tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692381608294018617.post8690714125931353885..comments2023-11-05T07:27:43.837-05:00Comments on Narrative and Technology: Revision 1 - Walton’s Role as Narrator in FrankensteinAdamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16302919444091859459noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692381608294018617.post-22753785259932174882013-10-05T11:42:00.971-04:002013-10-05T11:42:00.971-04:00I mostly like your reworking of the intro. I do t...I mostly like your reworking of the intro. I do think there's a certain obviousness to the argument, though - of course life is valuable! I think you're really not being specific enough - life is valuable versus what? Versus ambition? Power? Knowledge? It's not that you're wrong, I just think you're only partway there to really pinning it down.<br /><br />In the 2nd paragraph, of course, you do get more precise. Walton overvalues knowledge (or is it really power, I wonder) versus life itself. Is there any way in which a vision of a more proper version of life is articulated in the novel?<br /><br />I like the paragraph about sympathy and connections. I do wonder if you couldn't have a had a more precise thesis more narrowly focused on this well-thought-out details. I'd also have liked just a little more explanation of what your research does for you here.<br /><br />I think you're right that Victor struggles to connect with Elizabeth, but there are unanswered questions. Why does he struggle? Does she feel connected with him in a way that he doesn't feel connected to her? What about Clerval? Is Elizabeth's true connection to Victor's mother? To Justine? The topic of what connections function and what ones don't are fascinating, and I wonder whether you think there is a kind of generalized breakdown, or whether Victor & Walton are specifically the ones who lack connections. <br /><br />Does Walton really agree to the crew's demands, or does he succumb to the threat of a mutiny? That's an important question, because Victor Frankenstein himself backtracks from the lesson he's trying to teach, and it's very interesting to wonder whether Walton is actually learning a lesson here.<br /><br />Overall: This essay seems to be in transition, which is understandable, given that you were trying to do a thorough revision with only a couple days to go. Your research is good, and your turn to the idea of connections & sympathy has tremendous promise, and is going in a good direction. The weaker, less specific material about the more abstract "value of life" is not without its own merit, but it is less interesting, and its also rather underdeveloped in its own way - you still lack a good, detailed reading of whatever aspects of the end of the novel you find most interesting. If you revised again, I'd like you to really expand the discussion of connections, especially to address the female characters and Clerval.Adamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16302919444091859459noreply@blogger.com