The Elephant Man

1
The Elephant Man

• Setting
• 19th Century, London
• Most of story takes place in the London Hospital
• Characters
• John Merrick Elephant Man
• Dr. Frederick Treves
• Carr Gomm
• Mrs. Kendal (Actress)
• Mothershead
• Bytes (Freak handler)
• Night Porter

• Plot
• Surgeon saves a disfigured man from mistreatment
  and being presented as a freak show prize. Man is
  revealed to be quite intelligent and kind.

2
John Merrick or The Elephant Man

• A 21 year old English man
• Suffers from Chronic Bronchitis
• Keeps photo of mother
• Was found by Dr. Frederick Treves at a Circus
  Freak Show exhibit
• Taken to London Hospital to be observed and
  studied
• Looked down upon by all who dont know him as
  stupid and a monster
• Thought to either have suffered from
  Neurofibromatosis type 1 or Proteus Syndrome

• Limitations
• Unable to use right arm
• Limp
• Heavy head
• Unable to sleep lying down
• Problems with sight

3
John Merrick

• Adjustments
• Begins to speak, write, and read
• Tells how he is feeling
• Takes off clothes that hide his disability
• Makes model with one arm
• Wears a suit
• Meets lots of new people

• Social Interaction
• Positive
• Meets new people
• Is polite, kind, happy
• Goes to the theater
• Makes new friends
• Negative
• Freak show
• Yelled at by viewers
• Wears hiding clothes sometimes in public

4
Neurofibromatosis Type 1

• Facts
• A genetic disorder
• Caused by germline mutations in neurofibromin
• A tumor disorder caused by mutation of
  chromosome 17, which controls cell division
• Causes tumors along the nervous system

• Symptoms
• Tumors, Scoliosis, learning difficulties, eye
  problems, and epilepsy

• Treatment
• Depends on age range, occurrence percentage, and
  time of diagnosis
• Treat separate parts of symptoms

5
Proteus Syndrome

• Facts
• A congenital disorder
• Progressive disorder
• Does not cause learning disabilities itself

• Causes
• over growth of skin, bones, muscles, fatty
  tissues, and blood and lymphatic vessels

• Treatment
• Still being researched
• Rapamycin in research

6
Contributions of John

• Inspired all with his kind words and selfless
  behavior
• Showed everyone that people with
  disabilities/disorders could function in society
  and were intelligent
• Art
• John made this replica of the Mainz cathedral

7
Treatment

• John was treated like everyone else by only Dr.
  Treves at first
• Followed eventually by
• Carr Gomm
• Mrs. Kendal (Actress)
• Mothershead
• Nurses
• High Society Folk

• Mistreated by Bytes who beat and starved him as
  well as presented him as a freak
• Laughed at by society
• Thought as stupid/dumb
• Paraded again as freak by Night Porter for his
  own profit gain

Cap and Hood
8
Treatment Cont.

• Prejudice/Unfair Treatment
• Made to live in tower by himself until the board
  of the hospital approved his move to a nicer wing
  of the hospital
• Thought of as only a freak by many
• Made to dance/drink/kiss with Night Porters
  customers
• Things were broken
• Starved and beaten by Bytes

9
Hospital/Dr. Treves

• Hospital
• Staff were hesitant at first do to his
  appearance
• Tower room at first
• Fresh sheets and meals were prepared daily by
  hospital staff
• Bigger room provided
• Dr. Treves
• Talked with him and introduced him to many
  people and his home
• Looked out for John
• Introduced him to Mrs. Kendal and other high
  society folk

• What could have been provided
• Actual counseling
• Speech therapy
• Schooling
• Muscle coordination
• Muscle training
• Physical Therapy

10
IDEA/504/ADA

• IDEA
• John did not receive the education he should
  have according to the laws of IDEA
• Johns mother died when he was young and he was
  presented in freak shows
• According to my research, John left school at
  age 13

• ADA/504
• John was definitely looked on upon biased by
  many
• Unfortunately the movie does not show his
  employment, except that of freak show
• When in the care of Dr. Treves and the London
  hospital, John defiantly received access to
  anything that he wanted or needed
• But in the case of ADA/504 college and
  university settings does not apply to John as he
  never made it that far in his education