Frankenstein in Baghdad

Each of the characters has a certain amount of power, though none are particularly well-placed in post-war Iraqi society. Choose two characters and write an essay that explores the power dynamic between the two. 

Mary Shelley’s original Frankenstein questioned technological and scientific progress. To what extent does this novel do the same? In what ways does it explore different kinds of progress?

What is the nature of truth, according to the novel? How important is objectivity?

In what ways does the novel play with narrative objectivity and stability? Choose a chapter that is particularly unstable and try to reconstruct it. What does the instability accomplish?

What is the relationship between innocence and guilt in the novel? Choose a character who seems to carry both in them. How is the character innocent and guilty? In what ways do these two things interact to develop their character?

What role do religion and spirituality play in the novel?

Do you believe that, in the world of the novel, the Whatsitsname is real, or was it concocted by Hadi (or another character)? Why or why not? If it is not real, what purpose does the story serve?

To what extent is this story faithful to the original source material? In what ways does it depart from that material? What do you think this serves in the larger story?