Sunday, October 2, 2011

Frankenstein


After eating so many Granny Smith apples last week, I couldn’t get the color green out of my mind. And with Halloween around the corner, FRANKENSTEIN pushed Granny Smith and her apples out of the front seat and demanded to be the MUSE this week!
So, why is this giant, green monster such a popular Halloween character? I decided I would do a little research and electrify you with some fun facts!

First of all, to my astonishment, Frankenstein was not giant, he was not green, and he was not a monster. Frankenstein was the scientist who created the monster. Victor Frankenstein is the protagonist of Mary Shelley’s classic horror book, Frankenstein, published in London in 1818.

During a vacation to Lake Geneva in Switzerland, Mary Shelley began writing what she thought would only be short story. She used her surroundings as a setting and the concept if galvanism as a MUSE. Do you want to know what galvanism is??? Are you sure???
Galvanism was an experimental science used in the 1800’s. Scientists believed that if the right amount of electrical current was shocked into the brain of a dead body, the body could come back to life. Of course, this type of science proved to be unsuccessful in real life (as far as I know… wink).

But Mary Shelley’s protagonist was successful at galvanizing a corpse to life – the corpse is what we know as Frankenstein’s Monster. And this monster wreaks havoc throughout the pages of Shelley’s story. Unfortunately, the gory details are a little too much to share on this platform, phooey!
Over a hundred years later, Mary Shelley’s story had not died, Muah hahahaha! Universal Studios in Hollywood created a series of movies starring Frankenstein’s Monster.  Some of these films include: Frankenstein, The Bride of Frankenstein, and The Son of Frankenstein.

With the popularity of these movies, Frankenstein’s monster became a huge icon of the horror genre. And this is when people began using the image and character of the monster as a Halloween icon as well. Frankenstein’s monster became known simply as “Frankenstein.”
So, look out for the giant, green monster on greeting cards, holiday decorations, and reruns of old movies. If you are lucky, Frankenstein might even ring your doorbell this Halloween demanding, “Trick or treat!”

With this new knowledge, what kind of story could you write? Maybe these what if questions will help you get started.
WHAT IF your protagonist used galvanism to bring a dead cockroach back to life? FRANKENROACH!

WHAT IF Frankenstein wanted a pet to keep him company? What would it be?
WHAT IF Frankenstein was your protagonist’s dad? What kind of life would your protagonist lead? What does your protagonist want more than anything? Does he/she just want normal dad without green skin and bolts in his head?

The possibilities are endless, and please leave your own what if questions in the comment section below. I’d love to see what you come up with.
So, grab a cup of hot cocoa, a pencil and a piece of paper, and let’s begin. With your imagination, we can go anywhere. I look forward to seeing where you take us.

With Imagination,
Professor Watermelon

The word of the day is “genre”. Here is the definition: of or pertaining to a distinctive literary type. Examples: science fiction, fantasy, magic realism, horror, comedy, etc.

10 comments:

  1. what if Frankenstein went in to a pub
    what if he went to the "Lunar Spooner"
    what if he drank beer
    what if went to jail
    what if he got married
    what if he was a billionaire
    what if he took the bolts out of his hair

    ReplyDelete
  2. Vinay P.
    what if Frankenstein had a dog
    what if Frankenstein was alive
    what if he met Santa Claus
    what if he was in Creative writing class
    what if he was a clown
    what if he went to someones house

    ReplyDelete
  3. what if Frankenstein met a guy named Bob
    what if he came into a little money
    what if he was a cop
    what if he worked at Microsoft
    what if he met Bill Gates
    what if he had a son
    what if he walked on the moon
    what if he played with B.O.B
    what if he was in a band
    what if he played the guitar
    what if he could speak Spanish
    what if he went to UW
    what if he liked hot dogs
    what if he could bbq
    what if he had a giant flat-screen TV
    what if he could play the drums
    what if he could skateboard
    what if he had a TV show
    what if he was a carpenter
    what if he like Doritos

    ReplyDelete
  4. 1. What if Frankenstein was a zombie on plants vs zombies?
    2. What if Frankenstein showed up to CHA in a CHA uniform?
    3. What if Frankenstein came out of the TV screen?

    ReplyDelete
  5. From Iain L. (CHA):
    what if frankinstien was from an unknown planet
    what if frankinstien came out of a tv and yelled,"BOO!"
    what if frankinstien had his bolts on his neck taken out and worms came crawling out
    what if frankinstien was bronze
    what if a dead trarantula came falling out of his mouth.

    ReplyDelete
  6. From Alex Kain:

    What if Frankenstein lost his head?
    What if there was a planet named "Frankenstein"?
    What if there was a drink named "Frankenstein"?
    What if there was a Frankenstein Operation game?
    What if Frankenstein was a ghost?
    What if Frankenstein ate the world?
    What if Frankenstein was in the movie "Star Wars"?
    What if someone ate Frankenstein?
    What if there were 1,000 Frankensteins?
    What if Frankenstein's face was blue?
    What if Frankenstein ate Mentos and Coke?
    What if there was a flower that had Frankenstein's face on it?
    What if there was a Frankenstein constellation?
    What if Frankenstein sat down on a spike?
    What if Frankenstein was buried on a beach and someone found him?
    What if Frankenstein drank poison?
    What if Frankenstein dressed up as Frankenstein for Halloween?
    What if Frankenstein could fly?
    What if Frankenstein had a dog that looked like Frankenstein?
    What if Frankenstein was a robot and you could plug him into a computer?
    What if Frankenstein had curlers in his hair?
    What if Frankenstein danced the tango with a crow?
    What if Frankenstein was a midget?
    What if Frankenstein was a bug?
    What if Frankenstein had hair all over his body?
    What if Frankenstein was as tall as the Eiffel Tower?
    What if Frankenstein's head was a Granny Smith apple?
    What if Frankenstein drank coffee?
    What if Frankenstein dressed up in a tuxedo?

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  7. I am thrilled to see all of these "what if" questions. I'm sure you are generating lots of fun, exciting stories. Please share them with me when you finish them!

    ReplyDelete
  8. What if he drank 7 up?
    What if he was good?
    What if he was a rock?
    What if he was real?
    What if he loved Summer?
    What if he did not like bad people?
    What if he was the best base ball player ever?
    What if he played baseball?
    What if he was a football player?

    ReplyDelete
  9. What if he was a TV?
    What if he wanted to play golf?
    What if he was a kind of soap?
    What if he ate pens?
    What if he was a girl?
    What if he liked girl stuff?
    What if he was ice?
    What if he drank 7 UP?
    What if he went on water slides?
    What if he talked to the good people?
    What if he was good?
    What if he loved snow?
    What if he chased girls?
    What if he had a girl friend?
    What if he was santa?

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  10. 1.What if Frankenstein had a pet dog?
    2.What if Frankenstein was your dad?
    3.What if Frankenstein was your brother?
    4.What if Frankenstein just wanted a friend?
    5.What if Frankenstein teamed up with Jack Frost?
    6.What If Frankenstein took over Santa's job?
    7.What if Frankenstein was dating your mother?
    8.What if Frankenstein was a teacher from CHA?
    9.What if Frankenstein ruled the world?
    10.What if Frankenstein just wanted to be good?
    11.What if Frankenstein was your best friend?
    12.What if Frankenstein lived in your basement?
    13.What if you invented Frankenstein?
    14.What if Frankenstein was a girl?
    15.What if Frankenstein was real?
    16.What if Frankenstein played sports?
    17.What if Frankenstein hated Halloween?
    18.What if Frankenstein loved Christmas?
    18.What if Frankenstein loved thanksgiving?
    19.What if Frankenstein loved you?
    20.What if Frankenstein went trick or treating?
    21.What if Frankenstein collected something?
    22.What does he collect?
    23.What if Frankenstein could speak Spanish?
    24. What if Frankenstein could turn into anything he wanted to?
    from,
    KRISTIN AND JENNA LACY

    ReplyDelete