The young men and women in our high schools are preparing themselves to make weighty decisions about their future. However, without a full understanding of who they are or what role they would like to play in the world outside of high school, these decisions are likely to be difficult ones, and Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein is an excellent tool with which to encourage students to face these questions about themselves. As a novel of development, or bildungsroman, Frankenstein showcases a creature created by science, not a human born, and his introduction into a world that does not and cannot understand him; he is thus forced to define himself as others see him, a monster. Introductory biographical, ethical and philosophical readings will lead the students into their study of the novel and its creation, and these readings and subsequent group and full class discussions will give them a framework through which to form questions about the creature's development and the influences the outside world has on him. Each student will be encouraged to tackle difficult questions about the creature and about himself or herself; each student will be expected to analyze why the creature developed as he did, whether it could have been prevented, and what can prevent humans from developing in a similar manner. The study of Frankenstein will, eventually, require students to ponder how they see themselves and how their own bildungsroman might be told.