i am trying to write a paper on Frankenstein. the question is "Is Frankenstein a work of science fiction?"....i have to write a persuasive essay...i believe that it is a work of science fiction...but as ussuall i need sources and proves from the book to prove my opinion....so can someone help me stating why it is...and if there are good sources online i could go to and quotes from the book i could use...thnk again...u guys are always a BIG help :)
First of all, make sure you have a REALLY GOOD DEFINITION of the term "science fiction." Here are some places to check:
http://www.dictionary.com
http://www.onelook.com
(You can access definitions from several dictionaries here.)
http://www.answers.com
Then you'll need to make a list of the main features of this sub-genre. (The genre is fiction, so this is a sub-genre within that.)
Once you have such a list, then put those main ideas into an order you believe will work best for a persuasive essay. Usually you save the most powerful idea until just before the conclusion, put the next most powerful idea right after the introduction, and the others in whatever order you want in the middle. You may or may not decide to include all the ideas you generate from the first listing.
Then start finding passages from the book that support each of the main ideas you have included in your plan. How many examples/passages you include per main idea depends on how long you need the paper to be.
Let us know if you have further questions.
=)
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/frankenstein/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenstein
Be sure to check out all the items in See also and References and External links at the bottom of this webpage.
=)
k tnx...ill start working on it...sounds good so far...atleast now i have a starting point...i might come back if i need something else...tnx so much :_
Websites on persuasive/argumentative writing:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/659/01/
http://www.powa.org/
http://nutsandbolts.washcoll.edu/
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/composition/argument.htm
so far for the definition i have
According to Merriem-Webster, science fiction is defined as “fiction dealing principally with the impact of actual or imagined science on society or individuals or having a scientific factor as an essential orienting component”.
Then for the three branches of science fiction i have prediction, extrapolation, speculation....
prediction: stories of prediction tell about future scientific inventions, technology, and advance.....i do believe that it is story about prediction of the future...even though it might not become true but the book is predicting that "someday human being will create life"
extrapolation: stories of extrapolation begin with current, or near-future, scientific advance and extrapolate them into the future. One way to think of this branch of sf is with the statement "IF THIS KEEPS ON GOING THIS WAY, THEN..."
This is the part i am having trouble with...so bassically somewhere in the story he thinks to himself if this monster stays alive then he would kill the whole world b/c of his evil intentions...is that right?
and last but not least is
speculation which is
peculation begins with the question "What If...?" These kinds of stories speculate about some event, development, or change, and then build a logical story from the initial premise. H.G. Wells' "The Star" is a prefect example of this kind of story.
so this happens when in the begaining he is asking himself wut if i make a human being?....
do i have it right so far...plz help...thnk u
Your points are terrific, yes.
Now ... which of the three do you think is the most powerfully persuasive of the point you plan to make (thesis you plan to prove)? That one should be the last one in your paper, just before the conclusion.
All you need to do now is to add details (dialogue, specific references, quotations, etc.) from Frankenstein which prove each point. And don't overlook a good biography of the author for good details, too: What led her to write this? What similar works were published during her active writing years that may have influenced her? Etc.
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/frankenstein/context.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Shelley
http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=9481497