 The painting above depicts a fate that Walden fears but is willing to face, risking the lives of his crew, in order to fulfill his all-consuming pursuit of fame's immortality.
Sophie Germain
10/9/2015 03:17:14 pm
In the fourth letter, the relationship between the ship’s captain and the stranger becomes very strong. They begin bonding a lot more and start to tell each other more about themselves. “My affection for my guest increases every day. He excites at once my admiration and my pity to an astonishing degree. How can I see so noble a creature destroyed by misery, without feeling the most poignant grief? He is so gentle, yet so wise; his mind is so cultivated; and when he speaks, although his words are culled with the choicest are, yet they flow with rapidity and unparalleled eloquence… I spoke of my desire of finding a friend—of my thirst for a more intimate sympathy with a fellow mind than had ever fallen to my lot; and expressed my conviction that a man could boast of little happiness, who did not enjoy this blessing.” (Shelley 23-24) The captain deeply misses his sister and while on his voyage, he becomes very lonely. He expresses to his sister how much he wants to have a companion by his side that he can relate to. When his crew finds a man in need while out at sea, they take him in and he later becomes the captain’s companion. In the quote, the captain describes all of the things that make him appreciate the stranger. The characters seem to be very compassionate towards one another and are considerate of each other’s feelings. A theme in the novel could be the development of relationships. The author might focus on the development of the relationships between certain characters and how they interact with one another.
Almira Hart Lincoln Phelps
10/9/2015 04:00:21 pm
In the second letter, the speaker (Walden) writes "There is something at work in my soul which I do not understand. I am practically industrious-painstaking;-a workman to execute with perseverance and labour;-but besides this, there is a love for the marvellous, a belief in the marvellous, intertwined in all my projects, which hurries me out of the common pathways of men, even to the wild sea and unvisited regions I am about to explore" (Shelley 18). This passage in particular says a lot about the character. It may at first sound like he is just talking about exploring the north pole, as that was a very hot topic at the time period. However, this also shows that Walden has this deep need to explore the unknown, to push the limits and discover something spectacular, no matter how long it takes and how dangerous it may be. While Walden is not the main protagonist in Frankenstein, this passage also gives insight to a (possible) character of Frankenstein- the "guest" on Walden's ship. This guest, who I believe is the scientist who created the creature, tells Walden that he too was once driven by a similar passion, a desire to push the boundaries. But this inevitably led to his downfall (24). I believe this is key to understanding why the scientist created the creature in the first place and is important to his character development. At first, he believed that this experiment would fulfill his every desire, but in turn became something he didn't want at all, but he realized this too late. I believe, if given the opportunity, he would take it all back to prevent all of his loss.
Vera Yevsts Fievna Popova
10/9/2015 09:18:18 pm
In the second letter, Walton begins to talk about how he feels lonely, since he doesn't really has anyone with whom he can face anything with. "But I have one want which I have never yet been able to satisfy; and the absence of the object of which I now feel as a most severe evil. I have no friend, Margaret: when I am glowing with the enthusiasm of success, there will be none to participate my joy; if I am assailed by disappointment, no one will endeavor to sustain me in dejection. I shall commit my thoughts to paper, it is true; but that is a poor medium for the communication feeling" (Shelley 15). This is important because in my perspective, it kinda helps to show what time of person he is. The fact that he seems isolated makes him seem as someone not very socially appealing, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but do make up someone's life somewhat different. He probably feels in some way socially traumatized and is desperate to feel affection and caring for him. I think this leads up to letter 4 and how he becomes very attached to the stranger. I feel as though in some way this affection happens so fast because his loneliness takes over him. He doesn't really care about who is there, as long as he has someone there for him. I think this goes back to Frankenstein, since I feel as though the book will be about the things that people turn to due to loneliness.
Mary Treat
10/9/2015 10:31:34 pm
Letter four is where Frankenstein and the big creature are first spotted. When Walton and his crew men was stranded between the frozen ices and went down on land, in a distance is where the creature is first spotted. “About two o’clock the mist cleared away and we beheld, stretched out in every direction, vast and irregular plains of ice, which seemed to have no end. Some of my comrades groaned, and my own mind began to grow watchful with anxious thoughts, when a strange sight suddenly attracted our attention, and diverted our solicitude from our own situation. We perceived a low carriage, fixed on a sledge and drawn by dogs, pass towards the north, at the distance of a half a mile: a being which had the shape of a man, but apparently of a gigantic stature” (Shelly 20). I think Shelly wrote this part on Walton’s letter to kind of foreshadow and give the audience a glance on how this creature behaves and what’s their intention are. The next day unknowingly Walton is meant with the creatures “maker” and the two becomes close friends. “In the morning however, as soon as it was light, I went upon deck, and found all the sailors busy on the side of the vessel, apparently talking to some one in the sea. It was, in fact, a sledge, like that we had seen before, which had drifted toward us in the night, on a large fragment of ice. Only one dog remained alive; but there was a human being with it” (Shelly 20). Soon enough they let this man (Frankenstein) on their adventure, which would probably lead to new discoveries.
Josephine Silone Yates
10/9/2015 10:37:21 pm
Of the four letters written by Captain Walton to his sister, I think that letter four best represents Mary Shelley’s purpose for adding the section of letters to support Frankenstein. In the fourth letter the stranger that Walton encountered could possibly have resembled the creation or the creator in Frankenstein. Through character development Walton showed, through all four of the letters, that he’d had a passion and determination to fill a void in his life with an experiment that would soon become an accomplishment. Like a creator to a creation, the stranger and Walton had developed a deeper relationship and as their time together proceeded Walton tracked the stranger’s health and progress, as would a scientist. Walton had even noted his advance in their interpersonal relationship, “[as his] affection for [his] guest [increased] every day” (Shelley, 23). Walton also uses foreshadowing phrases like, “From this time a new spirit of life animated the decaying frame of the stranger”, implying that the stranger was in fact reanimated to life before Walton’s eyes (Shelley, 22). In the scenario where the stranger acts as the creator, he shows melancholy in saying to Walton, “Unhappy man! Do you share my madness? Have you also drank of the intoxicating draught? Hear me- let me reveal my tale, and you will dash the cup from your lips”, as if he is saying that he once had a dream that he’d already accomplished and had back fired on him so he didn’t want Walton to fall down the same path (Shelley, 24). In the scenario where the stranger acts as the creation, he displays an unexplainable bond to Walton and Walton also notes the animalistic behaviors that the stranger shows. Even as an outside perspective looking at the creation (stranger), Walton notes the stranger’s revivifying hope to find his companion, who could have figuratively been his creator.
Alice Lounsberry
10/9/2015 11:21:56 pm
Though each letter included in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein serves an important purpose the letter that describes her purpose for including the letters the most is letter two. Something we will no doubt witness throughout Frankenstein is the incredible loneliness and isolation the creature feels being the only one of its kind. In letter two this character, Robert Walton, describes his loneliness when he writes, "But I have one want which I have never yet been able to satisfy […] and I greatly need a friend who would have sense enough not to despise me as romantic, and affection enough for me to endeavor to regulate my mind" (Shelley 15-16). As we see in this letter to his sister Walton feels an incredible sense of loneliness just like the creature does in Frankenstein. Robert Walton feels alone because he has no one to share his joy or loneliness with. This is something all humans desire. As people we desire to share our emotions and share our beings with others similar to ourselves. The creature in Frankenstein is somewhat human and therefore must have those same emotions. Mary Shelley's inclusion of the passage in this letter further strengthens her text and her idea around the creation of Frankenstein.
Charlotte Knight
10/9/2015 11:46:03 pm
In Walton’s second letter to his sister, Margaret Saville, he discloses his need to confide in a friend. Because of his loneliness, Walton does not have anyone to speak to about whatever is on his mind. "But I have one want which I have never yet been able to satisfy; and the absence of the object of which I now feel as a most severe evil. I have no friend, Margaret: when I am glowing with the enthusiasm of success, there will be none to participate my joy; if I am assailed by disappointment, no one will endeavor to sustain me in dejection. I shall commit my thoughts to paper, it is true; but that is a poor medium for the communication feeling. I desire the company of a man who could sympathize with me. . .” (Shelley 15). This particular passage demonstrates the action of the novel, and Shelley’s intention to prefigure a distinguished idea; “building” relationships. In the passage, Walton yearns for a friend who would be there by his side to listen and defend him. After understanding Walton’s desperateness in this passage, it allows an understanding to Frankenstein’s objectives in creating his monster, which is the premise of the novel. The passage deepens character development as it demonstrates the dependence of Walton on a companion. Reflecting back to the previous theme of identity and culture, Walton is characterized as being identified by the people around him.
Sofia Kovalevskaya
10/10/2015 12:26:17 am
In the second letter, Walton talks about how lonely he is, about how he feels so isolated and separate from everyone else. “I have to friend, Margaret; when I am glowing with the enthusiasm of success, there will be none to participate my joy; if I am assailed by disappointment, no one will endeavor to sustain me in dejection. I shall commit my thoughts to paper, it is true; but that is a poor medium for the communication of feeling. I desire the company of a man who could sympathize with me; whose eyes would reply to mine. You may deem me romantic, my dear sister, but I bitterly feel the want of friend “ (Shelley 15-16). From this passage I feel like Walton is a man desperate for a relationship. Not necessarily a romantic relationship, but one of any kind, just someone to talk to. However, it also makes him seem like he is socially very awkward or a social outcast. That his mannerisms may keep him from creating healthy relationships. In the fourth letter he becomes very attached to a stranger. He runs to this man because no one else is there for him. It is not normal for everyday people to become attached to someone they've just meet, but Walton does suggesting his desperation for companionship. Walton’s character in these letter suggests that he will in a way parallel Frankenstein and perhaps his loneliness. Frankenstein is a monster and often times monsters don't have human companions as they tend to stay away. Frankenstein is a social outcast, people don't tend to make friends with him.
Elisa Bommer
10/10/2015 12:31:39 am
In the series of letters in the beginning of the novel, “Frankenstein”, Walden writes to his sister about his voyage to the North Pole. In his second letter to his sister, he writes to her about how he feels lonely because he has no friends. “Well, these are useless complaints; I shall certainly find no friend on the wide ocean, nor even here in Archangel, among merchants and seamen” (Shelley 16). He expressed how it would be hard for him to make a friend in the middle of the ocean and yet he finds a friend in the fourth letter. After he takes a stranger onto his ship, he becomes friends with the stranger and his loneliness that he expressed to his sister in the second letter disappears. “I said in one of my letters, my dear Margaret, that I should find no friend on the wide ocean; yet I have found a man who, before his spirit had been broken by misery, I should have been happy to have possessed as the brother of my heart” (Shelley 23). Understanding these passages helped me to understand the significance of the relationship between the character Walden and the stranger who boards his ship. One of our essential questions dealt with how writers structure their work to reflect their message and I think that the way that Shelley structured her work with the letters to Margaret made it so that the readers sympathize for Walden. The readers would pity his loneliness and somewhat relate to him.
Zsofia torma
10/10/2015 08:45:13 pm
In the first letter, Walton is talking to his sister in England. Walton is on an expedition to look for a passage through the Arctic Ocean to the North Pacific Ocean via the seas of the North Pole. Knowing the harsh climate and the dangers involved with making such a passage, he feels confident that a crew and ship will be found to make the trip, even after six long years of his own preparations.This letter brings to light an important theme of light as a symbol of knowledge and discovery. Walton says “What may not be expected in a country of eternal light?” (Shelley XV). Walton’s quest to reach the northernmost part of the earth is similar in spirit to victor’s quest for the secret of life: both seek ultimate knowledge, and both sacrifice the comfort of the realm of known knowledge in their respective pursuits. Additionally, the beauty and simplicity of the phrasing epitomize the eighteenth century scientific rationalists’ optimism about, and trust in, knowledge as a pure good. He relays to his sister that he has felt a sense of sadness at his own ignorance, and he wants to improve himself and expand his knowledge.Walton tells his sister that if he succeeds he will not return in months or years. If he fails, he will be home sooner or never. Mary Shelley uses these first four letters as a frame for the rest of the story and gives the readers a little background on the chapters to come.
Jane Ellen Harrison
10/12/2015 03:12:48 pm
There seems to be little character development in the letters of Frankenstein of Walton throughout this journey off of his like he’s a little boy who got something he didn’t fully understand when he says “I may there discover. ..his native river" (13). He even admits that he is childlike with his wonder on what's going to happen on this journey. He has these great ideals and he feels that he has every right to do this because of his trials that he hasn't gone through; just so he can have glory and excitement. The second letter doesn't show him understanding the responsibility of his actions and jobs on the ship he bought. He simply complains that he doesn't have a friend on his ship. "...I shall certainly find no friend in the wide ocean, nor even here in Archangel, among merchants and seamen" (16). He acknowledges the men to be good men, but on a quest for his own adventure, he just worries about having company versus preparing for an adventure. The journey then feels like it’s worth nothing unless he has a friend, it seems to discredit the actual feeling of traveling and still shows a very childlike mindset. Then, in the fourth letter, his ship finds a straggler in the middle of the cold waters, instead of being cautious of this strange man, he just lets him onto the ship. He begins to accept him without even inquiring more to why he was there in the first place, saying “I said in one of my.....the brother of my heart” (23). He puts a blind faith in this man who he doesn’t even have a name of. Walon seems to show no character development in Percy Shelley's depiction of this whole journey as he writes in his wife’s voice.
Alice Eastwood
10/12/2015 10:19:41 pm
While reading these letters I have come to an understanding of the captain, Robert Walton from a specific section in letter IV. In this section of the letter Robert has express his connection to this unknown man that seems to full all of his requirements of a friend that he has been seeking for. For example the passage stated, “For my own part, I begin to love him as a brother; and his constant and deep grief fills me with sympathy and compassion. He must have been a noble creature in his better days, being even now in wreck so attractive and amiable. I said in one of my letters, my dear Margaret, that I should find no friend on the widen ocean; yet I have found a man who, before his spirit had been broken by misery, I should have been happy to have possessed as the brother of my heart. I shall continue my journal concerning the stranger at intervals, should I have any fresh incidents to record” (23). In this quote the captain express how he had finally found a friend that he was waiting for to fulfill his happiness while being at sea, a friend that would be able to understand his pain and share stories with about their life. Robert has found someone but their spirits have been broken by misery and have an expression of wildness and madness. The mystery about this stranger has drawn Robert Walton closer and more intrigued about his past.
Anna Alkins
10/12/2015 11:33:19 pm
The novel “Frankenstein” by Shelly begins with a series of letters. Walden writes to his sister about his voyage. In the second letter Walden writes to his sister, telling her about how lonely he is on his voyage, and that he wishes he had a friend to accompany him, and be there for him in his time of need. “I have no friend, Margret: when I am glowing with the enthusiasm of success, there will be none to participate in my joy; if I am assailed by disappointment, no one will endeavor to sustain me in dejection” (Shelly 15),Walden wants someone to share and partake in his journey and feel how he feels. He wants this friend to have particular attributes that will make the friend more like him. This letter which shows how lonely and desperate the writer is for friendship can relate to letter four. In letter four the writer becomes attached to a newly found friend. This attachment happens so quickly that the writer didn’t even care about the attributes he wanted in a friend, but more on the void he had to fill with a friend. Another piece of the second letter is "There is something at work in my soul which I do not understand. I am practically industrious-painstaking;-a workman to execute with perseverance and labour;-but besides this, there is a love for the marvellous, a belief in the marvellous, intertwined in all my projects, which hurries me out of the common pathways of men, even to the wild sea and unvisited regions I am about to explore" (Shelley 18). This shows that Walden is excited about the unknown, most people are afraid of the unknown but the writer is propelled by it. This loneliness and hunger for the unknown is incorporated in Frankenstein and what he will do just to have companionship.
Ermine A. Smith
10/21/2015 11:59:21 pm
In Captain Walton’s letter to his sister, he describes how he is very lonely on his quest. He feels like he is very unaccompanied and isolated without having someone to comfort him. He doesn't cant go to the shipmates for tranquility because he is too shy and thinks he is different from them. He also thinks that he is uneducated to find himself someone who will share his dreams with. In the second letter, it explains, “But I have one want which I have never yet been able to satisfy; and the absence of the object of which I now feel as a most severe evil. I have no friend, Margaret: when I am glowing with the enthusiasm of success, there will be none to participate my joy; if I am assailed by disappointment, no one will endeavor to sustain me in dejection. I shall commit my thoughts to paper, it is true; but that is a poor medium for the communication feeling” (Shelly 15). This quote shows how the captain is very lonely on his voyage. In the next letters the captain finds a stranger who ultimately accompanies him on his voyage. This shows the desperation to bond with another person. He takes this stranger and picks out the characteristics that he appreciates about him. This shows how deeply he wanted a partner by his side throughout his voyage. The connection between the captain in and the stranger gives a sort of bonding theme to the book meaning that it will feature bonds between people.
Sarah Drake
10/28/2015 10:28:27 pm
In chapter one the author Mary Shelley introduces the main character. His name is Victor and he was also known as Frankenstein. In this first chapter they talk about how Frankenstein was born and who his parents were. His mother is Caroline and his father is Alphonse. His father is a wealthy man and well known, "He was respected by all who knew him for his intergrity... attention to public business,(27). This shows how Frankenstein has a legacy to uphold. Then his mother Caroline finds him a wife. The wife she finds its a poor girl on the side of the road with her parents. Caroline ends up adopting her, but she only adopts her with the intent for her to get married to Victor. The girls name is Elizabeth.
Ada Lovelace
11/1/2015 10:39:14 am
The book begins with a series of four letters from Walden, a ship captain traveling to the pole, to his sister. These letters virtually his only companion in which he can share his dreams, ideas and, aspirations for this voyage. In the second letter he discusses to his sister how he is alone, despite having his crew he is still lonely and longs for a friend whom he can share his ideas and with. In the second letter he states “I have no friend, Margret: when I am glowing with the enthusiasm of success, there will be none to participate in my joy; if I am assailed by disappointment, no one will endeavor to sustain me in dejection” (Shelly 15). Although he has his crew, he feels that that is what they are, merely a crew and he is still alone. He wishes to have a companion that is like him and will be able to appreciate what they find to the same magnitude as him. This letter and the statement prior is very obvious for shadowing for what is to come which will ultimately drive this story, we can assume, to the very end. In the third letter Walden gets what he asks for. Walden finds stranger and takes him a bored to be his companion on this voyage. Walden does not know this man but has become so desperate in his isolation that he can make anyone out to be the perfect companion for his lonely voyage.
Ethelred Bennet
11/1/2015 06:41:04 pm
In the novel, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Captain Walton starts it off with a series or letters. The first letter consisted of Walton writing to his sister Margret. He talks about his current departure and him trying to accomplish something big and important. He wanted to discover a northern passage way to the pacific. The second letter is about talks about how lonely he feels. He doesn’t want to comfort any of his shipmates because he seems too sophisticated. “But I have one want which I have never yet been able to satisfy; and the absence of the object of which I now feel as a most severe evil. I have no friend, Margaret: when I am glowing with the enthusiasm of success, there will be none to participate my joy; if I am assailed by disappointment, no one will endeavor to sustain me in dejection. I shall commit my thoughts to paper, it is true; but that is a poor medium for the communication feeling” (Shelley 15). The third letter has not as much significance because he just writes to his sister about him finally leaving. The last letter that Walton wrote was about Walton first spotting Frankenstein as the large creature. He basically talks about how he has become very lonely and independent from all his ship mates.
Berthe Hoola Van Nooten
11/1/2015 09:20:24 pm
In the letters written by Walton to his sister, he informs his sister Margaret of his journey to the Northern Pole. In letter one, Walton writes, “What may not be expected in a country of eternal light? I may there discover the wondrous power which attracts the needle and may regulate a thousand celestial observations that require only this voyage to render their seeming eccentricities consistent forever. I shall satiate my ardent curiosity with the sight of a part of the world never before visited, and may tread a land never before imprinted by the foot of man” (Shelley 13). Specifically, the question Walton asked in the first line of the passage specifically centralizes itself in a main theme of Frankenstein. The eternal light is a symbol for the discovery that both Walton and Victor craved in different ways. The light represents the unknown Northern Pole for Walton, while Victor chased the unknown secret of life and creation. Both Walton and Victor are curious and wanted to accomplish something extraordinary. Comments are closed.
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