Name: _____________________________________________________________
A Study Guide for the Abridged Version of:
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Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Abridged Version – T. Ernesto Bathencourt
Name: _____________________________________________
Frankenstein Study Guide
Introduction (pg. v)
1. Many people have heard the story of the _______________________________ who uses dead bodies to
create a ________________________that turns bad and kills people.
2. Most movie adaptations usually call the monster ___________________________________ when in fact, it is
the name of the _____________________________________.
3. Another misconception is that the monster was created by a mad and evil scientist; contrarily, the
doctor hopes to _________________________________________________________.
4. Frankenstein was written to ____________________________________.
5. Mary, ___________________________ and a ______________________ decided to see who would be the first to
write a new kind of ____________________________ story.
6. Mary began _________________________ the next day and the other two never ______________________________.
The Letters (pgs. 1-10)
7. a) Who is writing the letters? ___________________________________
b) To whom is he writing? _______________________________________________________________
8. What is the first letter about? _______________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
9. What is the second letter about? ___________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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10. What is the third letter about? ___________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
11. At the beginning of the last letter, what was the strange thing that the men had seen?
12. How did the men on the ship help the stranger?
13. What explanation did the man give for why he was out in the cold wilderness by himself?
14. What was ironic about the strange thing that the men had seen earlier before the man boarded
their ship?
15. Why does R. Walton like the man that has joined them on the ship?
16. What philosophy does R. Walton have about science that the stranger warns him against?
17. What does the stranger say about friends?
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Chapter 1
1. Whose perspective is this part of the story being told from?
2. Where is he from?
3. What were the circumstances surrounding Victor’s parents’ marriage? (How did the meet/why
did they get married?)
4. Who is Elizabeth? How does the narrator describe his relationship with her?
5. What was the difference between Victor and Elizabeth in terms of the way they saw the world?
6. Who was Victor’s best friend growing up?
7. How does Victor describe the bond between Henry, Elizabeth and himself?
8. Why did Victor get angry with his father?
9. What experience does Victor say began his life as a scientist?
10. Victor said that he first believed the lightning was a sign from heaven. What does he claim that it
actually did?
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Chapter 2
1. Where does Victor go to college?
2. How did Victor’s mother get scarlet fever?
Chapter 3
1. What had always interested Victor?
2. According to Victor, to study _______________ is
also to study __________________.
3. What does Victor’s mother tell him and
Elizabeth on her deathbed?
3. What idea strikes Victor when dissecting
bodies?
4. How does Victor describe Dr. Krempe?
5. What does Dr. Krempe tell Victor about the
books he had read?
4. What thoughts kept Victor going during his
experiment?
6. According to Victor, was was the difference
between Dr. Krempe and Dr. Waldman?
5. How did he collect his materials for the
experiment?
7. Why does Victor not go back home to visit?
6. How did his experiment begin to change his
life/habits?
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Chapter 4
1. Why didn’t Victor stop to write his father back?
2. How does Victor describe his creation?
3. What did Victor say happened to his beautiful dream and how does he react to the creature?
4. Describe Victor’s dream.
5. What frightened Victor out of his house?
6. Who does Victor see when he is walking around town?
7. What does Henry notice about Victor?
8. What does the episode in the restaurant indicate?
9. How does Victor spend the school year?
10. How long had it been since Victor has been back to Geneva to visit?
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Chapter 5
1. What news did Victor Frankenstein receive
right before he returned home to visit his
family?
2. What did Victor discover in the trees when he
reached Geneva?
Chapter 6
1. Why does Victor isolate himself from his
family?
2. What does Victor discover on his hike up
the mountain?
3. What stops Victor from killing the monster?
3. What does Victor realize about his brother
William’s death?
4. Why does Elizabeth blame herself for William’s
death?
5. Who was being held for William’s murder?
What does Victor say about her?
6. What did the police find to make them think
that she did it?
4. What does the monster threaten to do if
Victor does not give him what he owes him?
5. As the monster explains it, why is he the
way that he is?
6. What does Frankenstein “owe” the
monster?
7. What punishment did the accused person
receive?
7. Why does Frankenstein decide to go with
the monster and hear his story?
8. Why can’t Victor tell his family what really
happened to William?
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Chapter 7
Chapter 8
1. Who is telling the story now?
1. What language had the monster learned in?
2. What does the monster compare himself to?
3. How did the creature learn about fire?
4. What happened during the monster’s first
encounter with people? How do all people treat
the monster?
2. How did he learn about life outside of the
DeLacy household?
3. What made the monster begin to question
where he came from?
5. Why did the monster envy the people living in
the cottage?
4. How did the monster figure out what he was
and who his creator was?
6. How did the monster discover that the family
was poor?
5. Why was Mr. DeLacy not afraid of
Frankenstein?
7. Why did the monster feel bad?
8. How did the monster learn to speak?
9. What did Safie and Alex show the monster that
he had never seen before?
6. What is ironic about the monster’s
conversation with the old man?
7. Describe what happened in the DeLacy cottage
once the young people arrived?
10. What happened to make the DeLacy’s poor?
11. How did the monster learn to read and write?
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Chapter 9
Chapter 10
1. What mistake does the monster think he made?
1. Who is telling this part of the story?
2. What was Frankenstein’s initial response to the
monster’s request?
2. Why did the DeLacy’s move away?
3. What happened as a result of his anger?
3. What does Frankenstein do in order to help
him get started on his new project?
4. Who does he take with him on his trip?
4. How did the monster find Frankenstein’s
family?
5. What happened to the monster on his way to
Geneva?
6. What does the monster say about children?
7. How did the monster respond to killing
William?
8. Why does the monster put the pen in the
sleeping woman’s pocket?
5. Why was it hard for Frankenstein to enjoy the
trip?
6. Where does Frankenstein set up his laboratory
to complete his work?
7. What was different about this project and the
first one?
8. What are the possible negative scenarios that
Frankenstein thinks of for the new monster?
9. What did Frankenstein end up doing to his
project?
10. Why is the monster angry? What does he tell
Frankenstein as he is about to leave?
9. What does the monster demand of
Frankenstein?
11. What happens to Frankenstein at the end of
this chapter?
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Chapter 11
Chapter 12
1. Who was murdered and how?
1. What happened as Frankenstein stood over the
graves of his deceased family members?
2. Why didn’t the witnesses believe
Frankenstein’s alibi?
2. What has Frankenstein been doing ever since
he left Geneva?
3. What was the final ruling in Frankenstein’s
trial?
4. Who does Frankenstein receive a letter from?
5. For what reason has Frankenstein not married
Elizabeth?
3. What does the monster do to keep
Frankenstein chasing him?
4. What does the monster’s note to Frankenstein
warn him of?
6. When he decides to marry Elizabeth, how does
he prepare for the monster’s return?
5. What stops Frankenstein from catching the
monster once he gets close?
7. What happens to Frankenstein’s father and
why?
8. What happened to Frankenstein as a result of
his losses?
9. How does the judge respond to Frankenstein’s
story?
6. Why was Frankenstein happy to come aboard
the ship?
7. What does Frankenstein ask Walton to do if
Frankenstein dies first?
10. What does Frankenstein vow to do?
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Ending Letters
1. What is the first letter about? (Provide a 2-3 sentence summary)
2. What does the second letter tell us?
3. Letter 3
A) What good news does the third letter contain?
B) What happens to Frankenstein?
C) What does Frankenstein tell Walton to do?
D) What does Walton discover when entering Frankenstein’s cabin?
E) How does the monster react to Frankenstein’s death?
F) What reason does the monster provide when trying to justify his wrongdoings?
G) What does the creature tell Walton he is going to do now?
H) What did the monster do at the end of the story?
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