10th Grade Honors English
Frankenstein Unit Test
Read the following passage from Frankenstein and answer the questions that follow.
We were brought up together; there was not quite a year difference in our ages. I need not say that we
were strangers to any species of disunion or dispute. Harmony was the soul of our companionship, and
the diversity and contrast that subsisted in our characters drew us nearer together. Elizabeth was of a
calmer and more concentrate disposition; but, with all my ardour, I was capable of a more intense
application and was more deeply smitten with the thirst for knowledge. She busied herself with following
the aerial creations of the poets; and in the majestic and wondrous scenes which surrounded our Swiss
home -- the sublime shapes of the mountains, the changes of the seasons, tempest and calm, the silence
of winter, and the life and turbulence of our Alpine summers--she found ample scope for admiration and
delight. While my companion contemplated with a serious and satisfied spirit the magnificent
appearances of things, I delighted in investigating their causes. The world was to me a secret which I
desired to divine. Curiosity, earnest research to learn the hidden laws of nature, gladness akin to
rapture, as they were unfolded to me, are among the earliest sensations I can remember.
1. The narrator says, “We were brought up together.” Who were brought up together?
a) Victor & Clerval
b) Victor & Elizabeth
c) Victor & William
2. How does he characterize their personalities?
a) The same in every respect
b) Practical and serious
c) Different but harmonious
3. What was his companion's attitude towards learning?
a) Content with surface appearances
b) Opposed to his projects
c) Equally interested
4. What is the meaning of ardour?
a) Purity
b) Diligence
c) Enthusiasm
5. Victor's interest in deeper learning influenced him from what time?
a) From his first experience with lightning
b) From his university days
c) From his earliest childhood
6. What is the meaning of the word divine here?
a) Heavenly
b) Discover
c) Ecstatic
7. According to the passage, what was one of his companion's main interests in life?
a) Literature
b) Science
c) Love
8. What becomes of Victor's companion?
a) The companion dies in childbirth
b) The companion dies under mysterious circumstances
c) The companion is killed by the monster
9. What is the ultimate 'secret' which consumes Victor in his studies?
a) The secret of God
b) The secret of life
c) The secret of anatomy
10. According to the passage, what feeling does he get from the process of discovery?
a) Total joy
b) Frustration
c) Pride
Read the following passage from Frankenstein, then answer the questions that follow, choosing the best
answer.
"The ancient teachers of this science," said he, "promised impossibilities and performed nothing. The
modern masters promise very little; they know that metals cannot be transmuted and that the elixir of
life is a chimera but these philosophers, whose hands seem only made to dabble in dirt, and their eyes
to pore over the microscope or crucible, have indeed performed miracles. They penetrate into the
recesses of nature and show how she works in her hiding-places. They ascend into the heavens; they
have discovered how the blood circulates, and the nature of the air we breathe. They have acquired new
and almost unlimited powers; they can command the thunders of heaven, mimic the earthquake, and
even mock the invisible world with its own shadows."
11. What is the meaning of the word chimera?
a) A medieval monster
b) A vision
c) Something impossible to achieve
12. In this passage, the speaker is saying that
a) though science began in fantasy, it can now accomplish much more.
b) people should return to alchemy because it had promise.
c) the best career would be to go into science.
13. What impact did the speaker have on Victor?
a) He discouraged Victor from pursuing the secret.
b) He caused Victor to consider dropping out of college.
c) He made Victor feel better about studying alchemy.
14. What is the meaning of the word elixir?
a) Magical potion
b) Medical treatment
c) Magical trick
15. Frankenstein later says that the ultimate effect of the speaker's talk
is that it:
a) Turns him against the alchemists
b) Brings about his destruction
c) Causes him to write home to his father
Read the following passage from Frankenstein, then answer the questions that follow, choosing the best
answer.
As I said this I suddenly beheld the figure of a man, at some distance, advancing towards me with
superhuman speed. He bounded over the crevices in the ice, among which I had walked with caution;
his stature, also, as he approached, seemed to exceed that of man. I was troubled; a mist came over my
eyes, and I felt a faintness seize me, but I was quickly restored by the cold gale of the mountains. I
perceived, as the shape came nearer (sight tremendous and abhorred!) that it was the wretch whom I had
created. I trembled with rage and horror, resolving to wait his approach and then close with him in
mortal combat. He approached; his countenance bespoke bitter anguish, combined with disdain and
malignity, while its unearthly ugliness rendered it almost too horrible for human eyes. But I scarcely
observed this; rage and hatred had at first deprived me of utterance, and I recovered only to overwhelm
him with words expressive of furious detestation and contempt.
"Devil," I exclaimed, "do you dare approach me? And do not you fear the fierce vengeance of my arm
wreaked on your miserable head? Begone, vile insect! Or rather, stay, that I may trample you to dust!
And, oh! That I could, with the extinction of your miserable existence, restore those victims whom you
have so diabolically murdered!"
16. What is the meaning of the word countenance?
a) Mood
b) Face
c) Attitude
17. What service does the monster demand in exchange for peace?
a) Frankenstein will give the monster a safe haven in South America
b) Frankenstein will undo what he has done
c) Frankenstein will create a companion for him
18. How did the monster learn such good language skills?
a) Victor taught him before he escaped
b) By observing humans and reading books
c) The family tutored him before he frightened them
19. How does Frankenstein respond to the monster's offer?
a) He soon accepts it and builds him a lovely spouse
b) He accepts it at first but then destroys the next monster
c) He does not give any response, but flees to his father's home to protect his family
20. What is the meaning of the word malignity?
a) With a broken spirit
b) With an evil nature
c) With curiosity
Choose the best answer to the following questions about ideas or materials covered in the Frankenstein
unit.
21. A main idea that a writer expresses in a piece of writing is called
a) topic
b) theme
c) fundamental
22. Mary Shelley probably gave Robert Walton an important role in the story
a) because she needed a character to tell the story
b) because all the other characters die
c) because he could be contrasted with Victor, who was so like him
23. This kind of story, which Mr. Anthony compared to the film, Titanic, is known as a
a) frame story
b) wrap-around story
c) feature story
24. Like Roy Baty in the film, Blade Runner, the Monster experiences _____________ upon the death
of his creator.
a) delight
b) rage
c) a strong mix of emotions
25. The artificial person who thinks himself similar to Pinocchio is
a) Roy Baty, from the film, Blade Runner
b) David, from the film, AI
c) HAL 9000, from the film, 2001: A Space Odyssey
26. The artificial person who kills in an attempt to avoid the fate of death:
a) Roy Baty in Blade Runner
b) HAL 9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey
c) both of the above.
27. The artificial person who comes to life by the will of the gods would be
a) Roy Baty in Blade Runner
b) the statue in Pygmalion
c) the Monster in Frankenstein
28. A philosopher gains his/her answers to the big questions in life by
a) revelation from God
b) observing works of fine art
c) the power of reason
29. Mary Shelley was influenced by philosophy largely because
a) her mom and dad were philosophers
b) she earned her college degree in philosophy
c) everyone back in those days was into philosophy
30. Prometheus and Victor are similar because
a) they both brought a forbidden divine power to humanity
b) they were both killed for their thoughtless behavior
c) they both angered the gods
31. The stories of Prometheus and Frankenstein share the common theme of
a) romantic love
b) broken promises
c) unintended consequences
32. The very early Greek poem we got the Prometheus story from was called
a) Hesiod’s Theogony
b) Hadrian’s Theology
c) Harodius’ Theodicy
33. Because of his crime, Prometheus was condemned to
a) roll a large boulder up a hill for all eternity
b) fight a large bird that would peck at his face every day
c) be chained to a rock
34. The line, “The foe of Zeus and one at feud with all,” means
a) Prometheus and Zeus were allies
b) Prometheus was the enemy of Zeus and all the gods who followed Zeus
c) Prometheus had a problem with Zeus, but good relations with the other gods
35. One big difference between Frankenstein and Pygmalion is that
a) Pygmalion is well adapted to human society while Victor is not
b) the Pygmalion story does not address the danger of “playing God”
c) Victor relies on divine power, while Pygmalion relies on knowledge to bring their creatures to life
36. The stories Frankenstein and Pygmalion share the common theme of
a) dissatisfaction with society
b) unintended consequences
c) secrecy
37. The tone of Pygmalion is
a) light and heartwarming
b) eerie and dark
c) deeply humorous
38. The philosopher Max More most resembles Victor Frankenstein in that
a) he tends to distrust other people and stay away from them
b) he believes in using science to help humanity overcome its limitations
c) he doesn’t believe in gods
39. The thinker who believes we are born like blank pieces of paper is
a) John Locke
b) Friedrich Nietzsche
c) Max More
40. The thinker who says people are wicked and should be avoided is
a) John Locke
b) Friedrich Nietzsche
c) Max More
41. The thinker who claims we should not fear the future is
a) John Locke
b) Friedrich Nietzsche
c) Max More
42. More thinks we can no longer be classified as homo sapiens because
a) we have already used science to be better than human
b) we have actually biologically evolved into a new species
c) the original classification was incorrect
43. He calls his way of thinking
a) Post-modernism
b) Trans-siberianism
c) Trans-humanism
44. Nietzsche wants us to “flee into solitude” because
a) human society will do everything it can to drag us down
b) there are countless varieties of insects that want to do us harm
c) it’s easier to relax in the peace and quiet of solitude
45. Nietzsche says, “Blood they would have from thee in all innocence; blood their bloodless souls crave
for,” in order to explain that
a) it is because of a common blood disease that people act badly towards you
b) it is because of emptiness inside themselves that people act badly towards you
c) people really want to be friends even though they act badly towards you
46. One possible connection of Flies in the Marketplace to Frankenstein is that
a) the Monster discovered the total wickedness of human society
b) the Monster felt fearful in the marketplace of Ingolstadt
c) observing the structure of the fly encouraged Victor in his research
47. According to the famous John Locke, our empty minds become filled
a) partly by spiritual devotion and partly by learning
b) by adventure
c) by experience
48. The Frankenstein character who most resembles Pinocchio is
a) Victor
b) Walton
c) the Monster