Monsters

1
Monsters

• lions, tigers, and basilisks
• Oh my!

2
Monster Means

• From the Latin- Monster
• Monstrare to show
• Monere to warn
• Monstrum that from which we learn

3
And

• From the Gk. Drakon- Dragon or Large Serpent
• But also means sharp-sighted
• Associated with wisdom and foresight

4
Monsters in mythology

• Monsters exist in every mythology throughout the
  world.
• They represent the fears of a particular culture
  at a given time.
• Our own human failing and inner demons

5
Monsters Serve a Purpose

• Most often related to
• Teach
• Warn
• Show
• Something about our weaknesses

6
And

• Scapegoat- (tied to purpose)
• Hebrew- actual goat
• Philippines
• Mayan
• Athens/Greece

7
Monsters in modern pop-culture

• In ancient society, while the background of the
  monster may be explained via myth (Medusa,
  Minotaur, etc.) this information is solely
  provided as a what not to do.
• Sympathetic response to monster plight occurs in
  modern society as we read new stories like Shrek
  and John Gardners Grendel which present a
  sympathetic view where we feel sorry for their
  plight.

8
FORM

• Form both
• Appearance
• Behavior
• Not Human Unnatural
• Hybrid
• Often of recognizable animal parts
• May be seen as part human

9
Monsters as individuals

• Most children go through stages where they have
  immense fear of the unknown.
• This leads to all manner of early monsters in our
  individual lives
• Bogeyman
• Monster under bed, in closet, etc

10
Monsters physical appearance

• Physically mythological monsters are
  representations of the often localized fears of
  the society they stem from
• Snakes
• Bulls
• Shadows
• Spiders
• Women lol (it is true!)

11
Monsters symbolically

• Represent the fear of mans self.
• This fear is normally represented in terms of the
  monsters actions
• Extreme rage, anger, evil, immorality is often
  represented here.
• An important side-note here. Even
  simple-minded creatures (yeti, bigfoot, etc.)
  can still represent complex symbols.

12
Examples of human flaws in monsters.

• Vampires
• Werewolves
• Wizards
• Giants

13
Examples of human flaws in monsters.

• Vampires
• Werewolves
• Wizards
• Giants

• Humanitys weakness for sensuality.
• Humanitys fear of our own animalistic nature
• Fear of mental powers corruption.
• Fear of corruption via physical power.

14
Destroying/Defeating the Monster

• Intelligence
• Divine Intervention/Blessing
• Good luck/ Fortune

15
Monsters and heroes

• Typically within a heros story he is forced to
  face a number of monsters, each representing the
  physical, emotional or psychological weaknesses
  of the hero.
• Nemean Lion Invulnerable to weapons so Heracles
  must face his fear of his own physicality.
• Ringwraiths force Frodo to deal with his problems
  rather than hide.

16
Nemesis

• From nemein- to "distribute, allot, apportion
  one's due (Greek goddess of vengence)
• The heros nemesis (not in every myth)
• When it is not present, the role of the nemesis
  is typically the hero him/herself.
• When present, the nemesis represents all of the
  heros flaws and weaknesses and will require that
  things learned throughout the journey be used to
  defeat it.