I started off by reading Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (published 1818). Surprisingly, I had actually never read this classic before. I found the initial letters somewhat difficult to get through (and found the writings to be a bit unbelievable considering the narrator was supposed to be uneducated). However, considering Mary Shelley was 19 and essentially wrote this in a weekend...
Getting into the meat of the novel, I found that my reading and engagement picked up quite a bit. I definitely enjoyed this much more than the initial letters. What really struck me throughout the novel is that we use Frankenstein as a ubiquitous Halloween monster with little intelligence or speech and virtually no emotion except a quest for destruction or horror. However, the "monster" in the novel really is the initial victim of the story. He was shunned by his creator, beaten by townspeople, and then cast out by the one family he took time to bond with. His initial intentions were nothing but noble. However, society turned him into the evil monster we think of today. Quite a strong social statement I think.
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