This is a great read from The Public Domain Review. I asked my best friend this and now I'll ask you all: What three books would you recommend Frankenstein's Monster to read to better understand humanity?
https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/frankenstein-monster-reading-list/
So I chose Mencius not for the text as a whole, but there are two key stories in it I think are illuminating.
1. The Story of the Cow. There was a new ceremonial bell and to consecrate it, the king was to sacrifice a cow, but when he saw the cow, the cow looked scared so he took pity on it and ordered a random goat be used instead. The people thought he was cheap, but it was really an act of compassion.
The moral we can't know a person's intentions...
2. The example of a child near a well.
Mencius explains that a complete stranger can see a child playing near a well and will feel uneasy about it due tot he danger of the child falling in, despite not knowing the child, their parents, etc, and because of this Mencius argues that people are of a good nature.
And it is because of these two passages that I recommend Mencius.
I would recommend to a modern day Frankenstein's Monster the following:
To Kill a Mocking Bird - so he understands ppl are predjudiced and not just against ugly stitched up monsters, but anyone who is different.
The Diary of Anne Frank - so he knows that hate that goes unchallenged can bring out the worst in humans.
Last, The Very Hungry Caterpillar is about a caterpillar who eats a variety of foods before becoming a butterfly.
@Bliss all very interesting choices and all books I have enjoyed.
@BigMikey
atwood's a handmaid's tale to explain the lengths peeps will go to, to control women - whether that's men who hate us or women who have internalized that hate to seek men's approval.
vonnegut's sirens of titan explores the life of the richest man in a future america. a critique of capitalism, militarism, & religion.
duff's once were warriors explores destruction of self thru colonialism, w/ the loss of cultural identity & the healing that comes when a family reclaims it.
@BigMikey but a real struggle to pick just 3. i also like the collected poems of rumi that covers love, death, kindness, pain - i mean, truly the gamut of the human condition.
and there are others...but i tried to stick to 3. so that the monster could better understand the complicated & complex nature of human behaviour, attitudes, & actions.
When having the discussion with my friend, her choices centered around explaining the actions of humans/human nature, so my personal choices follow suit:
1. Sophie's Choice, because sometimes people are put in situations were they have no choice but to do horrible things.
2. Utilitarianism By John Stuart Mill, to explain that sometimes people do bad things because it hurts the least or the good it does out weights the bad.
3. Mencius. This one is going to take a bit of explaining...