Rhetorical Analysis of “Monsters and the Moral Imagination” Many people believe monsters are imaginary creatures that are seen in movies or even for others, it could be a serial killer that was heard about on the news. Stephen T. Asma wrote “Monsters and the Moral Imagination” which “first appeared in the Chronicle of Higher Education in October 2009” (Hoffman 61). Asma, who is a professor of philosophy, examines how different individual’s perceptions of a monster can be different depending on the era or even events happening around them. In “Monsters and the Moral Imagination,” Stephen T. Asma wrote a nonfiction, persuasive article for an educated and possibly specialized audience to examine how the idea of monsters have changed over time, what could be the motivation to create them, or even how life experiences could change an individual’s perceptions.
Monsters are born in literature through their words, origins, thoughts, and actions. Into Thin Air, by Jon Krakauer, as well as Burton Raffel’s Beowulf, contain such monsters that are large impediments to the hero’s quest. Also the expeditions or quests are affected in terms of intimidation by the monsters who are always overwhelming at first to the pessimistic eye such as how the Israelites viewed Goliath, the Philistine, when David went to fight him. A monster’s thoughts, origins, and words are often used to construct the description of monstrosity in literature and are very critical.
Monsters will NEVER ever die: all cultures around the world have them and have had them since people first thought of them. Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Columbia College Chicago, Stephen T. Asma, in his essay, Monsters and the Moral Imagination, describes how we look at and are drawn to monsters. But not just monsters, murderers and psychopaths also. Monsters never age, ranging from the first civilization to now. In Asma's essay he asks, "Why do monsters exist?
People are often scared of monsters when they are young, but once they grow older and mature, they begin to realize that the idea was made up in their heads. However, some people are so set on the theory of there being mythological creatures that they do not think of the possibility of actual people being monsters instead. We like to believe that we live in a world where none of us are sane and our behavior is superb. When in reality, it is the opposite. We do not realize how much hatred, rape, and violence there is in the world.
Monster Culture Jeffrey Jerome Cohen is the writer of “Monster Culture: Seven Theses.” He went to the University of Rochester and acquired a PhD in English and has been teaching at George Washington University since 1994. The intended audience of this essay is anybody interested in the monster culture. This essay came from Monster Theory: Reading Culture.
Monsters are a topic everyone can relate to. In Where our Monsters Come From, Leo Braudy speaks of the origin of Halloween, where monsters stem from, and four main kinds of monsters and their origin. Each of these four monsters is relatable to a human element and possibly even our darkest realities. These monsters are ones of nature, creation, one stemming within us, and one of the past. Braudy’s story about these monsters has a deeper connection meant to instill in the reader with a reality on what a monster actually is: us.
In Jeffrey Jerome Cohen’s Monster Culture (Seven Thesis), Cohen analyzes the psychology behind monsters and how, rather than being a monstrous beast for the protagonist of the story to play against, “the monster signifies something other than itself”. Cohen makes the claim that by analyzing monsters in mythology and stories, you can learn much about the culture that gave rise to them. In Thesis 1 of Monster Culture, Cohen proposes that “the monster’s body literally incorporates fear, desire, anxiety, and fantasy”, specifically the fear, desire and anxiety of the cultures that gave rise to it;; fFor example, vVampires, undead, represent a fear of death. Monsters are born of an intense fear, desire, or internal conflict, “at this metaphorical
Landon Conroy Mr. Schmidt English 9 Honors 3 April 2024 Title of paper The battle between monster and man has always been one-sided and this is because man fears the monster but the monster doesn’t fear man. Even though we have evolved throughout time, we have done nothing to eliminate our fear of these monsters and give ourselves an advantage over them. Some examples in “The Odyssey” were when Odysseus and his crew faced Scylla, with their new spears, weapons, and a ship, but the monster still took 6 crew members easily, even though the men had all of the equipment. The men were also scared to death.
The fear felt for monsters and ultimately connected to desire. Jeffery Cohen has a clear opinion of this. “We distrust and loathe the monster at the same time we envy its freedom, and perhaps its sublime despair.” They are both terrifying and the heart of fantasies. This accounts for the monster’s popularity.
Monsters lurk inside every living being, clawing at the back of their mind. Real monsters form when that dark sensation escapes their control, bending them towards evil. Most monsters, however, do not fit the whole definition of the term “monster,” instead they display dialed down parts of monstrous behavior. Nonetheless, they prowl throughout
Comparing society in Beowulf and society in Frankenstein is like comparing a simple farm to the processing plant; futuristic and totally dissimilar. Although, the core ‘monsters’ are unchanged; grotesque, horrifyingly pagan-esque beings of the dark that strike terror in to the hearts of even the stoutest of fighters and the sanest of men. In the Christian and Medieval world, monsters were human beings with an unnatural birth or a birth deformity (Stitt, 2003). The term ‘monster’ derives from the Latin term ‘monere’ which means ‘To warn’ or ‘to advise’ and ‘monstrum’ which is ‘a sign or portent that disrupts the natural order as evidence of divine displeasure’. The aspect of ‘Divine Displeasure’ is attributed almost perfectly to Grendel, the monster of Beowulf and the terror of Hrothgar.
The monster archetype has been one of the most riveting archetypes that surrounds the concept of ‘evil’. It has been portrayed as a supernatural creature with grotesque features that normally brings disruption to the city and needs to be tamed or controlled to bring once again peace to the story. Due to this, it is most commonly depicted with a negative connotation, and with the idea of horror and fear. The monster has been present since the bible, which was written approximately 3,400 years ago, with the anecdote of Goliath. It has remained with its primary role of converting the protagonist into a hero and providing fear to the storyline.
In Jeffrey Jerome Cohen’s Monster Culture (Seven Thesis), Cohen analyzes the psychology behind monsters and how, rather than being a monstrous beast for the protagonist of the story to play against, “the monster signifies something other than itself”. Cohen makes the claim that by analyzing monsters in mythology and stories, you can learn much about the culture that gave rise to them. In Thesis 1 of Monster Culture, Cohen proposes that “the monster’s body literally incorporates fear, desire, anxiety, and fantasy”, specifically the fear, desire and anxiety of the cultures that gave rise to it; for example, vampires, undead, represent a fear of death. Monsters are born of an intense fear, desire, or internal conflict, “at this metaphorical
For centuries stories have been told about monsters. Stories that include monsters themselves as the main character, and stories that include a battle between a heroic figure and the monster to represent good vs. evil. The root word for “monster” is “monstrum”, which means that which reveals or warns. A monster is the product or symbol of a culture from which the monster comes from. They are more than their physical body and entertainment value that plays into these stories of the monstrous figure we read about or watch in movies or television.
To condense the first official chapter of Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus, Frankenstein, the narrator, briefly describes his family life. He is originally from Genoa, Italy, where his family is in a distinguished social class. His forefathers’ occupations were advisers and government officials for many years. His father was respected for his honesty by everyone that knew him. One of his best friends that was mentioned was Beaufort, a proud merchant who was experiencing destitution.
