Monsters of Our Own Making by Marina Warner - Essay Example

DD Month YYYY Making Monster Monsters are usually metaphors to refer to what people find unnatural, extraordinary, cruel, inhuman, imaginary, or that which is huge in size in the society. Monsters represent people’s collective fears. According to Frankestein, a creature is regarded as being a monster because this is how every person defines him. Some refer something as a monster due to the physical attributes while other do this because of their character. In reality a monster is not born but is created as a result of people’s assumptions and based on what the society accepts. What one society accepts as being normal can be regarded as a monster in another society. Body Analysis of a Monster In the book Monsters of Our Own Making: The Peculiar Pleasures of Fear by Marina Warner is divided into three chapters. The first section, “Scaring” discusses the monster in this book which is the bogeyman. The chapter looks at the question “who eats and who gets eaten” the author uses this to explore the characters of monsters. Warner also explores fear that is brought about by the world. The monster in this chapter is Erlking also regarded as the King of the Alders who woos a boy riding with his father in the dark forest. The boy recognizes the danger facing him but his father does not see any form of danger. He uses every trick to attract the boy. The story end up with the death of the boy when they reached home. Erlking is the monster in this book because he is being persistent to get what he wants, in this case, something that will cause harm to the other person. The Erlking keeps requesting the boy to go with him with his words keeping on deepening each time (Warner, pg. 23). The Erlking even uses false promises that the daughters will be the boy’s lovely attendant with the aim of getting the boy. He eventually gets impatient and indicates that if the boy is not willing, he will use force. He finally seizes the boy. The deep voice also indicates that the creature is not natural and that it has supernatural powers. This Erlking is regarded as a monster because it instills fear on people. Forcefully taking a boy or boys who are moving through the forest is an act of spreading fear among people throughout the region. This character brings the aspect of death because a reader assumes that people taken face death which brings fear to all young people. It also brings fear among parents who face the tragedy of losing their children to the Erlking. He is a cold blooded creature that every person fears (Asma). Erlking is monstrous because he possesses the power to manipulate or be deceitful to attract the boy. He entices the boy by saying that his daughters will be the boy’s lovely attendants. Every night they will dance around and sing for him. In many cases the victims are people who are not in a position to protect themselves against the enemy. In this case the boy is not able to protect himself. This is evident from the fact that he tells his fears to his father who ignores them. The boy also does not possess the powers that are seen in the Erlking who is able to talk to the boy without the knowledge of the father. Erlking is also presented as an unnatural and cruel creature. He is able to talk to the boy without the knowledge of the father. Only the boy can be able to hear what he is saying while his father can only hear and see the old willow-trees that are looking so grey. It is unnatural for two people riding together to hear different things. The Erlking is however, misusing this power to harm innocent people who are passing through the forest. This is a common personality that is seen in monsters. This is also a mystical creature that can be described as being a monster. The character is a monster because it is a threatening force in the society. People are afraid of this creature. Even after the boy has been called to play lovely games and being assured of many gold garments, he recognizes the danger facing him. The boy cries out because he recognizes the threat that is facing him. This threat is confirmed by the death of the boy when he reached home. This character aims at causing harm to the society because it kills boys and instills fear to the society. When the boy’s father reaches home, he is overwhelmed with the anguish of losing his son who ends up dead. The morals of this creature are also not acceptable in the community, for example, killing people and spreading fear in the society. It goes against the natural laws that govern human beings and has an animalistic mindset like killing for pleasure. Many monsters act because they gain pleasure from what they do and not because they need to satisfy need or to survival. They enjoy pleasure in harming other people, who in most cases are innocent victims. In this case, the Erlking gains pleasure in tormenting the boy through the forest. Every other time there are more disappearances for those who fall into his trap and others face death. People are scared for themselves, their families, and their friends. Terror, confusion, and panic is everywhere in the region. Erlkings is cold-blooded and is capable of killing innocent people without thinking twice. He is hated and feared by not only other characters in the reading but also by the readers. The writer presents him as a sly and evil being who also abuses his powers to harm other people. If a character is able to possess all the characteristics seen in Erlking and people can be convinced that the character is scary and horrifying, it can be regarded as a monster whether people want to admit it or not. The Erlking tale still exists in some communities as part of their urban legends. Characteristics of Erlking also exist in real life situations where they represent the dark side and weaknesses of human beings. They represent the evil thoughts and negative feelings that people hold in their minds or which they act upon. Creating a new Monster The use of monster is broad and generally represents evil and ugliness. Monster are in existent even in real life situations, they do not have to be abnormal creatures that possess super abnormal powers like in the story. They can be ordinary people who spread fear through their actions or words. The attacks on the World Trade Center in the United States happened on September 11 and saw the world in a state of disbelief. The Islamic terrorist group called A-Qaeda was behind the attacks. Two attacks were on the twin towers of the World Trade Center and another attack was at the Pentagon in Washington DC. As a result of these attacks, more than 2977 people died and there was major destruction on properties and infrastructure that is estimated to be more than $10 billion. This attack was a bog blow not only to the government but also to citizens in the United States. Over the years, terrorists have been able to advance technologically and even socially where they can be able to persuade citizens of a country to do their bids (Mikulincer, 35). This has led to a new monster, one who no one thought would reach the US soil, and this is a terrorist. Jerry is a monster in the society and his aim is to create fear and panic in the society (CCHR). This is by spreading the al Qaeda’s published inspire magazine that trains domestic terrorists on techniques like forging documents, surveillance, and bomb making. This also makes citizens to live in fear because they are not sure about their safety, the neighbor or friend can turn and become terrorists as was the case in the Tsarnaev brothers. This is regarded as the future of future terrorist threats in America (Giannangelo, pg 21). With this method, terrorists cannot just people who travel from outside America, but can also be people in the society. They can be people’s neighbors, their friends, or their colleagues. He has become sophisticated and is even able to make deadly weapons at home. Conclusion Monsters are usually metaphors to refer to what people find unnatural, extraordinary, cruel, inhuman, imaginary, or that which is huge in size in the society. Monsters represent people’s collective fears. Monsters are persistent to get what they want and are impatient. Monsters instill fear on people, are cold blooded creatures that every person fears, possesses the power to manipulate or be deceitful, are unnatural and cruel creature, and are known for misusing their power to harm innocent people. Finally, monsters are characterized for being a threatening force in the society. The characteristics of a monster is clearly seen in the book Monsters of Our Own Making: The Peculiar Pleasures of Fear by Marina Warner. Erlking is a monster in this book because he is being persistent to get what he wants, in this case, something that will cause harm to the other person. The deep voice also indicates that the creature is not natural and that it has supernatural powers. He is regarded as a monster because it instills fear on people and possesses the power to manipulate or be deceitful to attract the boy. Erlking is also presented as an unnatural and cruel creature. He character is a monster because it is a threatening force in the society and causes harm to the society because it kills boys and instills fear to the society. Finally, just like many monsters, he acts because he gains pleasure from what he does. The use of monster is broad and generally represents evil and ugliness. Characteristics of Erlking also exist in real life situations where they represent the dark side and weaknesses of human beings. They represent the evil thoughts and negative feelings that people hold in their minds or which they act upon. The attacks on the World Trade Center in the United States happened on September 11 and saw the world in a state of disbelief. The Islamic terrorist group called A-Qaeda was behind the attacks. This has led to a new monster, one who no one thought would reach the US soil, and this is a terrorist. Work Cited Books Giannangelo, Stephen J. Real-life Monsters: A Psychological Examination of the Serial Murderer. , 2012. Print. Mikulincer, Mario, and Phillip R. Shaver. The Social Psychology of Morality: Exploring the Causes of Good and Evil. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2012. Print. Novels Warner, Marina. Monsters of Our Own Making: The Peculiar Pleasures of Fear. Lexington: University press of Kentucky, 2007. Print. In this book, the author explores monstrous habit where ogres devour children and bogeymen are seen haunting at night. Video Psychiatry: An Industry of Death (FULL VERSION) . Dir. CCHR. CCHR. 2011. YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvdBSSUviys. Website Asma, Stephen. The History, Philosophy and Psychology of Monsters in the European Imagination. 29 10 2010. Web. 06 10 2014. http://www.newberry.org/10292010-history-philosophy-and-psychology-monsters-european-imagination Read More