English Language and Literature Commons^™

The Monster In The Mirror: Challenging The Glorification Of Humanity In Human And Monster Literature, Hanna Squire

Honors Theses

Earlier scholars have claimed that literary monsters merely serve the purposes of celebrating the human’s triumph over adversity. I contest this claim in my close analysis of Homer’s The Odyssey, the medieval epic Beowulf, and the Hannibal Lecter series of novels by twentieth‐century American author Thomas Harris. I show that each author uses monsters not to convey human dominance over their ability to defeat the monster but rather to reveal the monstrous flaws found within all of humanity: coveting, vengeance, and hybris. My analysis of these flaws shows how society’s willingness to admit our monstrosity progresses from Homer to Harris. …