What happens in the first 4 letters of Frankenstein?

Summary: Letter 4 In the fourth letter, the ship stalls between huge sheets of ice, and Walton and his men spot a sledge guided by a gigantic creature about half a mile away. All but one of the dogs drawing the sledge is dead, and the man on the sledge—not the man seen the night before—is emaciated, weak, and starving.

Do I need to read the letters in Frankenstein?

I found my first reading of Frankenstein a tough read, especially the first half of the novel. It will get better and more exciting, so hang in there. Basically, you need to understand that the novel begins with these letters from Robert Walton (English explorer in the Arctic) to his sister.

What is the strange accident in Frankenstein?

What “strange accident” has happened to the sailors. About 27 days have passed between the letters. The strange accident is that when the boat was strapped by ice, they saw a huge figure of a man on a sledge off in the distance even though they were many miles away from the shore.

What happens at the end of the letters in Frankenstein?

In the end, Victor dies. The monster breaks into the ship’s cabin where Victor’s body lies in state. The monster finds that he can gain no sympathy from man, so he pledges to remain in the frozen north until he dies. The monster tells that he has suffered along with Victor and made evil his version of good.

Why is Walton included in Frankenstein?

Walton’s letters to his sister form a frame around the main narrative, Victor Frankenstein’s tragic story. Walton laments the death of a man with whom he felt a strong, meaningful friendship beginning to form. Walton functions as the conduit through which the reader hears the story of Victor and his monster.

Who are the characters in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein?

Mary Shelley’s classic novel, Frankenstein, begins in a unique way. Rather than launching straight into the action, she begins the novel begins with a series of short letters-four, to be exact. Each of these letters is written by a character named Robert Walton.

Where was the first letter in Frankenstein written?

Frankenstein begins with a series of four letters from Robert Walton to his sister, Margaret Saville. The first letter is written on December 11 from St. Petersburg, Russia, sometime in the eighteenth century. Walton is about to set out on a journey at sea to reach the North Pole,…

What was the purpose of Robert Walton’s letters in Frankenstein?

Analysis Frankenstein begins with a series of four letters from Robert Walton to his sister, Margaret Saville. Walton’s purpose in venturing to the North Pole is twofold: to discover a northern passage to the countries on the other side of the world; and to determine the origin of the North Pole’s magnetism.

Who was the captain of the ship in Frankenstein?

Walton is an explorer and an Englishman, captaining a ship that is headed directly toward the North Pole. He writes these letters to his sister, Margaret Saville. In the first letter, he describes to Margaret his preparations for his grand journey, telling her that he hopes to accomplish some “great purpose.”