When the name Frankenstein is mentioned everyone immediately thinks of a large green, stiff, grumbling monster with bolts sticking out of his neck. Everyone knows the quote, "It's alive!" made famous by films.
But Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is quite different. In fact, Frankenstein isn't a monster at all. Frankenstein is a college student majoring in science. Victor Frankenstin creates a creature in his dorm room. Surprisingly, the creature isn't a bumbling fool either. He's actually very eloquent in his language. I love that Shelley creates a section to allow the creature to narrate his own story.
I have taught Shelley's novel a few times. This year's AP literature class fell in love with Shelley and her unfortunate creature.
Mary Shelley began Frankenstein at the age of 18 while spending time with her friends. My students connected to the idea of telling ghost stories with friends. They also felt connected to the technological and ethical themes of the story. Victor's irresponsibility led to a great discussion the true monster of the novel. My class had a lot of good thoughts regarding the question. They even felt pity for Frankenstein's creation.
Frankenstein is great for teaching both Tomantic and Gothic literature. Shelley was a true Romantic in every sense of the word: individualism, nature, rebellion, discovery, etc. Frankenstein is also great for teaching frame story and voice, point of view and narration.
A lot of teachers like to use Frankenstein to debate scientific issues like cloning and research. I try to avoid he cliched approach and examine the ethical discussions of responsibility, secrey and the danger of knowledge.
I used an old copy of the novel to create some found poetry with Romantic ideas for the themes. They enjoyed it. I even made one myself! It's great to see students connect to literature! My goal of my AP class this year is to find a book for every student.
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