English Literature - Pearson Edexcel - Prose
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Essay Plan - Theme: Isolation
AO1, AO2 &A03
Writing Points, Language Analysis & Context
Essay Plan: Isolation
Point 1: The theme of isolation is first shown thorough the character of Walton who is physically
isolated (geographically) from the rest of society and his sister but also isolated from the people
around him due to his excess of ambition and his views on education.
Walton is geographically isolated from his loved ones (his sister), this is dangerous because it
means that there is nothing from stopping his ambition from taking over all his thoughts and
senses which could lead to disastrous things, like with Victor Frankenstein.
‘I try in vain to be persuaded that the pole is the seat of frost and desolation’ - he has been told by
many that the place that he is headed for is nothing but ice which will cause him to become isolated
from the world even further, but his ambition has blinded him to the truth
‘floating sheets of ice...indicates the dangers of the region towards which we are advancing’ -
Frankenstein is a cautionary tale and the ‘ice’ represents the both the obstacles Walton will face on
his travels but also the danger of the path of ambition and isolation that he seems to be following.
Due to his views of education, Walton believes that the men on his ship are not
worth/educated enough to be considered his friends. This is an example of Waltons pride
which indicates that he will face the same fate as Victor if he is not shown the dangerous
path of isolation that he is following.
‘but then he is wholly uneducated...a kind of ignorant carelessness attends him’ - despite the master
being and exceedingly good person, Walton doesn’t see him as a friend. In fact, from the noun
phrase ‘ignorant carelessness’ it is apparent that Walton believes that the masters act of goodness
are reckless and negligent purely because he is not formally educated.
‘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, Margret’ - Robert Walton is completely alone
on his journey of discovery. He blames this fact on his higher intelligence and how his education has
put him in such a place that no one else can relate to him.
The thing that sets Walton apart from Victor (and makes the reader have hope for his
future) is a combination of Waltons genuine love for nature and the fact that he doesn’t
want to be isolated and therefore desperately desires someone who can guide him and help
abate his more ambitious desires.
‘I bitterly feel the want of a friend’ - even through that Walton has naïve ideas about who his friend
must be like, the fact of the matter is that Walton does want a friend and is afraid of being so
isolated with no-one to accompany him.
Context:
Frankenstein was written in a time/period (the eighteenth century) of discovery - especially of the
world. The 1700’s was a time for polar expeditions, and pioneers like Captain Cook sailed the world
discovering new places in the world.
Edmund Burke and the Sublime - Burke describes the sublime as being the cause of the strongest
emotions which the individual is capable of feeling. The sublime may therefore produce pain, fear, or
terror but also admiration, reverence, or respect, as shown through Victor’s experiences with
nature.
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