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 Joseph Pudlik

phone: 7346427787

email: jpudlik@ltu.edu

Major: Architecture

Journals

1. Choose 3 books to consider for final project.

     A. Frankenstein (Shelley)

        1. http://www.enotes.com/topics/frankenstein

     B. Maus I (Spiegelman)

        1. http://www.enotes.com/topics/maus

     C. Maus II (Spiegelman).  

         1. http://www.enotes.com/topics/maus

These summaries are brief, but as I have read the books and several summaries, they explain adequate information to determine my topic for the final paper.  

4. Final paper topic:

I will be discussing Shelley's use of the monster to relay subliminal messages to the population about mankind and its problems. Do we fear the unknown? Do we steriotype based on appearances and visual ques while ignoring the "person" behind the appearance? Do these overriding emotions cloud our judgemnet? What does man really want to get out of life? These questions and more are addressed in Marry Shelley's frankenstein, and have a real world impact, even in today's society.

6. Working Thesis:

Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, delves into what really makes a person human. More importantly, it questions wether or not we live up to our own standards. Shelley forces the reader to empathize with the monster. Through it, we learn society may not treat people as they should. We also learn that those who do live up to their standards may be mistreated because of it. Furthermore, Shelley shows men to be be hypocrites, and through the monster, conveyed what a man should be like.

"Frankenstein's Monster and Images of Race in Nineteenth-Century Britain" (1993) - great article for this topic.

7. Two paragraph analysis

In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (the novel title should be italicized), the reader is shown a variety of views on how to be human. Surprisingly, the best examples of how to behave, and how to respect others, come from the monster. This claim does not seem to be connected to the following summary.  In the beginning of Frankenstein, we see Robert Walton, an adventurer; write a series of letters to his sister. In these letters, it becomes apparent that Walton is slightly egotistical. He appears to be less concerned about his life and the life of others, and more concerned with his fame and reputation. Only through the telling of the tale of Frankenstein’s monster does he finally decide the danger is too great and begin to retreat (Does he? Doesn't the crew threaten to mutiny before he turns back?). And on the note of the monster, it was the lesson that the curiosity of man may cloud his judgment, and make him do things he would not ordinarily do –such as risk the life of his crew- for knowledge and power (I don't understand this sentence or the connection you're trying to make in this sentence). Frankenstein himself talks of his tragic curiosity and how it led to the creation of the monster. His passion driven exploits caused him to create life. I do not understand how these last two sentences relate to rest of the paragraph.

            One thing the reader may come to realize, as Frankenstein has finished creating his monster, is that Frankenstein acts rashly, and cruelly, against the monster. Given the situation, it seems reasonable to be afraid, but Frankenstein instantly develops a hatred for his creation: his son. He sees a vengeful wrath in the monsters eyes, a hunger. He misinterprets this as a want to eat him. It is actually, as the monster describes, his first moments of life; hunger being one of the sensations he was feeling. The poor thing was harmless, yet Frankenstein only saw what was on the outside: a hideous creature. But as the reader follows the monster about for the next several weeks, you realize that every human behaves this way. He saves a persons life, and gets shot at for it. He assists a struggling family for months, yet after learning speech and establishing contact with the blind man –whom it would be notable to mention does not fear the monster at first, but rather befriends him- he gets driven out by the returning family, simply because he is hideous and appears as a monster from nightmares. If one person could take the time, like the blind man, to see the real person behind the appearance, they would no doubt find a man of great moral values. He wants nothing but to learn, and to share his life with another. This is the story of the ugly duckling that was NEVER accepted. Not even by its own father. Thus, the emotions of humans override moral values we try to uphold. This paragraph is primarily summary, it does not engage in analysis. Instead of telling us what happens in the novel, can you make an argument about why this is significant?

The comparison with the "Ugly Duckling" is interesting. That fairy tale ends with the gosling becoming a swan. Do we see a similar transformation here?

I think these paragraphs demonstrate your search for a specific topic, you're using these to think through the paper - happy to talk during office hours if you want to work through some ideas and try to hone your topic/thesis.

Rough Draft:

WM2 Final Paper Rough Draft.docx - My computer could not open this file - it said it was corrupted.