Frankenstein: A Feminist Critique of Science
Write a 500 word summary and thesis about the article. In your summary, you will aim to cover the main points of the reading from beginning to end. Set up your analysis of the strategies the author uses by ending your summary with a central claim or thesis about how the text works to join the conversation of monstrosity.
To support your understanding of the author’s writing and rhetorical strategies, you will find it helpful to respond to the following heuristic questions. In considering your responses, be sure to use specific examples from the text by paraphrasing or directly quoting evidence with appropriate MLA citation. Never leave evidence to do the work for you. Be sure to respond to your quotations by elaborating on how the text works to fulfill the author’s writing and rhetorical strategies.
1. How does the author approach preconceived notions of what the audience might deem to be monstrous?
2. What understanding does the author claim to have of how monsters operate in the audience’s collective imagination?
3. What is the author’s purpose and how does the author fulfill this purpose? Why does the author join the conversation about monstrosity?
4. What rhetorical strategies (ethos, logos, pathos, and kairos) does the author use to persuade or convince the audience of his or her claims throughout the reading?
5. How has the author created a cultural artifact that embodies the values, attitudes and beliefs of a certain group of people at a particular moment in time?
6. How has the author intentionally written and structured the reading in such a manner as to lead readers to think, feel, and react in specific ways?
7. How do you as a reader respond to the author’s writing on monstrosity?
By answering these questions, you will investigate the dynamics of the author’s rhetorical situation: the author’s relationship to the subject and strategies for appealing to an audience. You will learn how the author makes choices to persuade their audience and join the conversation about monstrosity.
