Question

Read the excerpt from Walton’s letter in Frankenstein:

"Upon hearing this he appeared satisfied and consented to come on board. Good God! Margaret, if you had seen the man who thus capitulated for his safety, your surprise would have been boundless. His limbs were nearly frozen, and his body dreadfully emaciated by fatigue and suffering. I never saw a man in so wretched a condition. We attempted to carry him into the cabin, but as soon as he had quitted the fresh air he fainted. We accordingly brought him back to the deck and restored him to animation by rubbing him with brandy and forcing him to swallow a small quantity. By slow degrees he recovered and ate a little soup, which restored him wonderfully. "


In approximately 150 words, use the language skills you have acquired to accurately summarize the excerpt. Explain in detail how you determined the meaning of the italicized words and phrases

Answer 1

Step-by-step explanation:

The excerpt is a letter from Walton, the captain of a ship, to his sister Margaret. In the letter, Walton describes how they rescued a man who was almost frozen to death. The man agreed to come on board their ship, but he was in a very weak and emaciated state. When they tried to take him inside the cabin, he fainted, so they revived him with brandy and gave him some soup. The soup helped to restore him to health.

To determine the meaning of the italicized words and phrases, I relied on my understanding of the context, as well as my knowledge of vocabulary and grammar. For example, "capitulated" means to surrender or give up, which makes sense in this context because the man agreed to come on board the ship after initially refusing. "Emaciated" means very thin and weak due to lack of food or illness, which describes the man's physical condition. "Restored him to animation" means that they revived him, bringing him back to life after he had fainted. "By slow degrees" means gradually, slowly over time. "Wonderfully" means greatly or significantly, so the soup had a significant positive impact on the man's health.

Answer 2

The excerpt from Walton's letter in Frankenstein describes the arrival of a man who was rescued from the icy Arctic. The man's condition was extremely poor; his limbs were frozen, and his body was emaciated from fatigue and suffering. Upon attempting to bring him into the cabin, the man fainted from the sudden change in temperature, so the rescuers revived him with brandy and fed him soup. The man slowly regained his strength and began to recover.

To accurately summarize the excerpt, I used several language skills. First, I identified the key details of the passage, including the setting, the condition of the rescued man, and the actions taken to revive him. Then, I used context clues to determine the meanings of unfamiliar words, such as "emaciated" and "capitulated." For example, I knew that "emaciated" must mean extremely thin and weak based on the description of the man's condition. Similarly, I determined that "capitulated" meant to surrender or give in by considering the man's actions and the context of the story. By using these language skills, I was able to accurately summarize the excerpt from Walton's letter.