What Makes a What Makes a Man? Monster ;

From the start, we know that there is more to the character than the hump on his back. We understand Quasimodo’s physical and mental challenges; and rather than be repulsed, we empathize. His speech, when talking to his friends the gargoyles, is clear and unafraid. Notice the differences when he must communicate with Frollo and the others.

They see limitations, deformity, and ugliness in Quasimodo. Yet he doesn’t have the limitations that others see in him. There is no stutter when he talks; there are no physical disabilities or limitations; those are only seen by the public. Others may find him likable and relatable.

The play’s themes of love, kindness, and understanding seem especially relevant today. And one message is to love the people who are closest to you.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray all tell tales of men and monsters. Identifying which characters fit into which category, however, isn’t totally straightforward.

We think of other instances of this man/monster conflict in literature and film.

Frankenstein is motivated by pride, scientific curiosity, and his hope to heal human faults and build a huge creature from corpse parts. These become so ugly in life that no one can treat his monster with anything but fear and rage.

Dr. Jekyll is driven to resolve the inner conflict between the good and evil halves of his soul. The conflict leads him to unleash on the world a being of pure, demoniacal malevolence.

Oscar Wilde has two of his characters shower the young, beautiful Dorian Gray so strongly with their love that he turns to a life of inescapable and damnable immorality.

Can any of these fictional creations be fully blamed for their actions? They are fictional characters who perhaps become monsters because their creators have given them no choice. Yet if their creators are truly responsible for the beings to whom they give life, doesn’t that make them the monsters?

Everyone has a choice.