True Monsters in Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tim Franklin

The idea of what a monster is and how it pertains to modern day society has fascinated readers and writers for decades. Before taking this class, I was aware of what a monster is and the function it served in today’s society. Furthermore, after taking this class, I am now aware of what a monster truly is, and what really separates a monster from a regular person. The piece of text that I mainly chose to focus on and elaborate closely to demonstrate the aspects of a monster is appropriately named, Monster, by Walter Dean Myers. The reason I chose this piece of literature is because, Monster thoroughly elaborates what a monster is in todays society and how it functions in the modern day world. In this essay I will elaborate on

As the story continues Larry begins to lose his way and gets in trouble, Lucia tries to protect him from the harm that is coming to him but he continues to make it increasingly difficult for her. When Larry gets in an argument with Lucia about working for bootleggers he ends up pushing her, which is one of the most disrespectful action he could have taken, "The mother rushed across to him and hit him... He gave her a push that sent her staggering... The Le Cinglatas were aghast" (Puzo 69). Not only has Larry disrespected his mother but he did it in front of other people, truly embarrassing her. When Larry disrespects Lucia, it is a sign that she is losing her oldest son to the American ways more and more, which makes her worry for his safety in America. Instead of stressing over losing her son to America, Lucia steps back and lets him figure out what to do with his life on his own.

Larry Cook, father of Ginny, Rose, and Caroline as well as the main landowner of the thousand-acre farm, is the next character to be analyzed. He is introduced in the book as farmer that is looked up to by his community due to his success. He is the antagonist within the novel and slowly loses his sanity as the story progresses. This loss of sanity is due to Larry’s power and greed that take over him. It begins with his idea to retire and give his land evenly to Rose and Ginny, but after this massive life shift occurs he starts acting irrationally and lashes out at his previous caretakers. The foreshadowing of the major storm aligns perfectly with Larry’s final breaking point with Ginny, “His voice modulated into a scream, ‘Or tell me what I can do and what I can’t do. You barren whore! I know all about you, you slut.” (Smiley, pg. 452). After this, Rose talks to Ginny about their father raping them for years,

When it comes to the topic of obesity, most of us will readily agree that fast food is one of the main causes. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of readily available cheap food on the go. Whereas some are convinced that only unhealthy foods can be fast food, others maintain that fast food can be healthy too. Someone who believes that is Anthony Bourdain. Anthony Bourdain is not only a widely known chef and TV personality, but he is also an author. He graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in 1978. He has traveled often for his various television shows, which has made him well informed about other parts of the world. Since he has traveled all around the world, been added to the New York Times bestseller

This symbolically gives the reader an idea that Larry LaSalle likes Nicole, which upsets Francis because he loves her too. He is scared that he might lose her. Before Larry rapes Nicole he mentions that “… you and Nicole are special to me”. Larry did this deliberately so that both of them would believe in him and trust his words. Larry is manipulative because he tells Francis to “get going”.

“Fear and euphoria are dominant forces, and fear is many multiples the size of euphoria” - Alan Greenspan. New York author, Alan Greenspan, here is explaining that the threat fear presents is really no different than the state of intensity caused by euphoria. In Andrew J. Hoffman’s anthology, Monsters, there is substantial evidence that both fear and euphoria are inflicted upon men, by female monsters. The two threats men typically face against women are temptation and emasculation. Thus, in mythology and folklore, female monsters exemplify the impulse of desire (sexually) for men, and male weakness. These are creature that are lusted after and yet, still feared because of their power. Men find female monsters both fearsome and euphoric and will always threaten their dominance and control.

By listing the what myth monsters came from South America, Greek, Native American, and so on, Trout succeeds in giving the reader an idea of what the monsters were and where they came from. According to Trout, “everyday over the course of several million years, our ancestors saw and heard living creatures being torn apart and

The monster tried to make friends and meet people but as soon as he would try and talk to someone they would run away and be scared of him. One of the main reasons that the monster caused terror is that he was misunderstood by people. He was actually a kind monster but nobody would get past his looks (He actually conducted himself nicely). They decided based on his appearance that he was murderous and intimidating. For example, in the novel, the monster was talking to the blind man then, “ The cottage door was opened, and Felix, Safie, and Agatha entered. Who can describe their horror and consternation on beholding me? Agatha fainted, and Safie, unable to attend to her friend, rushed out of the cottage. Felix darted forward, and with supernatural force tore me from his father, to whose knees I clung, in a transport of fury, he dashed me to the ground and struck me violently with a stick” (Shelley 161). The blind old man could not tell that the monster was ugly and intimidating so he had no problem with him, the other cottagers saw him and they immediately got scared of him and beat him with a stick. He spent his life alone, with nobody to talk to and he became envious of other people. That is why he killed people, not because he is mean, but because he had no way to control his anger

Throughout history we see monsters taking many different shapes and sizes. Whether it be a ghoul in the midst of a cold nightly stroll or a mass genocide, monsters are lurking everywhere and our perception of what monsters truly are, is enhancing their growth as a force with which to be reckoned. Fear of the unknown is seen throughout time, but as humans progress we are finding that things we once were afraid of we are less frightening than they once were. Monsters can evoke fear in their targeted victims rather than physically harm their victims. For instance, every year a new horror film is released with the next scary beast, but why do we call something a monster even if we know it is not real? Even certain people and creatures are

What defines a monster? Is it their grotesque, unnatural appearance that separates them from the rest of mankind, or is it their lack of remorse and compassion that makes them different? The word monster conjures up figures from gothic horror of exotic peoples with horrifyingly exaggerated features, and the kinds of impossible delusive beasts inhabiting the pages of medieval bestiaries. Well at first I thought exactly that. When I used to hear the word “monster”, my mind immediately pictured the petrifying beast that took residence under my bed for a substantial portion of my childhood. It had demonic beating red eyes, razor sharp teeth that glistened with fresh blood and amphibian like scales covering every inch of its enormous body. However, as I got older, I started to realize that there was no such thing as monsters and that it was all just a figment of my imagination. Accordingly, the fear of the monster under my bed slowly dissipated. Nevertheless, it wasn’t until after reading a quote by my favorite author, Steven King, that I was finally able to fully comprehend what the true definition of the word “monster” really was. “Monsters are real, ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes they win”. It had taken me awhile to truly grasp what King had meant, but then it clicked. Everyone has a monster inside them, dormant or not. That monster is the voice we hear in the back of our heads, urging us to cheat or to steal, and in some instances, worse. That monster

There is such kind of monsters, remain their appearance as a human, yet the things they do can only describe as monstrosities. They are not monsters in books and literature, a fear of unknown or sexual desires. People were, or still are facing actual brutal violence or psychological terror from those monsters. More importantly, the monster being talked here is one of our kind. They are human, yet described as “inhuman”, under the inhuman category of Stephen T. Asma’s book On Monsters, a bloody history, a dark past of humanity have been introduced as a monster. It is Khmer Rouge’s infamous security prison S21: the representation of the massacre took place in Cambodia in 20th century and this kind of monster, unfortunately, is still relevant to the world, even till this day.

The book I chose is called Monster by Walter Dean Myers. This novel won the Coretta Scott King award , the Printz award , and was also a National Book Award Finalist. Monster is the name and thing that Steve considers himself as he has gotten in a bit of trouble. This novel took place in Harlem New York in mid year of 1997. Steve harmon was in a drug store while some of the people he has been seen around the neighborhood with stuck the place up and murdered the owner of the store in cold blood now he is on trial for Felony 1 murder and this is the story of his trail. Our lives compare to each others in many ways. There are thousands of inferences that could be made

Monster is an example of what Patty Campbell would call a “landmark book.” Texts such as these “encourage readers to interact with the text and with one another by employing a variety of devices, among them ambiguity” (Campbell 1) Because it is told through the eyes of Steve himself, the plot can be difficult to decipher. It is ambiguous whether he is innocent or guilty of being involved with the crime. Steve learned to make things unpredictable from his film teacher Mr. Sawicki who teaches him, “If you make your film predictable, they’ll make up their minds about it long before it’s over” (19). Steve took his teacher’s advice and made this film script entirely unpredictable,

Monsters run free in epic poems of centuries far past; horrific, villainous creatures of fantasy who illustrate all that is bad in the world and stand for the tribulations the epic hero much overcome. The Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf is no different. Some are born of, and in turn give birth to legends, such as the fire-breathing dragon, while others are tied to the bible. In studies, Beowulf's monsters are explained and will continue to be analyzed as symbolic of countless different ideas. In relation to each other and the epic's hero, the monsters of Beowulf represent the ever-present flaws of humanity and the monstrous feelings or behaviors that over take the mind in a moment of weakness, leading to eventual downfall.

The monster is practically human in his want for love and fraternity. Since his creation, he is dismissed and abused by everybody he meets, including his creator. It is his depression and dismissal by the public that makes him so malevolent. The main individual who at first acknowledged him as a helpless being who required comprehension was De Lacey, and it was on the grounds that he was visually impaired and in this way, did not pass judgment on the monster by appearances. "Nothing could exceed the love and respect which the younger cottagers exhibited towards their venerable companion. They performed towards him every little office of affection and duty with gentleness; and he rewarded them by his benevolent smiles"(page 101) The monster learns good habits with looking these people, and their experiences daily which, then, he has resentment towards his creator, that he is eviler in his behavior than the monster with his appearances.