Essential Question 9

In the four letters and first six chapters of the book, Frankenstein, the reader is introduced to two male characters. One of these men is Robert Walton, who writes the four letters at the beginning of the book. The other man is Victor Frankenstein, who is found by Walton's crew isolated and nearly frozen to death. Both men have very different upbringings. Walton is raised by a middle class English family. Frankenstein is raised by a wealthy Italian family. Both men have siblings. The four letters at the beginning of the book are written by Walton to his sister, Margaret Saville. Frankenstein also describes that he has a younger brother and an adopted sister named Elizabeth. Both men describe their education. Walton educated himself by reading various diaries written by famous adventurers. On the other hand, Frankenstein received a more formal education, as he actually attended classes at the university as Ingolstadt. Both men's education have different areas of focus. As already described, Walton studied the diaries of adventurers. Frankenstein's studies focused on anatomy and life itself. Both men express an interest in nature as well. That is how Robert Walton and Victor Frankenstein compare and contrast as men, scholars, and scientists.

Essential Question 8

In "The Taming of the Shrew," there is a recurring theme of love. From the beginning, Katherine is described as being harsh and tough to deal with. That is also the reason why she is not married at the beginning. She is too bothersome for any man. It was believed that it would be impossible to find a man for Katherine, until Petruchio came along. In the beginning, all he wanted was the dowry. However, he also wanted a food wife. The other men thought Petruchio was crazy to pursue Katherine, considering the dowry of twenty thousand crowns. he did marry Katherine later on, and treated her badly. This was all a part of his plan, though. He planned to make Katherine a good wife by giving her a taste of her own medicine. By the end, it seems that the "medicine" has worked, since Katherine now obeys Petruchio's orders, and even has to lecture the other ladies on their etiquette. Petruchio loved Kate so much that he decided to put her though all kinds of trouble, since he knew that she would be a better person in the end. That is how Petruchio and Katherine are in love.