Hello, and welcome to today's lesson.

Thank you so much for joining me.

It's an absolute pleasure to have you here.

My name's Miss Halladay, and I'll be your teacher for today.

I can't wait to get started with today's lesson because I absolutely love "Frankenstein." It is my favourite novel in the whole world.

So I can't wait to show you what I find so amazing and so interesting about this novel.

Let's get started.

So today's lesson is called "Frankenstein's Reaction to His Creation." And by the end of today's lesson, you will be able to explain how Frankenstein reacts to his creation and consider how ethical his reaction is.

So let's get started.

Here are some keywords that you'll need in order to unlock today's learning.

So we have ethical, wretch, to repulse, perspective, and to endure.

So let's have a look at what these keywords mean.

So first of all, if something is ethical, it's the moral and right thing to do.

A wretch is a miserable being or a wicked being.

To repulse is to make someone feel really disgusted or horrified.

Somebody's perspective is their viewpoint.

In literature, it is the viewpoint that the narrative is told from.

And finally, if you can't endure something, you really can't bear it.

I'd like you to keep an eye out for these keywords in today's lesson.

If you feel that you'll struggle to remember the definitions, then it might be an idea to pause the video and write them down before you continue.

Here's today's learning outline.

We're going to start by analysing Frankenstein's reaction using an extract from the text.

We're then going to look in the second half of the lesson at ethical considerations, and consider how moral we think Frankenstein's reaction to his Creature was and what the ethical implications of this reaction might have been on the Creature's existence.

But let's start first of all by analysing Frankenstein's reaction using an extract.

So we're gonna begin today's lesson with a quick discussion.

I'd like you to consider, well, what are first impressions? Why might they be important or useful to us? What might be the problem with making first impressions? And finally, I'd like you to try and think of a time when you got the wrong impression of somebody or judged them incorrectly, and describe that to somebody else.

So what I'm gonna invite you to do now is pause the video while you have a go at answering these questions, either with the people around you, if you are able to, or independently on paper, if you're working from home.

So pause the video and off you go.

Thank you.

Let's come back together.

And some fantastic discussions being had there with some really kind of poignant and memorable examples of when people might have judged others incorrectly and what the issues with that might be.

So in terms of some feedback, here's some of the things that you might have said.

So as Sam points out, "First impressions can be helpful because they can help us to navigate the social world, because they inform our next steps in interacting with a new person." However, as Lucas points out, "Unfortunately, first impressions are often inaccurate, and actually it's very easy to misjudge somebody because of existing ideas about what you think they might be like." And actually is it fair to judge somebody based on preexisting conceptions? And that's a question that Shelly raises in her novel, "Frankenstein." So here is a short extract.

I'm going to read it to you and you need to follow along, please.

This is taken from "Frankenstein" when Victor has just brought his creation to life and he states, "How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe, or how delineate the wretch whom with such infinite pains and care I had endeavoured to form? His limbs were in proportion, and I'd selected his features as beautiful.

Beautiful! -- Great God!" And what I'd like you to do now is use that extract to discuss, well, what was Victor Frankenstein's first impression of his Creature and how do you know? And finally, what did he base his first impressions on? And again, how do you know that? So using that extract, I'd like you to discuss with the people around you, the two questions on screen.

If you're on your own, feel free to write your ideas down on paper.

Off you go.

Lovely discussions.

Thank you for participating in those.

And it was great to see so many of you linking your ideas to specific quotations from within that short extract on screen.

So a massive well done for evidencing your ideas so thoroughly.

So in terms of what we might be able to work out about how Victor feels about his creation, well as Lucas points out, that word "catastrophe" and also that word "wretch," which we know is that miserable Creature or that wicked Creature, show us victor's real disgust with his creation.

Okay, he calls it a wretch.

That's not a very nice name to call somebody is it? Especially, somebody that you are supposed to be taking care of and whose wellbeing you're responsible for? Now, we know that the re's a miserable being, and that shows how much Victor hates his creation because it shows his regret at having created the Creature.

And that's really sad for the Creature because he's just been born effectively, and already Victor is insulting him and calling him names, calling him a catastrophe and a wretch, which implies that he massively regrets creating him.

As Sam points out, we also here see Victor's real disappointment, and he actually reiterates here the "care" and "pains" that he'd taken to "select" specific parts for this creature to make it, you know, the way that he wanted it to look.

And he's saying here that he's disappointed because actually it doesn't look the way that he wanted it to look, and he finds it repulsive and hideous.

So again, here, Victor's exclamation, "Great God!" shows his shock and horror.

He's blaspheming because he's so surprised at how hideous the Creature is, and he thought the Creature would be beautiful.

We know that he took real care and pains to select desirable parts for this creation because he thought it would be amazing to look at and a real marvel to observe.

But here we can see that victor's very, very disappointed with the way that the Creature looks because it doesn't look how he envisaged it looking when he was designing it.

So here we see that real disappointment, and the regret that he feels after bringing the Creature to life.

And again, Sam touches on this idea of Victor's disappointment because again, this idea that actually we see a real contrast in Victor's expectations versus the reality that he's presented with, okay? The Creature does not look the way that he expected it to look, and therefore he feels that he has failed or he feels that all of his hard work was for nothing.

He views his creation as something frightful and something horrifying, and therefore he's really disgusted and disappointed with it.

So let's check for understanding.

On the board, there are two explanations as to how Victor feels for his creation.

What I'd like you to do is read them both and decide which you think is the better explanation of how Victor feels towards his creation.

So I'm going to invite you now to pause the video while you read both answer options and decide which you feel best explains his response to the creation.

Off you go.

Fantastic, and really well done, if you selected B.

You are absolutely right.

Victor feels absolutely disgusted and disappointed with his creation.

He's really disappointed that after all of his endeavours to make the Creature beautiful, it's uglier than he could have ever anticipated.

And he is really disappointed because he feels that all his hard work was for nothing because he really hates the Creature that he's made.

So well done, if you got B.

You are absolutely right.

Now, we know that this novel is written in first person.

So what I'd like you to do now is discuss, well whose perspective is this particular scene in the novel written from? Because actually this is a novel that uses multiple narrators.

So who is it that's narrating this particular moment in the novel when Victor brings his Creature to life? So pause the video while you discuss that with the people around you.

Off you go.

So well done for those discussions, and excellent if you remembered that our first description of the physical appearance of the Creature is described through the eyes of Frankenstein.

And that's really significant because I'd like you to tell me how might the fact that it is Victor's perspective that this moment is told from influence the way in which it is described, and how might the description have differed if this moment was written by somebody else.

So I'm going to invite you now to pause the video while you undertake that discussion activity with the people around you.

Off you go.

Some fantastic discussions.

Let's come back together now to share some ideas.

Now, some of the ideas I heard that I really loved was this idea that actually "Because the description is written from Frankenstein's perspective, he tends to exaggerate the Creature's appearance.

We don't actually need to be told at any point that Victor is disgusted by the Creature." At no point does Victor say in his narrative, I was disgusted by this creature.

We don't need to know that because actually it's just so obvious from his choices of language that he is repulsed by it.

The way that he describes it.

The nouns that he uses to refer to it, all tell us that Victor is absolutely horrified by the appearance of his Creature.

Now as we've said, the description that we get of the Creature is from Frankenstein's perspective.

And you've got to remember that this is his first sighting of the Creature, as well as ours.

So the description that we are given in this chapter is actually Victor's first impression of the Creature.

And perhaps this is why the description is so hyperbolic, because Victor is seeing his creation for the first time, and he's appalled, he's shocked and disgusted and that is being conveyed in his narrative.

So well done, if you got this idea that actually Victor does exaggerate the Creature's appearance because it's his first time seeing it, and he's so shocked and appalled by the way it looks.

So here is Shelly's full description of the Creature from the perspective of Victor.

We've got to remember that.

I'm going to read it to you.

You are going to follow along.

Make sure you're paying close attention because we will be answering questions based on this extract.

"His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of illustrious black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with watery eyes that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun white sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled complexion and straight black lips.

Again, as I'm sure you can see a very kind of hyperbolic and very harsh description of the Creature's appearance there.

And that is because it is Victor's first impression of him.

So what I've done for you is I've highlighted three quotations in purple, and I'd like you to annotate those quotations using the following questions to help you.

So what impressions do you get of the Creature, first of all? So what do you think of the Creature? If you were to describe the Creature to somebody else, what would you say about him? How does Victor feel about the Creature? How have colours been used to create a horrifying image of the Creature? And finally, looking at the adjectives, how do these show victor's utter repulsion with his creation? So I'm going to invite you now to pause the video, while you use the questions to annotate the extract on the left hand side, this is your first task of the lesson.

So it's a real opportunity for you to impress me and show me how amazing your analysis skills are.

I can't wait for us to share our annotations and see all of your amazing ideas.

So enjoy, and off you go.

Really fantastic work, and I could see some great effort there.

You've started off the lesson so positively.

So a massive well done for your effort.

Here's some annotations you might have got, and if you missed any of these, please do feel free to add them to your own work.

So let's start with the colour yellow here.

Now the colour symbolism of yellow can be illness, okay? So that might suggest, and it kind of characterises the Creature as almost half dead and half alive here.

Also, the colour yellow can be symbolic of betrayal and caution and that could foreshadow some of the actions and the betrayal that the Creature carries out later in the novel when he murders several of Victor's family and friends, and the devastation and destruction that he leaves behind him pretty much wherever he goes in this novel.

The yellow here in terms of caution could represent this idea that Victor should be more cautious about the way that he treats the Creature because actually this creature has the capability of emotion.

Victor's given him that.

And therefore because Victor doesn't treat him nicely, Victor should be very careful because he might want to seek vengeance.

And actually we know that he does later in the novel.

So Shelly uses the colour symbolism yellow here to create a very unpleasant image of the Creature, but also to foreshadow the later events of the novel.

Now, the adverb scarcity here also creates horrifying imagery because it shows that fact that the muscles and arteries are all visible almost again, like a dissected body, like a body that's been cut open, and is being examined by a medical professional.

So again here that really disturbing image, a very visual image, as well of this kind of open body, it's horrifying.

It really is.

Again, this word "horrid" shows Victor's repulsion and disgust.

And he says that there's a really horrid contrast with his watery eyes.

And again, here we're getting victor's raw response, and it is just that of utter repulsion.

And again, that adjective "watery," which I think is just one of the best words in this description because it's just so, the imagery that that word conjures up is just so grotesque because we know that after a person dies, their eyes go cloudy.

And we can almost imagine this creature as a half living being.

It's not quite a corpse, but it's also not quite a person.

And that's really disturbing because it's kind of occupying this liminal state here.

And the fact that it has these watery eyes characterise it as ill looking, again and kind of lacking in life and vitality and brightness, which is very disturbing because as I say, it's characterised as kind of half dead and half alive, which, you know, is utterly horrifying when you actually think about it.

And again, this word "shrivelled." "The shrivelled complexion." Again, it implies that lack of vitality, that lack of life spark.

And it implies that the Creature is almost decaying in some way from the inside.

We know that fruit starts to shrivel as it decays and it dries out.

And that's exactly what's happening or what seems to have happened to the Creature's skin here.

And we know it's because it's taken from dead bodies because Victor actually collected parts from different dead bodies to stitch them together to create this creature.

So the Creature's physical features remind us of where it came from, which is a combination of different people's dead bodies.

So it's really, really unpleasant description.

And finally, again, going back to that idea of colour, symbolism, that colour black here again, it's suggestive of death and decay and it just reminds us that this is not a fully living human being.

So well done, if you've got any of those ideas.

Fantastic work.

So onto the second part of the lesson now.

And this is a part that I'm really passionate about because I think it's really important for us to consider Victor's response and how ethical this was.

So let's do just that now.

So if you consider the ethics of something, you are actually considering the morality of it.

Is it right, is it wrong? So what I'd like you to do first is discuss, either with the people around you if you are able to, or just thinking of ideas on your own if you're working from home, what does Victor find repulsive about the Creature? What exactly is it? Can you pinpoint what it is about the Creature that Victor hates? So I'm going to invite you now to pause the video while you consider that either independently or with the people around you.

Off you go.

Some fantastic and really insightful discussions there.

Thank you very much for your contributions, and well done to those of you that identified that the reason that Victor finds the Creature repulsive is because of its physical appearance.

He hates it because of the way that it looks.

Now Lucas raises a really good point here, and he says, well, "It's really unethical to judge somebody based on how they look." And I agree with Lucas, and I'm sure that many of you agree, as well.

In fact, all of you probably agree.

And what I'd like you to discuss now is, well, why is it so unethical to judge somebody based on their appearance? So I'm going to invite you now to pause a video while you discuss that with the people around you or consider it on your own, if you're working independently.

Off you go.

Thank you for those discussions.

Some really sensitive discussions there.

So well done, and well done to those people that identified that, yes, it is unethical to judge somebody based on how they look because it's not fair to make assumptions about people's personalities or character based on their appearance.

And actually that is unfortunately how racism, homophobia, and kind of sexism starts because people are judging others based on their physical appearance.

So well done if you got that in your discussions.

So what we're going to do now is have some discussions about the ethics of of Victor's reaction using the text to do so.

So I'm going to read this extract to you, and as I read, I'd like you to follow along, please.

Victor states, "For this, I had deprived myself of rest and health.

I desired it with an ardour that had far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart.

Unable to enjoy the aspect of the being I had created, I rushed out of the room, continued a long time traversing my bed chamber, unable to compose my mind to sleep." So what I'd like you to consider now is, well, what is Victor's physical reaction to the Creature here? And is his reaction justified? Can we understand the way that he behaves? And finally, if somebody else behaved towards you in this way, how would that make you feel? So I'm going to invite you now to pause the video while you discuss the three questions on screen.

Off you go.

Fantastic.

And some really empathetic discussions going on there.

So we asked our Oak pupils the same three questions, and they ended up having quite a long discussion about it, and here was the contents of their discussion.

So Aisha said, well, "I find Victor's reaction very unethical here." And Izzy replied, yeah, "Me too! I think it's very cruel that he runs away from the Creature because of the way it looks.

And Andeep replies, but "I know that the Creature becomes very violent and aggressive later in the novel, but at this point, he really hasn't given Victor any real reason to fear him." And Izzy responds, "The Creature only turns violent later because of the way he's treated." And Aisha replies, yes, but "That's not an excuse for violence though.

And Andeep states, "No, it isn't, but it does allow us to understand why the Creature behaves in this way.

He is rejected by Victor immediately, purely because of the way he looks - it's heartbreaking for him." And I'd like to thank our Oak pupils here for their really sensitive and empathetic responses to the Creature because I think it's really easy to judge somebody based on their looks.

And that's exactly what Victor does.

He sees the Creature, thinks he's repulsive and frightening looking, and writes him off without even getting to know him.

And that's not the right thing to do.

And actually, I can't begin to imagine the heartache and the grief that the Creature feels at this rejection.

You've got to put yourself in his shoes a little bit, and think he's just been born.

Okay, I know he hasn't been born in a conventional sense, but he's just been born and his creator is disgusted by him.

The only person he knows in the whole world at this moment in time finds him repulsive.

That has got to really, really hurt and sting.

And just to make matters worse, Victor doesn't only look appalled, but he actively runs away from him.

Can you imagine what that would feel like? Okay, I want you to almost take yourselves back and think, has anybody ever treated you in an unfair manner? And think about how that made you feel.

And you might be able to understand some of what the Creature's feeling in this moment in the novel.

It's really, really sad.

And my heart absolutely aches with a creature in this moment in the novel.

So let's check for understanding.

I'd like you to tell me, well, what makes the Creature behave in an aggressive and violent manner? Is it A, the Creature's lack of understanding of where we came from? Is it B, victor's rejection of the Creature, or is it C, victor's indifference towards the Creature? I'm going to invite you now to pause video while you make your answer selection.

Off you go.

And well done if you correctly selected B.

Victor's rejection of the Creature in this moment in the novel is what makes him behave so violently and aggressively later.

Well done.

So again, back to discussions.

And I'd like you to think, well, why is the way we treat other people so important? And do you think that the way Victor treated the Creature was definitely what made him violent or not? And what do you think that Shelly might be trying to teach us about society or human beings? So I'm going to invite you to pause the video while you discuss those questions with the people around you.

Off you go.

Some fantastic ideas there and a real diverse range of ideas.

What I think it's important to pull out is this idea that actually the way that we treat other people is so important because that affects their self-esteem, and their self-esteem affects the way that they present themselves to the world.

Now, we see that with the Creature here.

We see victor treat the Creature very cruelly, and the Creature kind of internalised Victor's hatred.

And then that is the hatred that he then projects onto the world when he starts to kill Victor's friends and family.

And I personally think that the way that Victor treated the Creature did catalyse the Creature's aggression and hatred for Victor and his family and friends.

And actually, in terms of what Shelly's trying to teach us, I think she's trying to show us the importance of kindness because the Creature wasn't given any kindness or wasn't shown any kindness by Victor, we see him kind of start on this journey of destruction and devastation.

But actually, if he'd just been shown a little bit of empathy and understanding when he was first kind of animated, brought to life, would all the rest of those devastating chain of events have happened? Probably not.

So perhaps Shelly's trying to show us the devastating consequences of abuse and neglect here.

And that's really sad.

So onto our second task of the lesson, and I'm really excited to see what you come up with here because I think it's a really important task.

You are going to rewrite the birth of the Creature from the perspective of the Creature.

Now, remember that in the novel, this scene is written from Victor's perspective.

So we're going to turn that in its head and we're gonna give the Creature a chance to have his say.

So here are the events that you will need to describe.

You'll need to describe being brought to life or born using electricity, seeing that look of disgust and disappointment on your creator's face.

And finally, watching your creator run out of the room and thinking about how this would make you feel.

As you are writing, I'd like you to try really hard to use specific and emotive vocabulary.

So words like repulsed, anguish, disgust, despair, and heart wrenching 'cause these will really enable you to convey how awful you are feeling in this moment as the Creature.

You need to try and describe how Victor's behaviour makes you feel, and try to portray yourself, the Creature as really confused and vulnerable 'cause remember, you've just been born, you don't know anything, okay? But you're being rejected already.

You should also try really hard to include details or language from the original narrative to make it more convincing.

So that might be details about the way that you look or the way that Victor seems to, the fact that he perhaps, you know, thinks of you as a wretch or something like that.

But trying to include words or language from the original narrative will really kind of make this a convincing alternative perspective.

Now, if you are struggling to get started, and you're just thinking, I really dunno what to write, then here's a little bit of inspiration that you are very welcome to use.

"My eyes jolted open.

Harsh white light assaulted them as I squinted, trying desperately to focus on something - anything.

I was deeply confused - that's all I felt.

Well, that and the prickling hot burning sensation that was causing through me, I strained my eyes again, only to be met with a blurry outline of someone else in the room.

This must be my parent, but where was I? Who was I?" So here we've really tried to convey the confusion and the vulnerability of the Creature in this moment.

So if you're struggling to get started, please do feel free to use this starter.

I'll take the slide back now to the task so that you can see everything that you need to describe and how to describe it.

So I'm going to invite you now to pause the video while you have a go at undertaking the activity.

Be really experimental with your use of language.

And remember, you are vulnerable, and you've just been born.

So remember to really try and convey that to your reader.

Pause the video and have a good go at this.

Wow, some really fantastic responses there.

Heartbreaking, don't get me wrong, but fantastic responses that really conveyed the Creature's vulnerability and confusion in that moment there.

So a massive well done.

You've made some fantastic word choices.

And speaking of word choices, we're going to read the next paragraph of my response and think about the word choices that I've made.

So I'll read this response, you follow along.

"After what seemed like hours of waiting, my watery eyes finally focused on the figure in front of me.

It was another human being.

His smooth, but pallid face was twisted into a frightful scrunch of utter disgust.

His hands were firmly knotted together, and his body convulsed - as if he were about to vomit.

I longed for his hands to unwind themselves; I yearned to feel some warmth or comfort - my body was still throbbing with a burning pain." Now, as I said, we're thinking about word choices here and how these word choices can be really impactful and make us feel sorry for the Creature.

So using my model response, I'd like you to identify at least one word that makes you feel really sorry for the Creature here.

So pause the video, and have a go at that now.

And well done if you identified this verb "yearned." I yearned and I longed to feel it.

And that shows the Creature's vulnerability innocence, but also his desperation to be taken care of.

And unfortunately, those needs and those requirements are not met by Victor.

We also feel sorry for him because he's throbbing with a burning pain.

He's just been electrocuted and electrical current has just passed through his body.

That is going to really hurt.

So here we've portrayed the Creature as being in physical pain, but also that real emotional pain because he can see that his creator is disgusted by him.

So well done, if you identified any of those word choices.

Great work.

I'd like to now reread your own response and think, well, where have you used really emotive vocabulary? Where have you managed to make your reader feel sorry for the Creature? So I'm going to invite you now to pause the video while you undertake that activity now.

Excellent.

I can see loads of you highlighting different sections of your work, which tells me that you have managed to successfully complete the activity and make your reader feel really sorry for the Creature in this moment because it is a really heartbreaking moment for him.

Well done.

So to summarise the learning from today, first of all, we know that Frankenstein is disgusted and disappointed with his creation.

And unfortunately, that hatred and disappointment is based purely on the way that the Creature looks.

Frankenstein repeatedly runs away from the Creature and thereby cruelly rejects him.

Arguably, Frankenstein's treatment of the Creature is unethical and immoral.

And finally, Frankenstein's callous treatment of the Creature is unfortunately a key motivator in the Creature's subsequent violence in the novel.

I'd like to thank you for coming to today's lesson and for discussing some very sensitive topics so empathetically and so responsibly and maturely.

I can't wait to see you next time, and I've really enjoyed working with you today.

Thank you for all your contributions, and I hope for to you have a lovely rest of your day.

See you later.