Ch. 1-4
Which character is the novel named after? Give his first and last name.
Victor Frankenstein
What incredible goal does Victor accomplish at the beginning of chapter 5?
He creates a person out of dead body parts and brings it to life.
In what ways is the creature similar to a human? In what ways is he different?
Similar: He can speak, think, read, write, reason, and feel emotions.
Different: He has superhuman strength, speed, and likely superhuman intelligence since he learned to read and speak in just over a year. He is huge and unsettling to look at.
What experience(s) turn the creature against humans?
He is rejected by the cottagers and by all other humans he's ever interacted with.
What does the creature say he will do before he leaves Walton on the last page?
He will burn himself to death.
In this section, we meet Elizabeth Lavenza. What is her relationship to Victor, and how does it change throughout the book?
First she's his adopted sister, later she becomes his wife.
What's the creature's first act of revenge against Victor?
He kills William, Victor's youngest brother.
How does the creature learn to speak?
By watching the cottagers
Where (what chapters) does the creature's narration begin and end?
Chapter 11 is the first chapter narrated by the creature and 16 is the last.
Why does Victor decide not to create the female creature?
There are too many uncertainties: what if they mate and create a new race of hideous beings? What if she rejects him and he becomes even angrier? What if they both hate humans and work together to kill more people?
Victor didn't always fit in with other children, but he had one important childhood best friend. What was his first and last name?
Henry Clerval
Who is falsely accused of William's murder, and what is her relationship to Victor?
Justine, Victor's family friend.
Who lives in the cottage? What are their names and relationships to one another?
Old man (father), Felix (son), Agatha (daughter), Safie (Felix's girlfriend)
Why is the creature so angry at Victor?
Victor has abandoned him and doomed him to a life of solitude.
Who is the creature's last victim?
Elizabeth (will also accept Victor's father, or Victor himself)
The letters that open the book (before Chapter 1) are narrated by someone other than Victor. Who is our first narrator, and what's his relationship to Victor?
Robert Walton, an Englishman sailing through the North Pole. He befriends Victor after finding him half frozen and rescuing him.
How is Justine killed? How does Victor feel about this?
She is executed after being convicted of William's murder. Victor is guilty and heartbroken.
How does the creature feel about the cottagers before he interacts with them for the first time?
He admires them and wants to be accepted by them.
What does the creature promise to do if Victor will make him a girlfriend?
He promises that he and the female creature will never interact with humans again.
What event brings us back to the beginning of the frame story? Who starts to narrate again after this event?
What tragic event does Victor experience right before he leaves for college?
The loss of his mother
How much time passes between the creature's creation and William's murder? What is Victor doing during that time?
About a year and a half (November to May). Victor becomes sick after first creating the creature, but Henry Clerval nurses him back to health and they go to school together. Victor tries to forget about the creature (he hasn't seen him since he created him) and gradually feels better.
What are the creature's cognitive abilities like when he's first brought to life? What does he learn to do in his first months living in the woods?
He doesn't know how to do anything (much like a baby). He learns what fire is, learns how to find food, learns to cook, becomes familiar with heat, cold, the moon, birds, and the seasons.
Why does the creature connect so much with the book Paradise Lost?
Why does the creature go to the North Pole?
He knows Victor will chase him there alone and suffer in the icy climates, and he wants him to suffer as much as possible.