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Literature & Language
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English (U.S.)
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Topic:

Understanding Monstrosity

Essay Instructions:

Professor Jeffrey Jerome Cohen writes that, "the monster is best understood as an embodiment of difference, a breaker of category, and a resistant Other," and following his lead, I this week tried to explain Grendel's role in Beowulf as something akin to the Grinch, BBQ Becky, and our personal fears. I also talked about how Godzilla's role has changed over time: from being a metaphor for the senseless American destruction of Japanese cities to a harrowing reminder of how humans have abused the earth.
Given our discussion this week and all of the above examples, what is your growing understanding of how monstrosity is or can be used as a metaphor in literature and other media? Use examples from other books, stories, movies, TV, or news that you might be familiar with and try to explain how a "monster" figure is being used to make a larger cultural point about societal values.
Basic prompt (max 3 out of 5 points): use one example
Advanced prompt (max 5 out of 5 points): use two examples
Absolute minimum: 200 words

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Reading Response #6
Professor Jeffrey Jerome Cohen says monstrosity symbolizes diversity, breaks classifications, and is a resistive metaphor in literature and media. In addition, Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" and Thomas Harris's "The Silence of the Lambs" character Hannibal Lecter give varied views on how monsters represent cultural values.
In Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein," Victor Frankenstein's creation symbolizes the delicate relationship between social rejection and scientific aspiration. The monster starts as innocent and benevolent. He becomes monstrous due to society's constant rejection and estrangement. The creature's physical differences symbolize social otherness and society's fear and rejection of abnormality (Frankenstein by Mary Shelley). Shelley's story emphasizes the cultural idea that unchecked societal biases can create metaphorical monsters.
In "The Silence of the Lambs,"

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