Who Is the MOST to Blame for the Tragedies That Occur in Frankenstein?

Group Debate Topics

Make sure your group discusses ALL of the following topics THOROUGHLY. Use your novels, find quotes together, and hash out all opposing sides of the argument. You need not agree with each other, but listen to all sides. Make sure to take notes as you may use them on your essay on Thursday.

Who is THE MOST to blame for the tragedies that occur in Frankenstein?

1. List each of the casualties that occur in the novel. Could they have been prevented?

2. Were the Creature’s actions justifiable in any way? Yes? No?

3. Was Victor right to create the Creature? Was it ethical for him to “play God” and create/reanimate life? What is your opinion and why?

4. Throughout the novel, Mary Shelley warns of the dangers of acquiring knowledge. Victor states, “Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, then he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow,” (Shelley 39). In other words, at the end of his life, Victor begins to believe that ignorance is bliss and the obsession with knowledge and technology can only lead to a lifetime of loneliness and misery.

Think about what happened due to Victor creating the monster AND what happened to the monster when he began to learn about the world. To what extent do you agree with Victor’s lesson? Explain.

25 points today – I will be circulating throughout the groups, asking questions, making sure your entire group is staying on task, engaging in conversation, debating appropriately, and answering my questions thoughtfully and with detail. If you are not doing these things you will NOT receive credit.

Group Debate Topics

At the end of the film Nova: Can We Live Forever? Neil DeGrasse Tyson discusses the moral dilemma behind extending or prolonging human life.

1. What are the sides of the dilemma? On which side do you agree?

2. Using specific examples from the text and the film, can one push the boundaries of science too far? At what point does technology spin out of control? Come up with specific examples.

3. What argument is presented for extending human life? Does it seem probable to you? Explain why or why not?

4. What are scientists capable of doing now that seems like the work of science fiction?

5. When do scientists believe they will be using new, life-prolonging techniques on the general public?

6. What responsibility does a scientist/inventor have to humanity to make sure his creations/inventions do not have a lasting negative impact on the world?

7. There have been many movies, novels, and television shows that depict the negative impact of science/technology (I Am Legend, The Island, The Walking Dead, Westworld, I Robot, The Matrix, Her, Wall-E, Total Recall, AI, to name a few). Though fictional, can you envision a possibility that the world may experience situations like those found in any of these depictions in the future? How would we manage it? What would be the pros and cons?