Shelley’s Frankenstein touches on scientific, philosophical, and political ideas that were becoming increasingly important in both Europe and the United States during the 1800s. Find and read a copy of the Declaration of Independence, paying close attention to the opening lines of the Preamble. Then, consider similarities and differences between ideas the monster expresses in his plea to the doctor in Chapter 17 of Frankenstein and those the authors of the Declaration express in the Preamble.