The west yet glimmers with some streaks of day:
Now spurs the lated traveller apace
To gain the timely inn; and near approaches
The subject of our watch.
Which of the following correctly describes how the word gain is used here? (5 points)
Her victory was announced by an unusualtranquilityand gladness of soul which followed the relinquishing of my ancient and latterly tormenting studies.
Which definition oftranquilityis most likely suited for this line? (5 points)
Sometimes my pulse beat so quickly andhardlythat I felt the palpitation of every artery; at others I nearly sank to the ground through languor and extreme weakness.
Which definition ofhardlyis most likely suited for this line? (5 points)
I passed the night wretchedly. Sometimes my pulse beat so quickly and hardly that I felt the palpitation of every artery; at others I nearly sank to the ground throughlanguorand extreme weakness.
Which words give the best clues to the meaning oflanguor? (5 points)
By Mary Shelley
Victor Frankenstein recounts the influences that lead to his great experiment:
I feel exquisite pleasure in dwelling on the recollections of childhood before misfortune had tainted my mind and changed its bright visions of extensive usefulness into gloomy and narrow reflections upon self. Natural philosophy is the genius that has regulated my fate; I desire therefore in this narration to state those facts which led to my predilection for that science. When I was thirteen years of age we all went on a party of pleasure to the baths near Thonon; the inclemency of the weather obliged us to remain a day confined to the inn. In this house I chanced to find a volume of the works of Cornelius Agrippa. I opened it with apathy; the theory which he attempts to demonstrate and the wonderful facts which he relates soon changed this feeling into enthusiasm. A new light seemed to dawn upon my mind and bounding with joy I communicated my discovery to my father. My father looked carelessly at the title page of my book and said Ah! Cornelius Agrippa! My dear Victor do not waste your time upon this; it is sad trash.
If instead of this remark my father had taken the pains to explain to me that the principles of Agrippa had been entirely exploded and that a modern system of science had been introduced which possessed much greater pwers than the ancient because the powers of the latter were chimerical while those of the former were real and practical under such circumstances I should certainly have thrown Agrippa aside and have contented my imagination warmed as it was by returning with greater ardour to my former studies. It is even possible that the train of my ideas would never have received the fatal impulse that led to my ruin. But the cursory glance my father had taken of my volume by no means assured me that he was acquainted with its contents and I continued to read with the greatest avidity. When I returned home my first care was to procure the whole works of this author and afterwards of Paracelsus and Albertus Magnus. I read and studied the wild fancies of these writers with delight; they appeared to me treasures known to few besides myself. I have described myself as always having been imbued with a fervent longing to penetrate the secrets of nature. In spite of the intense labour and wonderful discoveries of modern philosophers I always came from my studies discontented and unsatisfied. Sir Isaac Newton is said to have avowed that he felt like a child picking up shells beside the great and unexplored ocean of truth. Those of his successors in each branch of natural philosophy with whom I was acquainted appeared even to my boy’s apprehensions as tyros engaged in the same pursuit.
Under the guidance of my new preceptors I entered with the greatest diligence into the search of the philosopher’s stone and the elixir of life; but the latter soon obtained my undivided attention. Wealth was an inferior object but what glory would attend the discovery if I could banish disease from the human frame and render man invulnerable to any but a violent death!
Which line from the text explains the effect of the texts of Agrippa on the narrator? (5 points)
By Mary Shelley
Victor Frankenstein recounts the influences that lead to his great experiment:
I feel exquisite pleasure in dwelling on the recollections of childhood before misfortune had tainted my mind and changed its bright visions of extensive usefulness into gloomy and narrow reflections upon self. Natural philosophy is the genius that has regulated my fate; I desire therefore in this narration to state those facts which led to my predilection for that science. When I was thirteen years of age we all went on a party of pleasure to the baths near Thonon; the inclemency of the weather obliged us to remain a day confined to the inn. In this house I chanced to find a volume of the works of Cornelius Agrippa. I opened it with apathy; the theory which he attempts to demonstrate and the wonderful facts which he relates soon changed this feeling into enthusiasm. A new light seemed to dawn upon my mind and bounding with joy I communicated my discovery to my father. My father looked carelessly at the title page of my book and said Ah! Cornelius Agrippa! My dear Victor do not waste your time upon this; it is sad trash.
If instead of this remark my father had taken the pains to explain to me that the principles of Agrippa had been entirely exploded and that a modern system of science had been introduced which possessed much greater powers than the ancient because the powers of the latter were chimerical while those of the former were real and practical under such circumstances I should certainly have thrown Agrippa aside and have contented my imagination warmed as it was by returning with greater ardour to my former studies. It is even possible that the train of my ideas would never have received the fatal impulse that led to my ruin. But the cursory glance my father had taken of my volume by no means assured me that he was acquainted with its contents and I continued to read with the greatest avidity. When I returned home my first care was to procure the whole works of this author and afterwards of Paracelsus and Albertus Magnus. I read and studied the wild fancies of these writers with delight; they appeared to me treasures known to few besides myself. I have described myself as always having been imbued with a fervent longing to penetrate the secrets of nature. In spite of the intense labour and wonderful discoveries of modern philosophers I always came from my studies discontented and unsatisfied. Sir Isaac Newton is said to have avowed that he felt like a child picking up shells beside the great and unexplored ocean of truth. Those of his successors in each branch of natural philosophy with whom I was acquainted appeared even to my boy’s apprehensions as tyros engaged in the same pursuit.
Under the guidance of my new preceptors I entered with the greatest diligence into the search of the philosopher’s stone and the elixir of life; but the latter soon obtained my undivided attention. Wealth was an inferior object but what glory would attend the discovery if I could banish disease from the human frame and render man invulnerable to any but a violent death!
Read this excerpt from the text:
It is even possible that the train of my ideas would never have received the fatal impulse that led to my ruin.
Which of the following correctly states an implication of this text? (5 points)
By Mary Shelley
Victor Frankenstein recounts the influences that lead to his great experiment:
I feel exquisite pleasure in dwelling on the recollections of childhood before misfortune had tainted my mind and changed its bright visions of extensive usefulness into gloomy and narrow reflections upon self. Natural philosophy is the genius that has regulated my fate; I desire therefore in this narration to state those facts which led to my predilection for that science. When I was thirteen years of age we all went on a party of pleasure to the baths near Thonon; the inclemency of the weather obliged us to remain a day confined to the inn. In this house I chanced to find a volume of the works of Cornelius Agrippa. I opened it with apathy; the theory which he attempts to demonstrate and the wonderful facts which he relates soon changed this feeling into enthusiasm. A new light seemed to dawn upon my mind and bounding with joy I communicated my discovery to my father. My father looked carelessly at the title page of my book and said Ah! Cornelius Agrippa! My dear Victor do not waste your time upon this; it is sad trash.
If instead of this remark my father had taken the pains to explain to me that the principles of Agrippa had been entirely exploded and that a modern system of science had been introduced which possessed much greater powers than the ancient because the powers of the latter were chimerical while those of the former were real and practical under such circumstances I should certainly have thrown Agrippa aside and have contented my imagination warmed as it was by returning with greater ardour to my former studies. It is even possible that the train of my ideas would never have received the fatal impulse that led to my ruin. But the cursory glance my father had taken of my volume by no means assured me that he was acquainted with its contents and I continued to read with the greatest avidity. When I returned home my first care was to procure the whole works of this author and afterwards of Paracelsus and Albertus Magnus. I read and studied the wild fancies of these writers with delight; they appeared to me treasures known to few besides myself. I have described myself as always having been imbued with a fervent longing to penetrate the secrets of nature. In spite of the intense labour and wonderful discoveries of modern philosophers I always came from my studies discontented and unsatisfied. Sir Isaac Newton is said to have avowed that he felt like a child picking up shells beside the great and unexplored ocean of truth. Those of his successors in each branch of natural philosophy with whom I was acquainted appeared even to my boy’s apprehensions as tyros engaged in the same pursuit.
Under the guidance of my new preceptors I entered with the greatest diligence into the search of the philosopher’s stone and the elixir of life; but the latter soon obtained my undivided attention. Wealth was an inferior object but what glory would attend the discovery if I could banish disease from the human frame and render man invulnerable to any but a violent death!
Read this line from the text:
I have described myself as always having been imbued with a fervent longing to penetrate the secrets of nature.
Which word from this text helps develop the theme of man versus nature? (5 points)
By Mary Shelley
Victor Frankenstein recounts the influences that lead to his great experiment:
I feel exquisite pleasure in dwelling on the recollections of childhood before misfortune had tainted my mind and changed its bright visions of extensive usefulness into gloomy and narrow reflections upon self. Natural philosophy is the genius that has regulated my fate; I desire therefore in this narration to state those facts which led to my predilection for that science. When I was thirteen years of age we all went on a party of pleasure to the baths near Thonon; the inclemency of the weather obliged us to remain a day confined to the inn. In this house I chanced to find a volume of the works of Cornelius Agrippa. I opened it with apathy; the theory which he attempts to demonstrate and the wonderful facts which he relates soon changed this feeling into enthusiasm. A new light seemed to dawn upon my mind and bounding with joy I communicated my discovery to my father. My father looked carelessly at the title page of my book and said Ah! Cornelius Agrippa! My dear Victor do not waste your time upon this; it is sad trash.
If instead of this remark my father had taken the pains to explain to me that the principles of Agrippa had been entirely exploded and that a modern system of science had been introduced which possessed much greater powers than the ancient because the powers of the latter were chimerical while those of the former were real and practical under such circumstances I should certainly have thrown Agrippa aside and have contented my imagination warmed as it was by returning with greater ardour to my former studies. It is even possible that the train of my ideas would never have received the fatal impulse that led to my ruin. But the cursory glance my father had taken of my volume by no means assured me that he was acquainted with its contents and I continued to read with the greatest avidity. When I returned home my first care was to procure the whole works of this author and afterwards of Paracelsus and Albertus Magnus. I read and studied the wild fancies of these writers with delight; they appeared to me treasures known to few besides myself. I have described myself as always having been imbued with a fervent longing to penetrate the secrets of nature. In spite of the intense labour and wonderful discoveries of modern philosophers I always came from my studies discontented and unsatisfied. Sir Isaac Newton is said to have avowed that he felt like a child picking up shells beside the great and unexplored ocean of truth. Those of his successors in each branch of natural philosophy with whom I was acquainted appeared even to my boy’s apprehensions as tyros engaged in the same pursuit.
Under the guidance of my new preceptors I entered with the greatest diligence into the search of the philosopher’s stone and the elixir of life; but the latter soon obtained my undivided attention. Wealth was an inferior object but what glory would attend the discovery if I could banish disease from the human frame and render man invulnerable to any but a violent death!
Which lines from the text most clearly suggest the narrator is ambitious? (5 points)
By Mary Shelley
Victor Frankenstein continues recounting the influences that lead to his great experiment:
And thus for a time I was occupied by exploded systems mingling like an unadept a thousand contradictory theories and floundering desperately in a very slough of multifarious knowledge guided by an ardent imagination and childish reasoning till an accident again changed the current of my ideas. When I was about fifteen years old we had retired to our house near Belrive when we witnessed a most violent and terrible thunderstorm. It advanced from behind the mountains of Jura and the thunder burst at once with frightful loudness from various quarters of the heavens. I remained while the storm lasted watching its progress with curiosity and delight. As I stood at the door on a sudden I beheld a stream of fire issue from an old and beautiful oak which stood about twenty yards from our house; and so soon as the dazzling light vanished the oak had disappeared and nothing remained but a blasted stump. When we visited it the next morning we found the tree shattered in a singular manner. It was not splintered by the shock but entirely reduced to thin ribbons of wood. I never beheld anything so utterly destroyed.
Before this I was not unacquainted with the more obvious laws of electricity. On this occasion a man of great research in natural philosophy was with us and excited by this catastrophe he entered on the explanation of a theory which he had formed on the subject of electricity and galvanism which was at once new and astonishing to me. All that he said threw greatly into the shade Cornelius Agrippa Albertus Magnus and Paracelsus the lords of my imagination; but by some fatality the overthrow of these men disinclined me to pursue my accustomed studies. It seemed to me as if nothing would or could ever be known. All that had so long engaged my attention suddenly grew despicable. By one of those caprices of the mind which we are perhaps most subject to in early youth I at once gave up my former occupations set down natural history and all its progeny as a deformed and abortive creation and entertained the greatest disdain for a would-be science which could never even step within the threshold of real knowledge. In this mood of mind I betook myself to the mathematics and the branches of study appertaining to that science as being built upon secure foundations and so worthy of my consideration.
What is the main benefit of having a first-person narrator recount this story? (5 points)
By Mary Shelley
Victor Frankenstein continues recounting the influences that lead to his great experiment:
And thus for a time I was occupied by exploded systems mingling like an unadept a thousand contradictory theories and floundering desperately in a very slough of multifarious knowledge guided by an ardent imagination and childish reasoning till an accident again changed the current of my ideas. When I was about fifteen years old we had retired to our house near Belrive when we witnessed a most violent and terrible thunderstorm. It advanced from behind the mountains of Jura and the thunder burst at once with frightful loudness from various quarters of the heavens. I remained while the storm lasted watching its progress with curiosity and delight. As I stood at the door on a sudden I beheld a stream of fire issue from an old and beautiful oak which stood about twenty yards from our house; and so soon as the dazzling light vanished the oak had disappeared and nothing remained but a blasted stump. When we visited it the next morning we found the tree shattered in a singular manner. It was not splintered by the shock but entirely reduced to thin ribbons of wood. I never beheld anything so utterly destroyed.
Before this I was not unacquainted with the more obvious laws of electricity. On this occasion a man of great research in natural philosophy was with us and excited by this catastrophe he entered on the explanation of a theory which he had formed on the subject of electricity and galvanism which was at once new and astonishing to me. All that he said threw greatly into the shade Cornelius Agrippa Albertus Magnus and Paracelsus the lords of my imagination; but by some fatality the overthrow of these men disinclined me to pursue my accustomed studies. It seemed to me as if nothing would or could ever be known. All that had so long engaged my attention suddenly grew despicable. By one of those caprices of the mind which we are perhaps most subject to in early youth I at once gave up my former occupations set down natural history and all its progeny as a deformed and abortive creation and entertained the greatest disdain for a would-be science which could never even step within the threshold of real knowledge. In this mood of mind I betook myself to the mathematics and the branches of study appertaining to that science as being built upon secure foundations and so worthy of my consideration.
What is the main effect of describing key events in the narrative as accidents or as happening by chance? (5 points)
By Mary Shelley
Victr Frankenstein continues recounting the influences that lead to his great experiment:
And thus for a time I was occupied by exploded systems mingling like an unadept a thousand contradictory theories and floundering desperately in a very slough of multifarious knowledge guided by an ardent imagination and childish reasoning till an accident again changed the current of my ideas. When I was about fifteen years old we had retired to our house near Belrive when we witnessed a most violent and terrible thunderstorm. It advanced from behind the mountains of Jura and the thunder burst at once with frightful loudness from various quarters of the heavens. I remained while the storm lasted watching its progress with curiosity and delight. As I stood at the door on a sudden I beheld a stream of fire issue from an old and beautiful oak which stood about twenty yards from our house; and so soon as the dazzling light vanished the oak had disappeared and nothing remained but a blasted stump. When we visited it the next morning we found the tree shattered in a singular manner. It was not splintered by the shock but entirely reduced to thin ribbons of wood. I never beheld anything so utterly destroyed.
Before this I was not unacquainted with the more obvious laws of electricity. On this occasion a man of great research in natural philosophy was with us and excited by this catastrophe he entered on the explanation of a theory which he had formed on the subject of electricity and galvanism which was at once new and astonishing to me. All that he said threw greatly into the shade Cornelius Agrippa Albertus Magnus and Paracelsus the lords of my imagination; but by some fatality the overthrow of these men disinclined me to pursue my accustomed studies. It seemed to me as if nothing would or could ever be known. All that had so long engaged my attention suddenly grew despicable. By one of those caprices of the mind which we are perhaps most subject to in early youth I at once gave up my former occupations set down natural history and all its progeny as a deformed and abortive creation and entertained the greatest disdain for a would-be science which could never even step within the threshold of real knowledge. In this mood of mind I betook myself to the mathematics and the branches of study appertaining to that science as being built upon secure foundations and so worthy of my consideration.
A student is writing an argument about these two excerpts asserting that the narrator is arrogant.
Which line or phrase from the text supports this assertion? (5 points)
By Mary Shelley
Victor Frankenstein continues recounting the influences that lead to his great experiment:
And thus for a time I was occupied by exploded systems mingling like an unadept a thousand contradictory theories and floundering desperately in a very slough of multifarious knowledge guided by an ardent imagination and childish reasoning till an accident again changed the current of my ideas. When I was about fifteen years old we had retired to our house near Belrive when we witnessed a most violent and terrible thunderstorm. It advanced from behind the mountains of Jura and the thunder burst at once with frightful loudness from various quarters of the heavens. I remained while the storm lasted watching its progress with curiosity and delight. As I stood at the door on a sudden I beheld a stream of fire issue from an old and beautiful oak which stood about twenty yards from our house; and so soon as the dazzling light vanished the oak had disappeared and nothing remained but a blasted stump. When we visited it the next morning we found the tree shattered in a singular manner. It was not splintered by the shock but entirely reduced to thin ribbons of wood. I never beheld anything so utterly destroyed.
Before this I was not unacquainted with the more obvious laws of electricity. On this occasion a man of great research in natural philosophy was with us and excited by this catastrophe he entered on the explanation of a theory which he had formed on the subject of electricity and galvanism which was at once new and astonishing to me. All that he said threw greatly into the shade Cornelius Agrippa Albertus Magnus and Paracelsus the lords of my imagination; but by some fatality the overthrow of these men disinclined me to pursue my accustomed studies. It seemed to me as if nothing would or could ever be known. All that had so long engaged my attention suddenly grew despicable. By one of those caprices of the mind which we are perhaps most subject to in early youth I at once gave up my former occupations set down natural history and all its progeny as a deformed and abortive creation and entertained the greatest disdain for a would-be science which could never even step within the threshold of real knowledge. In this mood of mind I betook myself to the mathematics and the branches of study appertaining to that science as being built upon secure foundations and so worthy of my consideration.
A student is writing an argument asserting that the events described in these excerpts foreshadow the outcome of the narrator’s experiments.
Which line or phrase from the text supports this assertion? (5 points)
By Mary Shelley
Victor Frankenstein continues recounting the influences that lead to his great experiment:
And thus for a time I was occupied by exploded systems mingling like an unadept a thousand contradictory theories and floundering desperately in a very slough of multifarious knowledge guided by an ardent imagination and childish reasoning till an accident again changed the current of my ideas. When I was about fifteen years old we had retired to our house near Belrive when we witnessed a most violent and terrible thunderstorm. It advanced from behind the mountains of Jura and the thunder burst at once with frightful loudness from various quarters of the heavens. I remained while the storm lasted watching its progress with curiosity and delight. As I stood at the door on a sudden I beheld a stream of fire issue from an old and beautiful oak which stood about twenty yards from our house; and so soon as the dazzling light vanished the oak had disappeared and nothing remained but a blasted stump. When we visited it the next morning we found the tree shattered in a singular manner. It was not splintered by the shock but entirely reduced to thin ribbons of wood. I never beheld anything so utterly destroyed.
Before this I was not unacquainted with the more obvious laws of electricity. On this occasion a man of great research in natural philosophy was with us and excited by this catastrophe he entered on the explanation of a theory which he had formed on the subject of electricity and galvanism which was at once new and astonishing to me. All that he said threw greatly into the shade Cornelius Agrippa Albertus Magnus and Paracelsus the lords of my imagination; but by some fatality the overthrow of these men disinclined me to pursue my accustomed studies. It seemed to me as if nothing would or could ever be known. All that had so long engaged my attention suddenly grew despicable. By one of those caprices of the mind which we are perhaps most subject to in early youth I at once gave up my former occupations set down natural history and all its progeny as a deformed and abortive creation and entertained the greatest disdain for a would-be science which could never even step within the threshold of real knowledge. In this mood of mind I betook myself to the mathematics and the branches of study appertaining to that science as being built upon secure foundations and so worthy of my consideration.
Read this line from theFrankensteinexcerpt:
But thecursoryglance my father had taken of my volume by no means assured me that he was acquainted with its contents. . .
Based on the context which of the following best explains the wordcursory? (5 points)
By Mary Shelley
Victor Frankenstein continues recounting the influences that lead to his great experiment:
And thus for a time I was occupied by exploded systems mingling like an unadept a thousand contradictory theories and floundering desperately in a very slough of multifarious knowledge guided by an ardent imagination and childish reasoning till an accident again changed the current of my ideas. When I was about fifteen years old we hadretired to our house near Belrive when we witnessed a most violent and terrible thunderstorm. It advanced from behind the mountains of Jura and the thunder burst at once with frightful loudness from various quarters of the heavens. I remained while the storm lasted watching its progress with curiosity and delight. As I stood at the door on a sudden I beheld a stream of fire issue from an old and beautiful oak which stood about twenty yards from our house; and so soon as the dazzling light vanished the oak had disappeared and nothing remained but a blasted stump. When we visited it the next morning we found the tree shattered in a singular manner. It was not splintered by the shock but entirely reduced to thin ribbons of wood. I never beheld anything so utterly destroyed.
Before this I was not unacquainted with the more obvious laws of electricity. On this occasion a man of great research in natural philosophy was with us and excited by this catastrophe he entered on the explanation of a theory which he had formed on the subject of electricity and galvanism which was at once new and astonishing to me. All that he said threw greatly into the shade Cornelius Agrippa Albertus Magnus and Paracelsus the lords of my imagination; but by some fatality the overthrow of these men disinclined me to pursue my accustomed studies. It seemed to me as if nothing would or could ever be known. All that had so long engaged my attention suddenly grew despicable. By one of those caprices of the mind which we are perhaps most subject to in early youth I at once gave up my former occupations set down natural history and all its progeny as a deformed and abortive creation and entertained the greatest disdain for a would-be science which could never even step within the threshold of real knowledge. In this mood of mind I betook myself to the mathematics and the branches of study appertaining to that science as being built upon secure foundations and so worthy of my consideration.
Read this line from theFrankensteinexcerpt:
And thus for a time I was occupied by exploded systems mingling like an unadept a thousand contradictory theories and floundering desperately in a verysloughof multifarious knowledge guided by an ardent imagination and childish reasoning. . .
A slough is a place of deep mud.
How does the wordsloughcharacterize the situation the narrator finds himself in? (5 points)
By Mary Shelley
Victor Frankenstein continues recounting the influences that lead to his great experiment:
And thus for a time I was occupied by exploded systems mingling like an unadept a thousand contradictory theories and floundering desperately in a very slough of multifarious knowledge guided by an ardent imagination and childish reasoning till an accident again changed the current of my ideas. When I was about fifteen years old we had retired to our house near Belrive when we witnessed a most violent and terrible thunderstorm. It advanced from behind the mountains of Jura and the thunder burst at once with frightful loudness from various quarters of the heavens. I remained while the storm lasted watching its progress with curiosity and delight. As I stood at the door on a sudden I beheld a stream of fire issue from an old and beautiful oak which stood about twenty yards from our house; and so soon as the dazzling light vanished the oak had disappeared and nothing remained but a blasted stump. When we visited it the next morning we found the tree shattered in a singular manner. It was not splintered by the shock but entirely reduced to thin ribbons of wood. I never beheld anything so utterly destroyed.
Before this I was not unacquainted with the more obvious laws of electricity. On this occasion a man of great research in natural philosophy was with us and excited by this catastrophe he entered on the explanation of a theory which he had formed on the subject of electricity and galvanism which was at once new and astonishing to me. All that he said threw greatly into the shade Cornelius Agrippa Albertus Magnus and Paracelsus the lords of my imagination; but by some fatality the overthrow of these men disinclined me to pursue my accustomed studies. It seemed to me as if nothing would or could ever be known. All that had so long engaged my attention suddenly grew despicable. By one of those caprices of the mind which we are perhaps most subject to in early youth I at once gave up my former occupations set down natural history and all its progeny as a deformed and abortive creation and entertained the greatest disdain for a would-be science which could never even step within the threshold of real knowledge. In this mood of mind I betook myself to the mathematics and the branches of study appertaining to that science as being built upon secure foundations and so worthy of my consideration.
What logical prediction about the rest of the novel does the text’s structure and development currently support? (5 points)
By Mary Shelley
Victor Frankenstein continues recounting the influences that lead to his great experiment:
And thus for a time I was occupied by exploded systems mingling like an unadept a thousand contradictory theorie