The sad tale Frankenstein's monster

My seniors just finished reading Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, a frontrunner of the horror genre and a sad commentary on the lack of redemption found in the acceptance of others. This is not the first time that I've taught this book but for some reason as I would prepare for each days lessons I found myself haunted by this tale. In the story, Victor Frankenstein's ambition leads him to create a monster using various body parts of cadavers. Horrified by the sight of his creation, Frankenstein abandons the monster, leaving him to fend for himself in a society that favored appearances and good manners. Of course, the monster is rejected and ill-treated by anyone who comes into contact with him. The whole book follows the monster's quest for revenge on Frankenstein only to be left disappointed in the end. No redemption. No hope whatsoever.

I tell my students often that to truly gain anything from a book, you must wrestle with the message of the story for a while and mull over its validity. In Frankenstein, one of the many messages is that humans are a product of their surroundings; each of us is born innocent and good but can be corrupted by those around us. This philosophy is very contradicting to the world view of a Christian and therefore is GREAT material to stimulate conversation in class.

Not to bash your whole theory, Mary Shelley, but according to the Bible there is none righteous- no not one. Born a sinner, if not by the grace of God, I would live an evil, misguided, lost life, resembling nothing good whatsoever. There is nothing good in me apart from God. Watching my students get so fired up about this truth was a joyous experience. These seniors are theologians already. They know the Word and they use it as a double-edged sword.

This morning I was reading Psalm 124 that summed up this thought so much more eloquently than I could ever:

If it had not been the Lord who was on our side—

let Israel now say—

 if it had not been the Lord who was on our side

when people rose up against us,

 then they would have swallowed us up alive,

when their anger was kindled against us;

 then the flood would have swept us away,

the torrent would have gone cover us;

 then over us would have gone

the raging waters.

 Blessed be the Lord,

who has not given us

as prey to their teeth!

 We have escaped like a bird

from the snare of the fowlers;

the snare is broken,

and we have escaped!

 Our help is in the name of the Lord,

who made heaven and earth.

Beautiful. Had it not been for the Lord...there's my story completely.