Monster Culture Seven Theses: A Literary Analysis

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The conception of childhood and its image in literature has changed considerably overtime. The role of children in fiction gained importance in the late 18th century and is closely related to ‘Romantic revival’. Childhood in adult fiction represents certain philosophical ideas pertaining to a given age, gender, socio-cultural and economic set up. Up till 20th century majority of literary work depicted children as innocent beings incapable of causing any harm. 20th century with its brutal, terrifying world wars showed evil in the innocent child. Horror literature is popular amongst adults and children because they permit us to escape and acquire to cope. Terrifying stories can surpass any age and background. For grown-ups, horror can be a great and nerve-racking escape, but for children it can leave a life-long impact. Greg Ruth, a comic author and an artist, contested for more horror books for children, in a book called, ‘Why Horror is Good for You {And Even Better for Your Kids)’. He states, "Horror provides a playground in which kids can dance with their fears in a safe way that can teach them how to survive monsters and be powerful, too." (Greg Ruth, Why Horror is good for You) .It is extremely crucial for children’s overall development to possess power as long as their childhood is well taken care by their guardians. Stephen …show more content…

In Cohen’s essay, monsters are defined by seven different aspects pertaining to their appearance, character, or representation. First, monsters are always symbols and representations of a culture. They are brought into being because of certain places or feelings of a time period. Monsters are “an embodiment of a certain cultural moment.” (Monster Culture, 2) The monster is always at the “displacement”. They exist in the gap between the time of upheaval in which they were created and the instant in which it is