Responsibility: Frankestein Mary Shelly
Field: Literature
What is the ethical responsibility of creators or innovators? Of fathers to sons? Of humans to one another? The epigraph to the novel quotes lines from Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost, when newly-created man asks his God, “Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay / To mould me man? Did I solicit thee / From darkness to promote me?—“ In the novel, the monster asks Frankenstein the same thing—why did you create me? Did I ask to be created?
In an essay, examine the implications of responsibility in the novel. Your thesis or argument might focus on a specific character and his or her approach to responsibility, on a specific consequence of failing to take or resolving to take responsibility, or more broadly on how the theme of responsibility informs the novel. Regardless of your approach, your argument should be supported with ample evidence from the text.
