Analyzing Stephen Crane's 'The Monster'
Imaku 1
Xhenisa Imaku
Mr. D'Ambrosio
Honors English II, Period 1
22 February 2011 “The Monster” Writing Assignment It was a sunny day, the sky was bright blue and the clouds fluffy and white. The immense fields and the deep green grass surrounded a happy community. Children's laughter and happy chattering were the beautiful music that delighted the ears. But like any community, there are secrets that torture souls and change lives forever. In “The Monster” by Stephen Crane, we see how a community's true face is revealed and the people are turned into monsters. Based on a deeper understanding of the story, many facts denying that Henry was a monster, and details pointing to the townspeople being monsters, we can prove the validity of the statement, “The town, not Henry, were the monsters.”
In order to prove the validity of the statement, “The town, not Henry, were the monsters,” we have to comprehend the story and analyze the symbols. “The Monster” by Stephen Crane is an insightful …show more content…
The true face of cruelty of the townspeople is revealed; there is no face of kindness. Their humanity is simply lost because they do not want to tolerate a man who looks scary and frightens the children. In the story, Crane creates the theme of mob mentality even before the fire. The town is described as a collective entity, expressing unity in thought and action. “And then they wheeled upon each other simultaneously, and, in a single explosion, they shouted, ‘One!’“The townspeople are not described as individuals with single opinion rather than reflect the attitudes of the community. When the small group of men gathered at Hagenthorpe's house first to prepare for their confrontation with Trescott, they are relying on safety in numbers and mutual support for something that is discriminatory. In these scenes, Crane reinforces the strength of mob mentality. We see that Henry need the support of the town to recover emotionally but he found it hard to continue his old
Xhenisa Imaku
Mr. D'Ambrosio
Honors English II, Period 1
22 February 2011 “The Monster” Writing Assignment It was a sunny day, the sky was bright blue and the clouds fluffy and white. The immense fields and the deep green grass surrounded a happy community. Children's laughter and happy chattering were the beautiful music that delighted the ears. But like any community, there are secrets that torture souls and change lives forever. In “The Monster” by Stephen Crane, we see how a community's true face is revealed and the people are turned into monsters. Based on a deeper understanding of the story, many facts denying that Henry was a monster, and details pointing to the townspeople being monsters, we can prove the validity of the statement, “The town, not Henry, were the monsters.”
In order to prove the validity of the statement, “The town, not Henry, were the monsters,” we have to comprehend the story and analyze the symbols. “The Monster” by Stephen Crane is an insightful …show more content…
The true face of cruelty of the townspeople is revealed; there is no face of kindness. Their humanity is simply lost because they do not want to tolerate a man who looks scary and frightens the children. In the story, Crane creates the theme of mob mentality even before the fire. The town is described as a collective entity, expressing unity in thought and action. “And then they wheeled upon each other simultaneously, and, in a single explosion, they shouted, ‘One!’“The townspeople are not described as individuals with single opinion rather than reflect the attitudes of the community. When the small group of men gathered at Hagenthorpe's house first to prepare for their confrontation with Trescott, they are relying on safety in numbers and mutual support for something that is discriminatory. In these scenes, Crane reinforces the strength of mob mentality. We see that Henry need the support of the town to recover emotionally but he found it hard to continue his old