Frankenstein - Walton's Letters

Question 1

When was Frankenstein first published?

Answer 1

1818

Question 2

What is Walton’s first name?

Answer 2

Robert

Question 3

To whom is Walton writing his letters?

Answer 3

His sister, Margaret

Question 4

What is the purpose of Walton’s arctic voyage?

Answer 4

To discover a northeast passage to the orient

Question 5

What does doppelgänger mean?

Answer 5

double

Question 6

Which two characters in the novel might be considered doppelgängers?

Answer 6

Walton and Victor - they are both presented as hubristic individuals that fail to respect the power of nature.

Question 7

What does hubristic mean?

Answer 7

Excessively proud/arrogant

Question 8

What is the correct term for one character that might be considered the ‘double’ of another?

Answer 8

doppelgänger

Question 9

What is the correct term to describe the structure that Shelley uses via Walton’s narrative?

Answer 9

epistolary frame narrative

Question 10

What does epistolary mean?

Answer 10

in the form of letters

Question 11

What is the correct term to describe a narrative told in the form of letters?

Answer 11

epistolary

Question 12

What was the era called when Frankenstein was first published?

Answer 12

The Georgian era

Question 13

What were the Georgians obsessed with?

Answer 13

science, exploration and new tchnologies

Question 14

Why were many (like Walton) keen to discover a northeast passage?

Answer 14

It would mean a quicker and more profitable trading route with the east.

Question 15

What was the name of the social movement of the 18th and 19th century that emphasised the importance of science and reason?

Answer 15

The Enlightenment

Question 16

What was the Enlightenment?

Answer 16

A social movement of the 18th and 19th century that emphasised the importance of science and reason.

Question 17

What was the name of the real-life British explorer who spent 4 years trapped in the arctic ice?

Answer 17

Robert McClure

Question 18

Who was Robert McClure?

Answer 18

A real-life British explorer who spent 4 years trapped in the arctic ice.

Question 19

‘I feel a cold northern breeze _________ upon my cheeks’ (page 13)

Answer 19

play

Question 20

What technique is used here? ‘I feel a cold northern breeze play upon my cheeks’ (page 13)

Answer 20

personification

Question 21

‘the region of __________ and delight’ (page 13)

Answer 21

beauty

Question 22

‘What may not be expected in a country of eternal __________’? (page 13)

Answer 22

light

Question 23

‘I may there discover the wondrous power which attracts the ___________’ (page 13)

Answer 23

needle

Question 24

‘may regulate a ____________ celestial observations’ (page 13)

Answer 24

thousand

Question 25

What technique is used here: 'may regulate a thousand celestial observations' (page 13)?

Answer 25

hyperbole

Question 26

'I shall satiate my ardent ____________' (page 13)

Answer 26

curiosity

Question 27

'the joy a ___________ feels when he embarks on a little boat' (page 13)

Answer 27

child

Question 28

What technique is used here: 'the joy a child feels when he embarks on a little boat' (page 13)?

Answer 28

metaphor

Question 29

'the ____________ benefit which I shall confer on all mankind' (page 13)

Answer 29

inestimable

Question 30

Before becoming an arctic voyager, we learn that Walton tried (and failed) to be a...?

Answer 30

poet

Question 31

'success _______ crown my endeavours' (page 19)

Answer 31

shall

Question 32

'success shall _____________ my endeavours' (page 19)

Answer 32

crown

Question 33

'proceed over the untamed yet ____________ element' (page 19)

Answer 33

obedient

Question 34

What technique is used here: 'proceed over the untamed yet obedient element' (page 19)?

Answer 34

juxtaposition

Question 35

Mary Shelley was part of a group of thinkers and writers called....?

Answer 35

The Romantics

Question 36

Besides Mary Shelley, which other writers might be considered a part of The Romantics?

Answer 36

Lord Byron, Percy Shelley, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Wordsworth.

Question 37

What social and political movement did The Romantics reject?

Answer 37

The Enlightenment

Question 38

Whereas The Enlightenment suggested that the world should be understood through science and reason, The Romantics believed that we should focus on...

Answer 38

personal experience and individual intuition

Question 39

Why were The Romantics fearful of The Enlightenment?

Answer 39

They prized the power of nature and thought that The Enlightenment was encouraging people to 'play God' and usurp nature.

Question 40

Which character refers to The Rime of The Ancient Mariner?

Answer 40

Walton (letter 2)

Question 41

What is the poem called that Walton refers to in his second letter?

Answer 41

The Rime of The Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Question 42

Whet happens in The Rime of The Ancient Mariner (the poem Walton refers to in letter 2, page 18)

Answer 42

A mariner (a sailor) trapped in the ice shoots an albatross - a giant seabird - causing his ship to be cursed.

Question 43

Why does Shelley link Walton to the 'ancient mariner'?

Answer 43

Although Walton says he will 'kill no albatross', Shelley suggests that, like the mariner, his hubris means he will try to usurp nature.

Question 44

What is Walton referring to when he says in his second letter, 'but I shall kill no albatross'? (page 18)

Answer 44

The Rime of The Ancient Mariner

Question 45

'a _________ which had the shape of a man' (page 20)

Answer 45

being

Question 46

a ___________ inhabitant of some undiscovered country' (page 21)

Answer 46

savage

Question 47

'I begin to love him as a __________' (page 22)

Answer 47

brother

Question 48

'the _________ of my heart' (page 22)

Answer 48

brother

Question 49

'one man's life or death were but a small price to pay for the acquirement of ____________' (page 23)

Answer 49

knowledge

Question 50

Who says this: 'one man's life or death were but a small price to pay for the acquirement of knowledge (page 23)?

Answer 50

Walton

Question 51

'let me reveal my tale and you will dash the ______ from your lips' (page 23)

Answer 51

cup

Question 52

What is being referred to here: 'let me reveal my tale and you will dash the cup from your lips' (23)?

Answer 52

Victor refers to the cup of forbidden knowledge, suggesting that Walton's plans are foolish and will lead to sin

Question 53

'I ardently hope that the gratification of your wishes may not be a ______ to sting you' (page 24)

Answer 53

serpent

Question 54

What is being referred to here: 'I ardently hope that the gratification of your wishes may not be a serpent to sting you' (page 24)?

Answer 54

Victor refers to knowledge using the metaphor of a serpent, a reference to the snake in the garden of Eden, suggesting it will lead to sin and blasphemy.

Question 55

What relation does Walton compare Victor to?

Answer 55

His brother: 'I begin to love him as a brother' (page 22) 'the brother of my heart' (page 22)

Question 56

What technique is used here: 'I ardently hope that the gratification of your wishes may not be a serpent to sting you' (page 24)?

Answer 56

metaphor/biblical imagery

Question 57

How does Walton refer to the monster in letter 4, suggesting he sees him as uncivilised and inhuman?

Answer 57

a savage inhabitant of some undiscovered country' (page 21)

Question 58

'the very _______ themselves being witnesses and testimonies of my triumph' (page 19)

Answer 58

stars

Question 59

What is the significance of Walton describing 'the stars as 'witnesses and testimonies of my triumph' (page 19)

Answer 59

The personification presents nature as an awe-struck observer, reiterating Walton's arrogant attitude towards the natural world.

Question 60

What is the significance of The Monster being described by Walton as 'a savage inhabitant of some undiscovered country'

Answer 60

It conveys how, even from the novel's opening stages, The Monster is seen as 'other' and fundamentally inhuman.

Question 61

What is the significance of Walton's claims that he 'regulate a thousand celestial observations' (page 13)

Answer 61

Shelley uses hyperbole to present Walton's plans as unrealistic and ill-conceived.

Question 62

What is significant about Walton describing how he felt 'a cold northern breeze play upon my cheeks' (page 13)

Answer 62

The personification presents the arctic elements as insignificant and unthreatening, conveying how Walton fails to understand the dangers of tis wild landscape.

Question 63

What is significant about Walton describing the arctic as 'untamed yet obedient' (page 19)

Answer 63

Shelley's use of juxtaposition conveys Walton's arrogance. Whilst he accepts the Arctic has never been controlled by man, he believes it will inevitably submit to his will.