American Literary Monsters
The term “monster” is vastly used in many aspects of life, from physical fear to psychological manipulation. The word “monster” originally meant something large or disproportionate such as a monster truck or a gila monster. In American Literature, this isn't always the case. Once American writers began to create stories of monsters, the traditional good versus evil plot of English writers changed slightly. The Americanized monster is more likely to denote hidden intentions and unspoken desires. The Devil is a prime example of this; in older tales, such as “The Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving, a monster is disguised as a Native American, who were thought to be savages at the time. A more modern example would …show more content…
The whole idea of monsters in literature conforms to the needs of the time period; in colonial American Literature, the Devil took on disguises to deceive the weak-minded, while monsters and fear are different in the new Americanized style of monster. The Devil has been in literature for thousands of years. Likewise, when American writers began creating a new kind of monstrosity, some turned to the universal fear of the Devil and implemented these Americanized traits in their stories. In the short story “The Devil and Tom Walker”, the main character, Tom, knows that there is a dangerous Native American ritual zone. He is driven by greed and enters, despite the imminent danger he could face. Once Tom arives, the Devil, knowing of Tom’s intentions, disguises himself as a Native American and confronts Tom. Author Washington Irving describes the Devil as “dressed in a rude Indian …show more content…
America has become infatuated with this Western-born monster over the years, most of the interest has been, in part, due to author Stephen King. His monstrous catalogue of novels almost entirely consist of the horror genre. One of his most famous and recognizable creations is Pennywise the Dancing Clown from the 1986 novel IT. Pennywise is an extraterrestrial lifeform that manipulates humans by disguising itself as a clown. After he has drawn someone close enough, Pennywise unnoticably changes forms into that particular person’s greatest fear. The novel opens with two brothers on a dreary day after a flood. Bill, the older brother, makes George an origami boat. In order to make it float, he needed the wax that was in the cellar. As George descended into the cellar, his mind wandered to a place of
The term “monster” is vastly used in many aspects of life, from physical fear to psychological manipulation. The word “monster” originally meant something large or disproportionate such as a monster truck or a gila monster. In American Literature, this isn't always the case. Once American writers began to create stories of monsters, the traditional good versus evil plot of English writers changed slightly. The Americanized monster is more likely to denote hidden intentions and unspoken desires. The Devil is a prime example of this; in older tales, such as “The Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving, a monster is disguised as a Native American, who were thought to be savages at the time. A more modern example would …show more content…
The whole idea of monsters in literature conforms to the needs of the time period; in colonial American Literature, the Devil took on disguises to deceive the weak-minded, while monsters and fear are different in the new Americanized style of monster. The Devil has been in literature for thousands of years. Likewise, when American writers began creating a new kind of monstrosity, some turned to the universal fear of the Devil and implemented these Americanized traits in their stories. In the short story “The Devil and Tom Walker”, the main character, Tom, knows that there is a dangerous Native American ritual zone. He is driven by greed and enters, despite the imminent danger he could face. Once Tom arives, the Devil, knowing of Tom’s intentions, disguises himself as a Native American and confronts Tom. Author Washington Irving describes the Devil as “dressed in a rude Indian …show more content…
America has become infatuated with this Western-born monster over the years, most of the interest has been, in part, due to author Stephen King. His monstrous catalogue of novels almost entirely consist of the horror genre. One of his most famous and recognizable creations is Pennywise the Dancing Clown from the 1986 novel IT. Pennywise is an extraterrestrial lifeform that manipulates humans by disguising itself as a clown. After he has drawn someone close enough, Pennywise unnoticably changes forms into that particular person’s greatest fear. The novel opens with two brothers on a dreary day after a flood. Bill, the older brother, makes George an origami boat. In order to make it float, he needed the wax that was in the cellar. As George descended into the cellar, his mind wandered to a place of