Frankenstein

About the story

Young scientist Victor Frankenstein discovers how to bring life to dead matter and builds a creature. Horrified by what he has made, he abandons it. Alone and rejected by everyone it meets, the Creature teaches itself to speak and read — and comes looking for the man who made it. Recommended for ages 13+.

Before reading

• Who is the "monster" in a story? Is it always the one who looks frightening?
• Mary Shelley began writing Frankenstein when she was eighteen. What would you write about at that age?

Discussion questions

1. Why does Victor run away from his creation?
2. How does the Creature learn about the world?
3. Why do people react to the Creature with fear?
4. Is the Creature good or evil? Did it begin that way?
5. Who is responsible for what happens: Victor, the Creature, or both?
6. How do the pictures make us feel sympathy for the Creature?

Words to know

• Creature — Shelley's word for the being Victor makes (it has no name).
• Ambition — a strong desire to achieve something.
• Responsibility — having a duty to deal with something.
• Isolation — being alone or cut off from others.
• Science fiction — stories based on imagined science; Frankenstein is often called one of the first.

Activities

• Two sides. Write the same event twice: once from Victor's point of view, once from the Creature's.
• Debate. Hold a class debate: "Victor Frankenstein is the real monster."