January Calendar

Reflecting on Monsters Assignment

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Reflecting on Monsters

As we read Frankenstein, a closer look at the novel suggests deeper questions to careful readers: What is it to be human? What is the meaning of life? What is consciousness? Why do we believe? How do we fear? Why is beauty in the eye of the beholder? What is ugliness? Why? Why not?

These kinds of questions that ask people to look beneath the surface of everyday thinking. This kind of deeper thinking is called reflecting or introspection. The purpose of the following activity is to get you to reflect on the topic of monsters and their makers.

But instead of just asking you to begin reflecting, search the internet to find something to spark your thoughts. You’ll use the Web to get your mind tuned to the topic.

Follow the natural twists and turns of your thinking as the most important approach to the topic. Look at the rubric to understand the requirements of the writing.

An Opening Occasion
The world around us often sends a “wake up call.” Sometimes this is in the form of a new idea or powerful emotion. Sometimes it is in the form of a news story that breaks your heart or sharpens your perceptions.

What do you fear?

We all have had irrational, imaginary fears. But we also have very rational fears that inspire our daydreams and influence the way we live our waking lives. Fears might include: Cancer, global warming, cloning, mad cow disease, terrorism, famine, nuclear power, endangered species . . .

Use the chart below to list five fears you have. What quickens your heart or chills your blood—in real life?

Fear Reason










Choose one of the above fears. Search the web to explore your fear. When you find it, write a solid paragraph that describes the event, example, information, or image related to that fear that was most powerful to you. Use the following websites to begin your search:
CNN.com
msnbc.msn.com
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Second Reflection
Looking more deeply at the description you just wrote, find the abstract idea that is at the heart of your exploration. In other words, what underlying concept or cause are you really writing about? What is at the root of your fear? War, hunger, environment, technology, ignorance, poverty, death or simply fear itself?

Write a short paragraph that explains and highlights an abstraction you’ve drawn out of your opening occasion paragraph.
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A Closer Look
Not everything is as we first think. The important ideas, themes, and emotions that play through what we call the Human Condition are complex and subtle. Monsters are recurring symbols throughout history and across cultures. They just take different shapes. Myths abounded with monsters.
• For the Ancient Greeks, it was Scylla or Charybdis, embodying the forces of nature.
• In the Bible, written in agrarian (farming) communities in the ancient Near East, it was the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: War, Famine, Pestilence, and Death who were the omens of the end of the world.
• For Dark Age British warriors in Beowulf, it was Grendel, a warrior monster.
• For Mary Shelley during the Age of Reason, it was Frankenstein’s monster, science gone too far.
• For the Japanese who experienced the horror of nuclear bombs in World War II, it was Godzilla, a radiated prehistoric monster.
DRAW AND WRITE
What is your monster? What symbol, character, or image would you select to embody your fear? Draw a picture of your monster, then write a paragraph describing your monster and its meaning. What are its strengths? What are its weaknesses?

















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An Exploration of Modern Monsters
An exploration of the symbolism of monsters, beginning with the introductory section about children and fear. Watch for technological monsters such as Frankenstein’s monster; human monsters including vampires, freaks and zombies; ecological monsters—Godzilla, King Kong, werewolves; and others.
Go to:
http://www.umich.edu/~umfandsf/symbolismproject/symbolism.html/Monstrosity/intropage/homepage.html
Which type of monster is most frightening to you? Why?
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Finding a Universal Truth
We began by describing a rational fear and went on to pull out one abstract idea to focus on. Further reflection asked you to synthesize your thoughts into a symbol. Now, look at the big picture and explore what you believe is the universal truth, or the one that’s most always true.
• If we have created monsters, from our earliest folk tales to today’s entertainment, do they play an essential role in the way we make sense of the world?

Do we need monsters?
Keep the deep thinking going and avoid the temptation to come up with a quick and easy answer. These are hardly ever accurate and do not reflect you. Write out your ideas in a short paragraph.
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Reflecting on Monsters Link

http://www.umich.edu/~umfandsf/symbolismproject/symbolism.html/Monstrosity/intropage/homepage.html

Cut and paste this address to link to the website.