Close reading of a passage

Stephen Cook

Eng. 102

Cline

September 25, 2011

  The passage I chose to write about comes from the very first sentences of chapter 3 of volume 1.  “From this day natural philosophy, and particularly chemistry, in the most comprehensive of the term, became my sole occupation.” (Frankenstein, Mary shelly, p.29)  I’m not that far into the book at this point, but it seems that this is sort of a theme that’s upcoming in the story.  This might not be the most meaningful quote in the book so far, but in order to do something severely special in the area of science one must be most dedicated.  This passage made me to personally want such a sense of purpose as this.  When I read this, I immediately thought of Albert Einstein and Sir Isaac Newton, people that I admire and who devoted their lives to the purpose of scientific discovery. For me, this really gave me, as the reader an emotional relation to the narrator in this passage.  This specific passage clearly shows that there was a necessary motivation to devote ones life to the area of understanding this “science”.  These kind of statements are generally made after a dramatic and emotional event that makes a person want to be more dedicated or rededicated to a certain area of life.  There has already been a number of times that the author has touched on the idea of devotion and purpose.  I have a vague idea of what frankenstein is about and have guesses of what the story is leading to.  This could be another way of establishing the importance of  dedication in the story. Maybe even an unhealthy amount of dedication that leads to obsession.


Here is a link to some quotes about devotion by Albert einstein.