1. (A) Is John Merrick a Monster? In your answer, consider how you could use the following Areas of Knowledge to justify your claims.
I do not think John Merrick is a monster. Personally I believe a monster is something that is not human, and when i same not human i mean not homo sapiens, not the worlds idea of what a person should be. This is justified bt the Areas of knowledge following. (counter claim included)
a) History: In history people have described monsters as people like Hitler that create massive amounts of destruction, or do things that the 'average' person can not imagine having on their conscience. John Merrick never does anything destructive in his life time. On the contrary he creates rather than destroys, he creates a work of art. A counter claim to this is that in History anything that we have found different from ourself we treat it with fear or hatred (ex. witchcraft, people of different races, etc), and automatically call it a monster. John Merrick is definitely different from the normal, and could therefore be classified as a monster.
b) Natural Science: In natural science people have defined a monster as some type of disease that controls a person and turns them into something new. One could argue that Johns appearance is most certainly a disease that is far from the norm, therefore he is a monster. However he is still mentally there. The disease may control his appearance but it does not effect his mind, it does not control him mentally as an individual and cause him to act in a way monstrous or inhumanly.
c) Social Science: In social science a monster is someone that does not respond to social cues, acts different from the norm, or is threating/harmful to others. At first John does act different from the norm, but what he is introduced to a safe environment he in fact acts with class and all social cues of a normal person. Nothing in his manner is threatening or harmful.
d) The Arts: In the arts a monster is portrayed as a something not human, extremely deformed, scary, it normally has claws, and some type of threatening look to it. John certainly does not have a look of threat to him, for the most part he has a look a fear. Yes he may be greatly deformed but he still has a very human element to him, that most monsters in art do not have.
2. John Merrick claimed, "I am not an animal, I am a human being?" What does he mean? How does he know?
Here John Merrick is claiming that he is human, that he is no different then the rest of us. Just because his appearance is altered by a disease he is still human. He wants people to treat him so and not treat him as something to view like an animal in a show. He also does not want to be treated as something to be feared of, like a monster or a fierce vulgar looking animal. He knows this because both of his parents were human beings, science tells us that if both parents are human the child must be human. He also knows he is human because the doctors (authoritative) tell him that he is human, but only has a physical deformation.
3. Dr. Treves claimed, "Am I a good man, or am I a bad man?" What does he mean? How does he know?
When he says this he is stating his confusion over what he has done to John Merrick. He can not differentiate between his selfish needs for greed and how it has effected John. His greed lead him to think that what he was doing to John was for the best. He knew that John would not be accepted into to society, so he thought by teaching him that he is an outcast he would protect him from gaining knowledge and being hurt even more. He has knowledge of how he has effected John by the doctors change in John. He can see that John can be 'normal' and accepted and is confused about what he once thought was right.
4. What role does the herd mentality play in the film? Please be specific in your answers.
Herd mentality plays a huge role in the film. In the film there is there is images of elephants stampeding and the fight that breaks out in the hospital is also a representation of it. The reason why the director presented this images is to represent how humans follow the crowd, and how this was a huge effect on John Merrick's acceptance in society. When he was a circus act and a bunch of people laughed at him it was acceptable to make fun of because others were doing it too. When he was taken into the hospital people began to treat him as a human, he became more accepted. Then when the actress became friends with him it became something acceptable to do, and others 'followed the herd' and accepted him as well.
5. How did the community react to the different Monsters in the film? Please explain your answer.
There was many different monsters the people reacted to in several different ways. The community reacted to the freak shows as one would expect, with humorous fear. Fear because it is different and humor because it is something different from the norm and they do not know how to react. People reacted to John Merrick similarly but with more of an extreme. This was done because his deformities are so extreme and so different that it was nothing people had seen before. Also his likeness to being a human and how this is something that could happen to anyone makes it more frightening. The night watchmen can also be looked upon as a monster, however the community reacts to him herd like as above. He is a monster to John Merrick, but since people are following him it becomes ok, so people follow him with no regrets.
6. John Merrick claims, "We are afraid of what we don't understand." Do you agree? Does this statement apply to the modern world or have we learned to treat perceived Monsters with dignity? Please be specific in your answer.
I do agree with this statement because what we do not understand is s
