Frankenstein

We are about to read the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley in my English 11 class. I do not know what to expect, other than it is an older book and is a higher "reading level" than what we normally deal with. Also, it was a surprise to find out that a woman wrote this male dominated book. From what I have heard most of the characters in this book are male and therefore Shelley had to write from a male's point of view and try to determine how a male would react in different situations.

A few questions we were asked were: Can man create life? and, Does man have the right to create life?

Currently, we have technology to clone and therefore "create" life in a sense. So, the answer to that quesiton would be yes, we mankind can create life.The second question is a little more complicated. I do not think I have the power to determine what mankind's rights are, but I think that man should not clone or otherwise create life. Once mankind has that power, I am absolutely certain that a least one person will take that power and become extremely greedy and take it too far. Once we have the power to clone effectively, scientists will start to mess with genetics and altering, in order to make the animals we clone for food grow larger or produce more tasty meat, or try and clone humans to become war machines like in the popular video game series Metal Gear Solid.

Two more questions asked were: Do you believe in the sorcerer's stone? Immortality?

No, I do not believe that the sorcerer's stone exists, can exist, and immortality cannot be gained. This, in my mind, is impossible. There is nothing that can stop the aging process, other than cryogenically freezing an organism, which I am not sure if that is possible now.