Frankenstein Reading Schedule: Four-Part Unit Plan for High School ELA

This is my recommended Frankenstein reading schedule for high school ELA. The novel breaks cleanly into four parts, each with enough plot, character development, and thematic material to anchor a week of instruction.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley runs approximately 80,000 words across 24 chapters plus four introductory letters. It is dense but not especially long. Most high school classes finish it in three to five weeks depending on how much reading happens in class versus at home.

The Four-Part Frankenstein Reading Schedule

Reading	Chapters	Pages (ISBN 978-1512308051)
Reading 1	Letters and Chapters 1–5	Pages 5–36
Reading 2	Chapters 6–12	Pages 37–71
Reading 3	Chapters 13–19	Pages 72–105
Reading 4	Chapters 20–24	Pages 106–143

This breakdown divides the novel fairly equally and gives each reading a natural stopping point. Each section also has its own dramatic arc, which makes for better discussion.

Reading 1: Frankenstein — Letters 1–4 and Chapters 1–5

“I had determined at one time that the memory of these evils should die with me, but you have won me to alter my determination… I imagine that you may deduce an apt moral from my tale…”

In this reading students meet Captain Walton, whose letters to his sister establish the frame narrative before Victor Frankenstein takes over as narrator. The section ends with Victor trying to recover after the shock of animating and immediately abandoning the creature.

The most important literary element to establish early is motivation. What drives people like the doctor and the captain to such extremes of ambition? Are their motives selfless or self-serving?

Discussion questions for Reading 1

What kind of character is the doctor? What led him to pursue his “unhallowed” practices?
What clues can we find in what he relates about his young life?
Does he really care about helping mankind, or only his own success?
What are his motives in telling the tale, and can we believe everything he says?
Why is it important that the captain relate the story rather than the doctor? What are the benefits of this point of view?

Helpful resource: “Everything you need to know to read Frankenstein” (6 minutes) from TED-Ed — previews the plot and gives historical context. Note: despite what the video implies, the doctor never explicitly says he uses electricity to animate the creature. He describes being impressed by a lightning strike as a child and says he might “infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing.” The electricity is conjecture.

Reading 2: Frankenstein — Chapters 6–12

“While I watched the tempest, so beautiful yet terrific, I wandered on with a hasty step. This noble war in the sky elevated my spirits; I clasped my hands, and exclaimed aloud, ‘William, dear angel! this is thy funeral, this thy dirge!’ As I said these words, I perceived in the gloom a figure… A flash of lightning illuminated the object — its gigantic stature, and the deformity of its aspect more hideous than belongs to humanity, instantly informed me that it was the wretch, the filthy daemon, to whom I had given life.”

This reading covers the murder of William, the execution of Justine Moritz, Victor’s repeated retreats into the natural world, and the beginning of the creature’s account. When the creature starts to tell of his early days, we enter a frame within a frame.

The key literary elements to address after this reading are mood, tone, and imagery — especially imagery of the natural world. Students should analyze the connection between Shelley’s descriptions of landscape and the emotional states of her characters. The doctor and the creature both see their inner lives reflected in the world around them. This is Romanticism in practice.

Discussion questions for Reading 2

How does Shelley use descriptions of nature to mirror the internal states of her characters? Choose one or two examples and analyze them.
In what ways is the doctor irresponsible in this section? What excuses does he offer, and do you find them convincing?
Can we believe everything the doctor tells us? What should we question?
How does Shelley describe the creature’s appearance? Why does she keep it vague?
What does the creature’s speech reveal about his character? Is he what you expected?

Reading 3: Frankenstein — Chapters 13–19

“I was shut out from intercourse with them, except through means which I obtained by stealth, when I was unseen and unknown, and which rather increased than satisfied the desire I had of becoming one among my fellows. The gentle words of Agatha and the animated smiles of the charming Arabian were not for me. The mild exhortations of the old man and lively conversations of the loved Felix were not for me. Miserable, unhappy wretch!”

The creature unfolds his story of learning what it means to be human, then learns that the joys of human connection will never be his. By the end of this reading, the doctor has accepted the creature’s proposal and is working to create a companion.

Shelley uses this section to develop her Romantic philosophy on human nature. The creature’s readings of Plutarch’s Lives, The Sorrows of Young Werther, and Paradise Lost are not incidental. Each book shapes his understanding of virtue, emotion, and his own impossible situation. Students should reach their own conclusions about what Shelley is saying through these choices before any class discussion.

This is also the point in the unit to think carefully about the characterization of the creature. It is already clear that Shelley’s original is nothing like the dim-witted figure of popular culture. We feel pity for him. The doctor, who claims to be caring and conscientious, does not. He is not motivated by pity or a sense of responsibility. He simply wants to be rid of a problem he created.

Discussion questions for Reading 3

What experiences mold the creature’s personality? How might he have turned out differently under different circumstances?
What does the creature take from each of the three books he reads? Which makes the greatest impression on him?
How does Shelley use allusions to Paradise Lost in this section? What does the creature’s comparison of himself to both Adam and Satan reveal?
Does Shelley want us to care for the creature? Explain your answer using specific evidence.
How does Clerval compare to the doctor as a character? What is Shelley’s purpose in the contrast?

Reading 4: Frankenstein — Chapters 20–24

“I was answered through the stillness of night by a loud and fiendish laugh. It rang on my ears long and heavily; the mountain re-echoed it, and I felt as if all hell surrounded me with mockery and laughter… The laughter died away, when a well-known and abhorred voice, apparently close to my ear, addressed me in an audible whisper, ‘I am satisfied, miserable wretch! You have determined to live, and I am satisfied.'”

The conclusion takes us through the destruction of the second creature, the murders of Clerval and Elizabeth, the pursuit across the Arctic, and the devastating resolution. Ultimately, despite his inconstancy, the doctor’s warnings on obsessive ambition are heeded by the captain. The Arctic voyage is cancelled. The albatross stays alive.

There is much to explore in concluding the study of Frankenstein: theme subjects including guilt, revenge, parenthood, ambition, isolation, and the survival instinct; structural elements like tension and suspense; allusions to the Bible and Greek mythology; and symbolic elements including the Arctic, the island, and silence.

The most interesting element may be how the doctor and his creation mirror each other by the end. The doctor gives the monster life and the monster gives the doctor a new reality. The obsession that created the monster creates a monster obsessed with revenge. The creature’s isolation becomes the doctor’s isolation. By the final pages, both wretches seek only to destroy each other. Shelley builds this symmetry carefully and students should be able to explain how and why.

Discussion questions for Reading 4

In what ways do the doctor and the creature mirror one another by the end of the novel?
Does the doctor truly take responsibility for his actions? What is the difference between feeling guilt and accepting responsibility?
How does Shelley build suspense leading up to Elizabeth’s murder?
Who suffers more, the doctor or the creature? Defend your answer.
Does the captain make the right choice in cancelling the voyage? What does his decision suggest about Shelley’s themes?
Did you find the resolution satisfying? Why or why not?

The Frankenstein reading quizzes are organized to match this four-part schedule, with one reading check per section. The formatted PDFs, customizable Word document, and answer key are available in the Frankenstein Reading Quizzes product. For the complete unit with 21 lessons, a final test, and all assessment materials, see the Frankenstein Unit and Teacher Guide.

FRANKENSTEIN Reading Schedule (4 parts)