Frankenstein Preface-Ch 3 Discussion Questions

Refer to the text whenever possible!

Before we begin, discuss the following:

• What should a person not be willing to sacrifice to achieve their goals?

• Is scientific discovery/progress a good thing?

• What responsibilities do parents have toward their children?

• Is human nature inherently good?

Go through each chapter of our reading.

Give the “facts” of what happens. Comprehend the literal before

moving to larger meanings.

Then, select one section (at least ½ page) and analyze how Shelley uses

diction, imagery, and syntax to achieve larger purposes.

1. What is the narrative structure and how does it influence the

text?

2. Describe Walton as a narrator. What is the

relationship between he and Victor like?

3. Characterize Victor’s relationship with his parents. Describe his upbringing and how it influenced the man he

has become.

4. Characterize Victor’s relationship with his friends –

Elizabeth and Henry. Describe the origins of their friendships

and what qualities they posses.

5. Describe Victor’s relationship with science and scientific discovery. Given the tenets of Romanticism and the historical period (1818), why does this seem significant?

Ch. 4

How does he go about creating a human being, and what does he expect as a result of this creation (pp. 57-58)? How long does the task take? How does this task

affect Victor?

Examine the creation of the Creature (51-56); many critics have claimed that this scene shows a usurping of women’s power? How? Why does he reject the Creature? What

does the dream about Elizabeth represent?