QUESTIONs & ANSWERS

ON
I CREATE LIFE

A. Answer these questions:

1. Why was the narrator initially excited by his achievement?

Ans: The narrator was initially excited by his achievement because he thought that the
greatest breakthrough in human history would be entirely credited to him if he could infuse
life into a lifeless form.

2. How did the narrator create a human form and bestow life to it?

Ans: The narrator took different body parts from different dead bodies and combined them
together to create a new being.Then he infused life into the body by connecting different
wires to it and passing electricity through it.

3. Why was the narrator "overcome with remorse"?

Ans: The narrator was overcome with remorse when he realized that he created a repulsive and
beastial creature.

4. What made the creature run out of the narrator's bedroom?

Ans: While the narrator was sleeping the creature was watching him with yellow eyes. Once
the narrator realized that someone was watching him sleep he woke with a start and came
face to face with the beastial creature. At this, the narrator got scared and screamed. This
made the creature run out of the narrator's bedroom.

5. What proved to be a happy distraction for the narrator and why was this distraction
essential?
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 Ans: Henry Clerval, a dear friend of the narrator arrived at Ingolstadt after he received
permission from his father for dirtier studies. This proved to be a happy distraction and this
distraction was essential as the narrator finally got the chance to male contact with his
family.

6. Why was Justine imprisoned? What thoughts came to the narrator's mind at this
juncture?

Ans: Justine was imprisoned for the murder of William, the younger brother of the narrator.
The narrator was filled with dread as he thought that his brother was brutally murdered by
the creature he created and not by Justine.

7. Describe the various chance encounters that the narrator had with his creation.

Ans: The first encounter that the narrator had with his creature was when he was slleping
the the creature stood beside him watching him sleep.

The second encounter happened when the narrator was exploring the Swiss Alps.While
trekking across the mountains , one day he saw a man in the distance approaching him at a
frantic pace.As the man got closer , he realized that it was the monster he created.

8. Do you think the narrator should have taken care of his creation?

Ans : Yes , I think the narrator should have taken care of his creation.

9. Do you feel the narrator should refer to him as a demon?

Ans : According to me , however grotesque the creature might be , it was created by the
narrator and so the narrator should not refer to him as a demon.

B. Answer questions with reference to the context;

1. The thought sparked off several ideas into my head.

a. What thought has been referred to? b. What ideas came to his mind? c. Give another
word for sparked off? d. Describe the narrator's mood as reflected here.

Ans: a. The thought that the narrator had the power to create life sparked off several ideas into his
head.

b. Several ideas came to the narrator’s mind.They are as follows :

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  What this could mean for the future of humanity.

 It could mean that there would be no more diseases and deaths.

 It could be the greatest breakthrough in human history.

 The narrator’s discovery would be entirely credited to him.

c. Another word for sparked off – activate , set off , trigger , initiate etc.

d. The narrator was immensely excited as the thoughts triggered in his mind and he decided to go
ahead and conduct a full time experiment to check if his discovery would work.

2. To make my work easier

a. What was the nature of his work? b. What did he decide to do in order to make his
work easy? c. How long did it take to complete his work? d. Was he happy with the outcome?

Ans: a. The nature of his work was to create a new being.

b. He decided to do the work in the largest scale possible and selected parts from the biggest
human samples he could find.

c. It took several months to complete his work.

d. He was not happy with his work and was completely devastated and repulsed by his own creation.

3. My mind was now in turmoil.

a. Whose mind was in a state of turmoil? b. Why was his mind in a state of turmoil? c. What was
his immediate reaction to the turmoil? d. Why did he feel relieved the next morning?

Ans : a. The narrator’s mind was in a state of turmoil.

b. His mind was in turmoil as he realized that he had created a monster that was so ugly that even
he could stand the sight of it.

c. His immediate reaction was to go out of his bedroom and spent the entire night pacing the
courtyard.

d. He felt relieved in the morning as the creature was not in his laboratory anymore.

4. Deep inside my mind, I was filled with an irrational dread.

a. Explain the expression 'irrational dread' . b. When and why did he feel this way? c. Were his
fears justified? When did he realize this? d. Mention two words that would describe his
feelings at this point in the narrative.

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Ans: a. The irrational dread that the narrator felt was that he kept thinking that his brother’s death
was somehow linked his the monster he created.

b.Shortly after the creature went missing from his laboratory , the narrator was in for a rude shock.
He received a letter from his father which informed that his brother , William has been brutally
murdered and all evidence apparently pointed at Justine , a good natured and kind hearted girl
who worked for them.He was filled with an irrational dread as he kept thinking that his brother’s
murder was somehow linked with his created.

c. Yes , his fears were justified. Indeed , it was the monster who murdered William , the narrator’s
brother.

d. shocked and guilt stricken

C. Make a list of words that express the narrator's feelings about his creation.

Shocked , remorse ,repulsed , revulsion , tired , panic stricken , troubled , fearful , ashamed , dread

D. Rewrite these sentences as per the instructions.

1. I spent the next few days happy in the company of my good friend.

All thoughts of my creature , I conveniently ignored. (Rewrite as one sentence; begin with
ignoring....')

Ans: Ignoring all thoughts of my creature conveniently , I spent the next few days happy in
the company of my good friend .

2. I felt so sick at heart that I decided to spend some days exploring the Swiss Alps. ( Begin with
feeling sick)

Ans: Feeling sick at heart , I decided to spend some days exploring the Swiss Alps.

3. I saw in the distance , a figure of a man approaching me at fantastic pace. ( Begin with
Approaching me)

Ans: Approaching me at a fantastic pace, was a figure of a man in the distance.

4. He had wandered away in a confused state. (End with “….of confusion')

Ans: He had wondered away in a state of confusion.

5. When I reached home , I had the sad duty to try to comfort my father and poor Elizabeth.
( Rewrite using only one verb)

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Ans : Reaching home , I had the sad duty of comforting my father and poor Elizabeth.

6. All the while, I was aware that the Monster was watching my every move. (Rewrite replacing all
the while with another appropriate expression.

Ans: At the same time , I was aware that the Monster was watching my every move.

7. A thought ran through my mind ( rewrite using another word for ran).

Ans: A thought dashed through my mind.

8. Then at last one day I decided to sit down and complete my gruesome task. (Begin with
'Deciding to...')

Ans: Deciding to sit down at last one day and then complete my gruesome task.

E. Identify six adjectives from the passage :

When I reached home , I had the sad duty to comfort my father and poor Elizabeth. It was also
tortuous to me to be there at the trial of poor Justine, who even when she was in danger of loosing
her life in an unfair trial, tried her best to comfort others. At the end of the trial , poor Justine was
condemned to death , even though we were all quite sure of her innocence. I knew in my heart then
that poor Justine was the second victim of my miserable experiment.

F. Think and write.

1. Do you think the Monster had feelings ? Give reasons for your answer.

Ans: Yes . I think that the monster definitely had feelings. The monster himself described his
feelings to the narrator when he begged that the narrator listened to him. He told the narrator that
he felt miserable and hurt when he was abandoned by the man who created him.He was very
confused by the fear , hatred and rejection from everyone he encountered. He also mentioned how
he learned to use fire and communicate with others. But since no one was willing to accept his
gentle and meek heart , gradually the rejections made him angry and so he turned to violence and
started his path of destruction. This proves that the creature was indeed capable of feelings.

EXTRA QUESTION ANSWERS

1. Who is the narrator here ?

Ans: The narrator is Victor Frankenstein , a promising student at the University of Ingolstadt
who lived in Germany.

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 2. Where did Victor Frankenstein get the body parts for his monster?

Ans: Victor Frankestine got the body parts from different dead bodies for his monster.

3. Who was Victor Frankestine? What was his achievement?

Ans: Victor Frankestine was a brilliant young artist who used to create a living being by
bringing a dead body to life. His achievement was that he created a monster.

4. Describe the monster as his creator saw him.

Ans : The monster had yellow skin which barely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath .
His hair was lustrous black and flowing and his teeth had a pearly whiteness.His watery eyes were
set in dun-white sockets.

5. How did Victor spend the night the monster was created ?

Ans: After creating the monster , Victor rushed out of his laboratory and went to his bedroom to
sleep. he was disturbed by vivid dreams. During his sleep , he felt that the monster was watching
him . He screamed and rushed out of the bedroom in panic. He then took refuge in the courtyard
and spent the night miserably.

6. Why did Victor return home urgently ?

Ans: Victor returned home urgently as he got a letter from his father that his younger brother ,
William had been brutally murdered .

7. What was the monster’s condition to leave the narrator and mankind unharmed?

Ans: The monster asked the narrator to create a woman for him who would be his wife so he could live
happily with her.He promised the narrator that after getting his loyal companion , he would leave the
entire world in peace and go away to the wilds of South America.

8. Why does Victor the narrator create the monster?

Ans: The narrator creates the monster in hopes of achieving glory and remembrance through his
contributions to scientific advancement. However, he does not ever consider the many implications
involved with the creation of life.

9. Why does the narrator reject his creation?

Ans: While the narrator initially created the creature in hopes of achieving glory and
remembrance through his contributions to scientific advancement ,his over-ambitiousness ultimately
prevents him from empathizing with his creation, so he subsequently abandons it. Furthermore,
Victor abandons his creation because of his realization of what the creature personifies.

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 10. What does the narrator want to accomplish in life?

Ans: The narrator seeks to combine the best of old and new science to create a new being. He
becomes obsessed with the idea of creating the human form and acts upon it.

11. Who was Henry Clerval?

Ans: Henry Clerval was a dear friend of the narrator.

12. “shortly thereafter , I was in for a rude shock” – What was the rude shock?

Ans: The narrator received a letter from his father which carried the shocking news that his younger
brother , William was brutally murdered.

13. Why was it tortuous for the narrator to be present at the trial of Justine who was
accused of murdering his brother?

Ans: It was tortuous for the narrator to be present at the trial of Justine , who was accused of
murdering his younger brother because according to the narrator , Justine was in danger of loosing
his life for a crime she did not commit. The narrator correctly suspected that it was the monster
who brutally murdered his brother and not Justine.

14. How did the narrator knew for certain that the monster killed William?

Ans: The monster himself described to the narrator how he killed little William , his younger brother
.

15. How did the monster kill William?

Ans: The monster described to the narrator how he met little William in the words and killed him in
a state of jealous anger.

16. How did the monster put the blame on Justine and why?

Ans: After the monster killed William , he took shelter in a barn. There , he found Justine sleeping
peacefully. Seeing her angelic looks and knowing that she would hate him the moment she saw him ,
in a pique of fit , the monster put the lock he had stolen from William into her pocket knowing that
this could get her wrongly punished for a crime she has not committed.

17. Who is Elizabeth ?

Ans: Elizabeth is an orphan child adopted by the Frankenstein’s. She becomes a devoted daughter,
sister and eventually wife to Victor.

18. Who was Justine?

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Ans: Justine was a good natured and kind hearted girl who worked for the Frankenstein family.

19. Who was the second victim of the narrator’s miserable experiment?

Ans: Justine was the second victim of the narrator’s miserable experiment.

20. Was the monster full of violence from the beginning?

Ans: No , the monster was kind hearted and meek in the beginning. But gradually after he faced
constant rejection , he became full of anger and turned to violence.