Frankenstein by Rachel Raffino

Frankenstein

The new book we are starting in English is Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. The following post will be all about the background of Frankenstein.

Shelley was born on August 30th, 1797 in London England. In 1816 she married Percy Bysshe Shelley, and shortly after wrote her most famous novel Frankenstein also known as The Modern Prometheus. The idea of writing Frankenstein started when her and a small group of friends read ghost stories on a rainy day, and wanted to try handwriting their own books. Since then Frankenstein has been adapted into films, tv shows, and children's books and even halloween costumes. The story of Frankenstein has even inspired real life procedures, like the head transplant we will be discussing in class.

Everyone knows the basis of the story; the scientist named Frankenstein creates a monster made from the body parts of dead people, and when the monster comes alive, Frankenstein get scared and runs away. Only to go back to the laboratory to find the monster has fled. The story is told mostly through the perspective of Mr. Frankenstein. A few other characters by the names of Frankenstein (the monster), Dr. Henry Clerval, Elizabeth Lavenza, and Captain Walton.

Today, there are many new versions of Frankenstein such as Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, and The Curse of Frankenstein, and many more. One famous quote in this book spoken by Frankenstein states “So much has been done, exclaimed the soul of Frankenstein — more, far more, will I achieve; treading in the steps already marked, I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation.” This is just the start of Frankenstein's fascination and lust for exploration of strange experiments.   

Hopefully this book will interest us, and spark lots of discussion in our classes yet to come.