Saeyeon Jang - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Saeyeon Jang

Picture an image of a monster that you define in your mind. While the common dictionary definitio... more Picture an image of a monster that you define in your mind. While the common
dictionary definition of a monster is an imaginary creature that is typically large, ugly, and frightening, it is still vague and complicated to define exactly which creatures are considered monsters and which are not. However, there exists an even more bewildering question: where do those terrifying, generally evil creatures come from? Are monsters who they are ever since the moment they are brought to the world, or do they become monsters as they grow up? The world of literature has always been fascinated by the existence of monstrous beings, and the literary works accumulated for centuries give us a hint for the answer to the big question: Monsters exist for a reason, and no creature is born with innate monstrosity.

“One rotten apple spoils the barrel.” This is a well-known idiom describing how a single bad influence can ruin a group of beings, who or which would otherwise remain good. However, reading this idiom brings a question; what has caused that “one rotten apple” to rot in the first place? Has it gone bad on its own or was it due to outside-influence, just like how it spoiled the rest of the apples in the barrel? Whether in the East or the West, past or now, as individuals or in groups, people like this rotten apple exist. These people, monsters rather, commit wrongdoings that are so brutal that normal people cannot afford to commit or do not even think of committing. Unfortunately, monsters are not only in the closet of our bedrooms; they are basically everywhere. Ranging from the lunatics who kill millions of people just for fun or personal interest like Adolf Hitler to the bullying jerks easily spottable in everyday life, the existence of such monsters raises a question very similar to the question about the rotten apple, but this time regarding human nature; are monsters born, meaning that human nature is fundamentally evil, or created? Given the credible psychological, philosophical, and historical pieces of evidence given throughout history by highly sophisticated researchers and scholars, it is logical to say that they are created.

This paper seeks the answers to the question of what creates monsters exploring the ideas presented in paramount literary works and indispensable evidence to the answer as portrayed unmistakably throughout history.

Picture an image of a monster that you define in your mind. While the common dictionary definitio... more Picture an image of a monster that you define in your mind. While the common
dictionary definition of a monster is an imaginary creature that is typically large, ugly, and frightening, it is still vague and complicated to define exactly which creatures are considered monsters and which are not. However, there exists an even more bewildering question: where do those terrifying, generally evil creatures come from? Are monsters who they are ever since the moment they are brought to the world, or do they become monsters as they grow up? The world of literature has always been fascinated by the existence of monstrous beings, and the literary works accumulated for centuries give us a hint for the answer to the big question: Monsters exist for a reason, and no creature is born with innate monstrosity.

“One rotten apple spoils the barrel.” This is a well-known idiom describing how a single bad influence can ruin a group of beings, who or which would otherwise remain good. However, reading this idiom brings a question; what has caused that “one rotten apple” to rot in the first place? Has it gone bad on its own or was it due to outside-influence, just like how it spoiled the rest of the apples in the barrel? Whether in the East or the West, past or now, as individuals or in groups, people like this rotten apple exist. These people, monsters rather, commit wrongdoings that are so brutal that normal people cannot afford to commit or do not even think of committing. Unfortunately, monsters are not only in the closet of our bedrooms; they are basically everywhere. Ranging from the lunatics who kill millions of people just for fun or personal interest like Adolf Hitler to the bullying jerks easily spottable in everyday life, the existence of such monsters raises a question very similar to the question about the rotten apple, but this time regarding human nature; are monsters born, meaning that human nature is fundamentally evil, or created? Given the credible psychological, philosophical, and historical pieces of evidence given throughout history by highly sophisticated researchers and scholars, it is logical to say that they are created.

This paper seeks the answers to the question of what creates monsters exploring the ideas presented in paramount literary works and indispensable evidence to the answer as portrayed unmistakably throughout history.