauty and the majesty of goodness. But it is even so; the fallen angel becomes a malignant devil.’ (Walton in continuation)
-By the end of the novel, the Monster feels regretful for all of the terrible deeds he has committed.
-He reflects on his developments from a pure and innocent being to a creature of evil and compares himself to Satan.
‘My person was ……. and my ……. ……… . What did this mean? … was I? …. was I? …… did I come? What was my ………..?’ (Volume …, Chapter …..)
-The Monster’s repeated s…-q………. encourages the reader to feel s……. for him.
-Why cant the Monster understand his place or role in the world?
-‘My person was hideous and my stature gigantic. What did this mean? Who was I? What was I? Whence did I come? What was my destination?’ (Volume Two, Chapter Seven)
-The Monster’s repeated self-questioning encourages the reader to feel sympathy for him.
-Without the guidance of a parent or creator, the Monster is unable to understand his place or role in the world.
