4/6 AP English Literature Literary Argument Essay Example #2
This is a real, anonymized literary argument essay written by an AP student and scored 4/6 by our AI grader — one of many AP English Literature essay examples in our library.
The Prompt
In a literary work, a minor character, often known as a foil, possesses traits that emphasize, by contrast or comparison, the distinctive characteristics and qualities of the main character. For example, the ideas or behavior of the minor character might be used to highlight the weaknesses or strengths of the main character.
The Essay
In Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Victor Frankenstein has a didactic relationship with Robert Walton through his retelling of events with emphasis on the absolute importance of respecting nature's borders, ultimately emphasizing how humans can have an insatiable and dangerous curiosity. Frankenstein was written in the time of romanticism, which espoused nature as provocative and powerful. Frankenstein begins in the Arctic, where Walton finds the immiserated Frankenstein and nurses him back to health. Frankenstein, upon learning that Walton is sailing through the Arctic in the spirit of discovery, urges him to give up the mission and begins the main story to show why. This introduction sets up a didactic relationship between the two characters. Frankenstein aims to teach Walton about the perils of discovery for the sake of discovery by describing his own misfortunes following the same line of reasoning. Specifically, he tells his life through the conflict of creating a Monster that defied biological processes. By framing his memories as first-person, Shelley shows how Frankenstein is specifically presenting the story in a way that emphasizes how he made mistakes in his pursuit of knowledge to make it clear to Walton not to do the same. Victor is able to detail every punishment that he incurred as a result of creating the Monster and connect it to his present circumstances. By the end of the book, Walton is taken aback but still insists on taming the wild Arctic. His choice is only stopped by the other crew members, who are too afraid to continue. Walton's refusal to adhere to Frankenstein's advice shows the limited impact of his teaching despite showcasing the clear danger and backlash which can occur by attempting to exploit nature. In the end, Walton is still drawn to the idea of the Arctic as uncharted, open lands for the taking. This emphasizes how humans can have an insatiable curiosity that can only be fulfilled by carrying out the deed itself, not by warnings, and this creates violence. . Additionally, Victor warns Walton when describing his mindset when creating the monster. He discusses how he felt like he was in a trance and couldn’t focus on anything but creating the monster until the deed was done. He didn’t think about any issues that could have happened because he was so bent on just seeing if it would work. This description of the trance serves to show Walton how uncontrollable the desire to explore and break limits can be. Even though both of them are thoughtful people, Victor aims to show Walton how one’s thoughts can be superseded by one’s inherent curiosity. This ultimately emphasizes how curiosity can be dangerous because it does not guarantee caution. Next, Frankenstein has a didactic relationship with Walton through the usage of foreshadowing. Frankenstein says how when he was traveling in England with Clerval, he had extreme apprehension that the Monster would murder his best friend and his family in Switzerland. This created foreshadowing for Walton - he didn't know if this would happen but had to instead speculate. The refraining of telling later details and instead focusing on chronological order by Frankenstein is done to make Walton draw parallels between himself and the teller. Walton is very similar to Frankenstein, both having chosen to adventure into the unexplored aspects of nature. At this point, Walton is not sure how Frankenstein's story will end, and this causes suspension, just like he isn't sure how his own story will end but still continues. This suspension shows how nature's limits should be respected to avoid the unknown, limitless dangers which are past it. Yet, the curiosity of humans is inevitable as Walton refuses to learn his lesson. Thus, Frankenstein has a didactic relationship with Walton through his retelling of events to present themes of nature's limits and the backlash that occurs upon violation and also his method of retelling those events, which produces irony and anxiety for Walton, who has to contemplate his own decisions. This contemplation ultimately fails to convince Walton, showcasing the human's condition for curiosity regardless of danger.
Score Breakdown
Thesis (1/1)
Evidence & Commentary (3/4)
Sophistication (0/1)
Why This Essay Scored Well
The thesis does real work. It names the relationship between Victor and Walton as didactic and ties it to a theme about respecting nature's borders, which gives the reader a clear promise for the rest of the essay. The opening paragraph also shows an understanding of the frame narrative: Walton finds Victor in the Arctic, hears his warning, and then becomes the audience for the cautionary tale. That is exactly the kind of structural awareness the prompt rewards. The essay also keeps returning to Walton's refusal to turn back, and it uses that refusal to make a claim about human curiosity that warnings cannot satisfy. The final paragraph circles back to the idea that Walton's contemplation fails, which gives the essay a sense of closure. Even though the grader marked evidence and commentary as an area to improve, there are moments where the essay explains why Shelley frames Victor's memories as first-person: it says this lets Victor present his mistakes in a way meant to teach Walton. That is a genuine interpretive move, and it shows thinking about authorial choice rather than just summarizing plot.
For the full point-by-point rubric behind this score, read our AP essay rubric breakdown.
What Could Be Improved
The biggest gap is evidence. The essay makes claims about Victor's trance, his apprehension about the Monster, and Walton's refusal to learn, but it rarely quotes or closely paraphrases the specific lines that would prove those claims. Two or three short passages, such as Victor's warning to Walton about the thirst for knowledge or Walton's final decision to turn back, would let the writer walk through the words Shelley chooses. For sophistication, the essay needs to move beyond saying that curiosity is dangerous. It should ask what Shelley is doing with the frame: why does Walton's story bookend Victor's? Does Walton's survival suggest that the warning partially works, or that the crew's fear, not Victor's teaching, saves him? Answering that question would push the commentary into the top rubric row.
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