Question: In a four- to five-page essay, examine how place influences the narrative arcs in Frankenstein and A Gathering of Old Men. Do Shelley and Gaines treat place in similar ways? If so, how? If not, what defines their different approaches to place within the larger stories? Between the two novels, which place (i.e., the University of Ingolstadt; Okrney; Geneva; the Arctic; the Marshall Plantation; Mount Zion Cemetery; the LSU campus; Tee Jack's bar; etc.) has the most profound impact on storytelling and why?
Sample Answer
The Geography of Guilt and Defiance: How Place Shapes Narrative Arc in Frankenstein and A Gathering of Old Men
In literary fiction, place is never a mere backdrop; it is a catalyst, a mirror, and often, a determinant of destiny. This is demonstrably true in Mary Shelley’s Gothic masterpiece, Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus, and Ernest J. Gaines’s powerful novel of racial defiance, A Gathering of Old Men. While both authors utilize setting to dramatically influence the narrative arcs of their central characters, their methodologies diverge sharply, reflecting the distinct nature of the conflicts they explore. Shelley employs a fluid, psychological geography marked by extreme, contrasting settings that chart Victor Frankenstein’s escalating isolation and moral disintegration. Conversely, Gaines roots his narrative in a fixed, sociological geography—the Marshall Plantation and its surrounding community—using the threat to this established place as the catalyst for collective action and the birth of a new communal identity. Ultimately, while Gaines offers a powerful study of how a specific place can define community, Shelley’s use of the Arctic as the final, existential terminus of human ambition provides the most profound impact on the total storytelling arc.
Shelley’s use of place is primarily psychological, tracking Victor Frankenstein’s moral devolution from hopeful student to vengeful outcast. The narrative arc is propelled by a series of geographical displacements, each new location serving to either facilitate Victor’s hubris or reflect his subsequent guilt.
The University of Ingolstadt is the crucial starting point for the narrative’s tragic turn. It is defined by its distance from the familiar, moral boundaries of Geneva, his home. Ingolstadt provides the academic and psychological isolation necessary for Victor to commit his "crime"—the creation of life outside natural boundaries. This German university town, a center of learning, becomes a place of monstrous birth precisely because it lacks the grounding and familial connection Victor associates with Geneva. It represents a vacuum where ethical responsibility is suspended in favor of scientific ambition.