Sophisticated Evidence that Woulda Worked for this Essay

Dudes, it's almost twelve and I'm tired. But I won't have a chance to get these thoughts down before class tomorrow. So, please excuse any errors.

In these essays, and in all writing, you should strive to go beyond the obvious. Using plot summary is obvious. Scratching beneath the surface yields sophisticated insight. Here are some thoughts on this test question:

* Elizabeth or Henry as a foil for the monster or Victor. They show no trace of evil.
* The romantic belief that human beings are born innately good.
* The monster wrestles with his notion of self. Is he Adam? Cain? Lucifer? These allusions relate to the the question.
* Dangerous pursuit of knowledge...causes Walton, Frankenstein, and the monster to become obsessed and delve into their dangerous sides....
* Gothic! The story is meant to evoke fear. What's a scary story without a scary character (monster's penchant for evil)
* Anything dealing with characterization as this is an essay about character
* Anything dealing with the creature's evolution. I briefly mentioned bildungsroman, and I don't expect you to remember that term, but this novel details the maturation of an individual...and this individual, the creature, goes from good to bad...although
* I was impressed by those of you who pointed out that the monster stays ambiguous until the end of the novel
* I'm happy that most of you spent a body paragraph talking about the theme of the novel as it relates to the question. That's impressive. Some of you made it the first body paragraph, which was unexpected but welcome and fitting. You set the table...
* Four more essays left....I'm really tired
* Don't use I's in this type of essay...don't say you either. We'll work on avoiding this
* For god sakes, the monster is not named Frankenstein. I'm going to institute detention for anyone who makes this error. The monster is the monster. Or, if you prefer, the creature or Victor's creation (with a nod to Mo-ni-Q)(it's a matter of connotation).
* Essays have paragraph breaks. Essays have intros and conclusions. I do not want to read a blob of text after I've corrected almost 250 essays in two days. I say this because your scorers will feel the same. They correct the same essay for one week. They work 9-5. They correct upwards of 200 essays a day. Remember this well.
* Oh yeah, and you're scorer will be knowledgeable about the book you're writing about. If they are not, they'll pass it to someone who is...
* Oooo...you could also work in something about the nature of beauty. Monster goes evil because people tink he be uglay[sic] That says something about the society he's in...or human beings...or somefin'[sic]
* Amanda brought up the theme that isolation can cause our undoing. She's the only one. Kudos Amanda.
* Monique wrote "in the quest for knowledge you lose more of yourself in the madness that comes with genius." That sounds pretty good to me, even at 12:11 am.
* Remember, Victor is telling a cautionary tale to Bobby W. Whatever you thought the theme was, you can make that the reason he is sharing the tale...this also brings foil back into the mix
* Nighty night.