Frankenstein Discussion Topics

[Laura]

Our first book club meeting will be February 15th. Below are some discussion topics to think about as you read. Any feedback and additional topics are welcome!

Questions from Friends of the Apparating Library:

#1 Shelley emphasizes the importance of family. She suggests that the monster would have turned out differently if he'd had people around him who loved and understood him, even if the rest of the world would still have hated and feared him. Would a loving family really have prevented tragedy? Where do we find family when our birth family is not supportive?

#2 One of the novel’s tragedies is the inability of characters to recognize the monster’s humanity? What qualities make us human? Which of these qualities does the monster possess? What qualities does he not have?

#3 Frankenstein is a classic monster. What's your favorite monster? Why?

#4 If we can't trust appearances, what can we trust? Words can be misinterpreted; actions can be misunderstood. Is there any way to truly understand another person in Frankenstein? Is the monster, who can be persuasive, always telling the truth?

#5 Much of Frankenstein is concerned with social justice and the law. Do they show a just or unjust treatment of people? Of the monster?

#6 How is science portrayed in Frankenstein? Are there similarities between this and how science and technology are portrayed today, both in the news media and in pop culture?

Other topics:

#7 Frankenstein and the monster talk a lot about Fate and Destiny. Do you believe in Fate and Destiny? How much of the action in the book do you think is caused by fate?

#8 Should there be limits to science and what are our moral obligations to our experiments?

#9 Is society's rejection of the monster inevitable and justified? Why or why not? How does this reflect upon mankind as a whole?

#10 How would the monster's life had been different if Victor had shown him the slightest kindness or act of friendship?