Frankenstein Reader Response Journals
Analytical Questions:
a. What was your initial thought on the monster demanding a female? What did you think when Frankenstein refused?
b. How did you feel about Justine's fate, how she dealt with it, and how Victor dealt with the situation?
c. What do you think about the monster's murders?
d. What is the biggest flaw you saw in the society of the novel, a specific character, or Mary Shelley herself?
e. Most importantly, what theme/element of the book most stuck out to you and why?
Johana
a. Understood his needs but didn't think much of it. Thought it was a fair request. Thought Victor was rational because the monster was impulsive and dangerous and another being would be the same way.
b. Thought she was stupid. She was noble in some sense, but was really overall not noble at all. Payed Victor a favor that he didn't deserve.
c. Thought the monster wanted attention and that he wanted to get a message across to Victor that he shouldn't be underestimated. Was throwing the “failure” of Victor's experiment in his face. Was saying that Victor didn't know the extent of his might.
d. Victor was trying to play God, but humans have limits that he was trying to overlook. The being doesn't come out how Victor planned, but God's creations always come out as expected.
e. Loneliness. Everyone understood the monster was lonely but no one cared. There are moments where you feel disconnected from the world, bit it was that way for the being at all times, and the only thing he had was revenge. Victor ended up the same way, which is very tragic.
Anthony
a. Thought that he just wanted to have sex with her. Could he reproduce? Thought he was high and mighty with creating life and found it was horrible. Felt he needed to take responsibility and create the female.
b. Women are nice about Justine's situation and rational, but really can't do anything about their fates because they are women. Victor is a wimp and could have tried harder to save her, even if he had to make up a convincing lie to do it.
c. Revenge out of confusion and angst and loneliness. He doesn't know any better, but begins to. Believes he doesn't have enough life experience to know the pain he is causing and to stop.
d. Frankenstein not working with anybody (like a lab assistant) to be his rational advisor and witness to what happened, but he was too obsessed with his experiment.
e. How stupid Victor is, like with how obvious it was that Elizabeth was the target. The decisions he makes are very bad. He's supposed to be this smart scientist is that he is really stupid.
Maggie
a. It was rational – Victor should have made her because the monster had no one, and it would have gotten the monster off his back. She thought Victor was being selfish and only thinking about what has happened to him and his family over the welfare of the being. However, after hearing Victor's explanation, she thought he made a rational decision. She was left undecided on who was wrong in this instance.
b. Reminded her of the Salem Witch Trials. Thought Justine shouldn't have given up and thought less of her for not fighting. Victor was monstrous in letting her die when he knew she was innocent, but he was thinking about only himself.
c. Because the monster's connection is only Victor and since Victor has people in his life, the monster wanted to make Victor more like himself through killing his family. It was the being's way of getting back at Victor.
d. The biggest flaw she saw was Victor never trying to accept the monster, assumed the being was evil, and judged him solely on his outer appearance. Victor was more at fault in rejecting the monster than the rest of society because he was the monster's creator. Victor should have connected with him and nurtured him and the monster would have turned out different. Victor was being narrow-minded.
e. The issue of monstrosity – the fact that Victor becomes more of a monster than the being. What makes you human is your connection to the world and your relationships to people. Once Victor had no one left, he was a monster. But the being was this way because he had no one to begin with which was in a way Victor's fault. So the being made Victor more like himself.
Eddie
a. I figured the monster saw it as the key to a decent life after living so horribly. I though it was fair and would the the solution to the monster's loneliness. I thought Frankenstein was being selfish and irrational in refusing.
b. I thought Justine was brave but too religious in her decision. I thought she was a victim and Victor was stupid and selfish in letting her meet that fate.
c. I think the monster was a product of his environment – hate toward him by people made him hate people; killing wasn't his first impulse, but became his last through his misery. It was Victor's fault.
d. I saw ignorance as the biggest flaw – the fact that people were so judgmental based on appearance alone. Especially with Victor who should have been the being's father in a way, as the creator. The lack of understanding or ability to relate was a major flaw in everyone.
e. I felt that the most outstanding theme was monstrosity. That people are altered by their experiences and environment. With all the misery the being went through by no real fault of his own and no other options, he still learned from his experiences and mistakes and even repented in a way at the end. Victor, however, was ignorant until the very end, ultimately making him the monster.
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