It’s Alive! CREATING MONSTERS!
“Monsters” in society are often manifestations (creations) of that which man fears, often
something he wants or needs to explain. The monster is the fear personified, and it is a
metaphor for the problem; likewise, the monster’s weakness may also be the same way
society can destroy the problem or fear. Here are some examples from history and literature:
-For the Ancient Greeks, it was Scylla or Charybdis, embodying the forces of nature.
-In the Bible, written in agrarian communities in the ancient Near East, it was the 'Four
Horsemen of the Apocalypse:' War, Famine, Pestilence, and Death who were the omens of the
end of the world.
-For 'Dark Age' British warriors in 'Beowulf,' it was Grendal, a warrior monster.
-For John Milton writing 'Paradise Lost' at the end of a bitter civil war over religion, it was
Satan, the symbol of evil.
-For Mary Shelley during the 'Age of Reason,' it was Frankenstein's monster, science gone too
far.
-For Robert Louis Stevenson, surrounded by intense debates on psychology culminating in
Freud's personality theories, it was Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde.
-For the Japanese who experienced the horror of nuclear bombs in World War II, it was
Godzilla, a radiated prehistoric monster.
Take a moment to reflect (write) upon a major world problem that you fear. What are some
moral conflicts we are facing in the modern world? If you could fix one world problem, what
would that be? How would you “save” or “change” the world, if you could only eliminate one
evil or social ill? How would you do it?
Now, describe this fear; personify it. What characteristics does it have? What would it look
like? Would it be human, animal, or other? If your fear came to life to terrorize the planet,
what would it look like? Would it have a weakness? How would someone stop the monster?
Extra Credit: Include a picture/drawing of your creature; make it scary!!