Afternoon of Alterity - Nazareth College

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Monsters: A Surprising Tool ofGovernments Past and PresentCaitlin GarveyHuman beings have a natural need to identify who and whatthey are; typically, this is done by distinguishing between the selfand the other, leading to the exclusion of the other because of alack of conformity to the group norms established in any givensociety. Monsters, a manifestation of this otherness, are then acultural creation residing at the borders of humanity, functioningas a reminder of what should not be. Governments recognize theimportance of this shared identification, believing that as a unifiednation, they increase their ability to preserve, protect, and asserttheir dominance in the world. They see the presence of monstersas a means of preservation of the status quo, essentially utilizingthem as the protection against the monstrous, otherwise defined asacts against common law and cultural norms. Essentially, the statehopes to comprise itself of an entire safe race of people, eliminatingthe threats from the inside out; while this may seem a very moderninitiative, medieval literature suggests that this has been a focusof societies from their early construction. Specifically, this idea isevident in the hierarchy of salvation in The Wonders of the East, theacceptance of Sir Gawain at the end of Sir Gawain and the GreenKnight, and lastly, in the idolization in death of Grettir the Outlawin Grettir’s Saga. 115
To understand precisely how states have utilized monsters asa form of social control, one should first explore the underlyingrelationship between humans and monsters. In Strangers, Gods, andMonsters: Interpreting Otherness, Richard Kearney discusses how “earlyWestern thought equated the Good with notions of self-identityand sameness” and evil with “notions of exteriority” (Kearney 65).In order to clearly differentiate good from evil, human beings thenneeded to create an other, and thus, the monster was born. As acultural creation, this monster functions as an identification systemfor human beings; it is “difference made flesh,” an explanation forthe malicious, immoral, and unusual (Cohen, “Monster Culture”7). Additionally, the monster is a “coping mechanism” that allowsfor the “transfer[ence] of responsibility” onto itself, removing anynegative implications from humanity (Cashman, and Cronin 408).Thus, the monster adopts the negativity that surrounds its’ bodyfor its own self; it comes to police the “borders of the possible,”“a warning against exploration” of these boundaries (Cohen,“Monster Culture” 12). As Cohen states, “to step outside this officialgeography”—or the borders defined by the monster’s presence—“is torisk attack by some monstrous border patrol or (worse) to becomemonstrous oneself” (12). Therefore, the monster is not only createdby humanity’s need to identify by exclusion, but given life, a physicalbody, and strict purpose through society’s fears.Governments throughout the world, past and present, recognizethe opportunity to achieve conformity through the monster. Here,I use the term governments to mean representatives of the declaredcommon good of society, establishers of the laws, and upholders ofthe social, political, religious, and economic interests of a nation.Additionally, it is important to recognize that these governments alsofunction as the basic form of a belief system; while humans oftensupplement their understandings of the world with further spiritualand religious beliefs, the foundation of a nation greatly affects116 afternoons of alterity
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Afternoons of Alterity A Codex of t
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Table of ContentsFrom Medieval Mars
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From Medieval Marsh Monsters toFutu
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imagination, we must first attempt
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seed of monstrosity within themselv
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essence as a monster, it seems reas
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she bore two sons, one from the imp
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perhaps, anti-heroes) of the futuri
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to watch the murder and mutilation
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and modern audiences through their
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Works Cited“Bushwhacked.” Firef
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Projecting Otherness ontothe Disabl
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in any systematic structuration. An
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The idea of the monstrous’ vulner
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not us and are in the proximity of
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they want to be treated. The interv
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Monstrosity and theIrruption of Rea
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describing his fears of this place
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stained with sin” (Spearing 221).
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often and at will to show man somet
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What’s Love Got To Do With It?The
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story than as the beginning? What f
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It is textual content like this tha
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through the story as the Green Knig
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the first advocating voices for end
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“capable of seeing things objecti
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Darkness: The True Monster ofLitera
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the way they can make us feel, but
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not only closes out, extinguishes,
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and temptation, most especially for
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hours “led to the term ‘night
Page 68 and 69: specifically his relationship to da
Page 70 and 71: humanization of Grendel draws the r
Page 72 and 73: subconscious the message may be. Th
Page 74 and 75: Serial MonstrosityEmily Mastrobatti
Page 76 and 77: is clear that they are monsters and
Page 78 and 79: murderer that he once was. He has b
Page 80 and 81: of the killing, “When investigato
Page 82 and 83: ook “contains recipes from the bo
Page 84 and 85: asks Charles Manson to marry her, t
Page 86 and 87: Monstrous Mothers andObjectified Da
Page 88 and 89: and her sisters plot to kill their
Page 90 and 91: easons for “otherness.” On top
Page 92 and 93: The original ideas are still intact
Page 94 and 95: objectified creature. “Cultures o
Page 96 and 97: Works CitedAcker, P. Horror and the
Page 98 and 99: Grendel: A Manifestation ofMedieval
Page 100 and 101: ut never was his physicality hinted
Page 102 and 103: to wander in the darkness and the c
Page 104 and 105: Magic could not resurrect Grendel t
Page 106 and 107: Works CitedBeowulf. Trans. RM Liuzz
Page 108 and 109: The Monster Under the BedThe Creati
Page 110 and 111: to procreate but the accepted manif
Page 112 and 113: Cain had/killed his father’s son
Page 114 and 115: can, without a doubt, be placed int
Page 116 and 117: The vagina’s ability to function
Page 118: Ed. Barbara K. Gold, et all. Albany
Page 123 and 124: a strict delineation between each g
Page 125 and 126: monstrous and societal rules to fol
Page 127 and 128: Gawain is willing to accept his mis
Page 129 and 130: survive, challenge, and defeat. Esp
Page 131 and 132: governmental standards, then are we
Page 134 and 135: They Walk Among UsOccupational Viol
Page 136 and 137: sports and regard our members of th
Page 138 and 139: modern readers are not part of the
Page 140 and 141: otherness and disdain for humanity.
Page 142 and 143: are underpaid and for the most part
Page 144 and 145: Home and Spatial IdentityPhysical t
Page 146 and 147: closeness among the people that the
Page 148 and 149: Into the dark gorge I ventured; the
Page 150 and 151: the treasures that fill up their ho
Page 152 and 153: threatened by the very existence of
Page 154 and 155: and draped in damp, shaggy moss, an
Page 156 and 157: individual. Home resides within the
Page 158: Works CitedArmitage, Simon. Sir Gaw
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Afternoon of Alterity - Nazareth College

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