An excellent history of the American obsession with monsters, Poole analyzes our religious and nationalist beliefs to see how we have dealt with the Other in our long, horrifying existence as a nation. Monster Chapter Summaries - eNotes.com It was the first-ever Michael L. Printz Award recipient, an ALA Best Book, a Coretta Scott King Honor selection, and a National Book Award finalist. "Monsters in America" is a work that touches on the many facets of Horror in America. What I discovered is that Poole should have written two books: his perspective on American history, another on monsters. Salem witches, frontier wilderness beasts, freak show oddities, alien invasions, Freddie Krueger. Poole agrees telling us early and often You are the main character in this terror-filled little tale (xviii). Unfortunately, however, the writing just reads as super amateurish and unnatural--to the point where your brain feels exhausted after slogging through only a couple pages. that Poole have used to describe the events of . Solely focused on the horrors, readers would think that no Christian or church stood against the aberration of Scriptural teaching; but such was the case with missionaries and abolitionists. Based on new findings and bursting with new interpretations, it offers newcomers and old fans of the America's great horror writer new insight into his life, work, and continuing influence. Please try again. Associated with war, cleverness, and wit, it is no surprise that she favors Odysseus. This was a great concept, but I struggled to even make it through the introduction. It is a frightening world we live in, yet the horrific things in our literature and culture play a vital part in helping us reach some understanding, and even some peace about them. A.Universal white male suffrage B.Public education C.Child labor D.Temperance. Foregrounding the racism and injustice of the legal system, the novel is a crime story, a courtroom drama, and an account of a young teens search for identity. Wed love to have you back! White Doe" disguised the true relationship between the European settlers and Native Americans. Especially enlightening is the the animistic portrayal and subsequent fear of African-Americans that has permeated society since they were first brought to the Americas on slave ships. Monsters in America: Our Historical Obsession with the Hideous and the Haunting, Review, Title Page, Copyright, Dedication, Epigraph, Preface: With a Warning to the Unsuspecting Reader, Introduction: The Bloody Chords of Memory. Evans states that King was his partner in the robbery and that Steve served as the lookout. Bram Stoker Award finalist W. Scott Poole is the author of numerous books and articles on monsters and mayhem in popular culture. Hes never less than canny on the pop culture angle: Dracula and Frankenstein are almost everywhere in the book, his insights into the fear of zombies are sharp, the comparison of Patrick Bateman and Dexter Morgan is inspired, and the analysis of fifties icons like Vampira and the Addams family are very good. OBrien gathers her papers and moves away, leaving Steve standing with outstretched arms. Five months later, Steve is again writing in his notebook. More importantly, what is the definition of a monster? Honoring authors by not reading other reviews ahead of time, I anticipated simple engagement with monstrous intrigue of the horrendous and hideous. Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2014. She continues to assert that Steve served as the lookout for the robbery and is as guilty as the others. March 4, 2023, SNPLUSROCKS20 An unexpected guilty pleasure! Indeed, Poole interprets the meaning of the meaning, reinterpreting historical narratives infusing past story with present perception: history is horror (22). Dorothy Sayers Poems Five of Our Favorites! [Pooles] book is sufficiently clear and engaging for general readers to enjoy and would make a worthwhile addition to undergraduate course in American history or culture. Spring 2021 Most Anticipated Books for Christian Readers! Yuckfest. Amazon has encountered an error. A well informed, thoughtful, and indeed frightening angle of vision to a persistent and compelling American desire to be entertained by the grotesque and the horrific. Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. In the end, though, I could easily see assigning parts of this book to undergraduates. Historian W. Scott Poole distinguishes himself by focusing on the American context, providing a history told through the personified expressions of our anxieties and fears. incredibly rewarding and fulfilling reading. Monsters in America has without a doubt earned a spot on my favorite books of 2011. I often use this in my Freshman Writing courses to show that writing doesn't have to be boring. By adding new discussions of the American West, Poole focuses intently on the Native American experience. It blends popular culture and American history to present a unique perspective oh why and how we create and perpetuate the monsters we fear most. The medical examiner states the time of Mr. Nesbitts death. by W. Scott Poole. In her closing argument for the State, Petrocelli stresses the importance of the stolen cigarettes in proving who committed the crime. Highly recommended for horror or monster fans with an interest in American history; slightly less so for American history buffs with a hobby in monster entertainments. Frontier wilderness beasts, Freddie Krueger, witches of Salem, alien invasions, and freak show oddities are some of the monstrous creatures. These summaries should not exceed one page in length. 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Just about all the scarey things that crawl into popular media hail from the leaf-littered shadowy forests that haunt the American mind. Bolden testifies that he bought cigarettes from Bobo Evans and that Evans told him about the robbery. Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2014. Monsters, he says, are "cultural constructions of the terrible that define what it is we subconsciously fear and what it is we're told to hate or love.". Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2017. It's a comprehensive look into ghoulish, weird, and woke world--10/10. Just watch any local news program and you'll see what I mean. Steve is about to stand trial for felony homicide. From our colonial past to the present, the monster in all its various forms has been a staple of American culture. 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Hades Roman name: Pluto. Monster: Full Book Summary | SparkNotes I used this as a textbook for a themed English course: Monsters, Myths, and Magic. Best Johnny Cash Books Biographies and More! While I appreciate and agree with his argument that monsters are "real" because their effects on history / on people's lives have been real, I dislike his assumption that people in the past were the obvious victims of prejudice and misplaced fear and that they were not insightful or intelligent enough to realize what they were truly afraid of. IE- minorities = what we are anxious about / obsessed with = the monstrous = monsters. All content is original and cannot be copied without permission. Steve writes about his fear, anger, and pain and his rising sense of panic about the outcome of his trial. Social commentary may drive sub-text but money drives the movie. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. Contact us Monster is told as a first-person account by Steve Harmon, a Black teenager on trial for felony murder in New York. I. Poole is also a Professor of History at the College of Charleston where he teaches courses on monsters in American history, Satan in folk belief and pop culture and the history of religion and race in American life . Monsters are not just fears of the individual psyche, historian Scott Poole explains, but are concoctions of the public imagination, reactions to cultural influences, social change, and historical events. Discount, Discount Code Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2012. Mythology: Character List | SparkNotes Not only is it written in a fun, easy to relate to voice, but it is also chock full of info. Mary Oliver Essays 10 Prose Selections to Read for Free Online! Poole offers an insight on America's fascination with monsters. . Human beings made him declare "war" by treating him like an enemy. Highly recommended." Jenn's Bookshelves "In Monsters in America, Scott Poole expertly weaves together folklore, media studies, and some of the more disturbing moments in American history to remind us of the vital roles monsters play in our culture. , Poole has now turned his attention to the monsters that inhabit American cinema and American imaginations. (Christopher James Blythe, Florida State University, (John W. Morehead, editor, www.TheoFantastique.com). Monsters in America: Our Historical Obsession with the Hideous and the Reading this for research for a paper I am writing for a creative nonfiction class for college, but what an interesting book regardless! Monsters in America Our Historical Obsession with the Hideous and the Haunting. Excellent study of the machinery of monsters and their meaning in American history. Briggs makes the first closing argument in the case. Finally, in the new section "American Carnage," Poole challenges readers to assess what their own monster tales might be and how our sordid past horrors express themselves in our present cultural anxieties. Forged from a partnership between a university press and a library, Project MUSE is a trusted part of the academic and scholarly community it serves. Insightful and brilliant! After a minute elapses from the time David, Billy and Brent enter the store, a man, Jeff Miller, a local townsperson, flies into the market, bloodied and frantic. Name: Kim Hoan Tran Dr. Che 07/08/2019 Summary Paper Summary of Monstrous Beginning In Monster in America written by W. Scott Poole, especially the chapter called "Monstrous Beginnings". The book won the John Cawelti prize from the Popular Culture Association for the best book published in pop culture history for 2011. I feel like the author did a great job at deconstructing America's social issues and how they connect to the monsters/fears/entertainment of the time. American history from the past to the present. Poole has set the bar ridiculously high for any future research exploring the locus of historical and cultural studies, particularly as it pertains to the horrific. challenges, enlightens, and, quite honestly, frightens in its prescient view of American history, as well as the seeming ubiquity of the monsters of our past and probable future. All Rights Reserved. This book is a wonderful introduction to American history through the lens of monsters. Books About Race in America; Coretta Scott . This book is really good, a look at our monsters in a social conceptional way. Monster presents through the obvious things, for example, krakens or werewolves. This is such an interesting and compelling about our connection to the monstrous and the monstrous' role in expressing national anxieties in our popular media. 2023 Baylor University Press. For me, there are intertwined. Poole never assumes a 1-1 metaphor, but he does show how common themes (the reemergence of the vampire at different points in American history, for example) are useful shorthand for working through these anxieties. Monsters in america project chapter 1 | English homework help - SweetStudy In fact, perhaps our own beliefs about monsters and their intractable nature help to produce the monsters we fear the most., I've had a question for a long time. Penn State folklorist Bill Ellis called the book "required reading for . He is also the author of _Monsters in America_ from Baylor University Press (2011)._Monsters_ explores the American fascination with vampires, zombies, serial killers and even sea serpents, showing how these creatures of our dark obsessions help us to understand the dark and foreboding places in American history. It looks like WhatsApp is not installed on your phone. It is super nasty, and blood ends up everywhere. Your subscription will continue automatically once the free trial period is over. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. The author radically departs from the notion that monsters are a metaphor for our fears through the ages. I hated this book. He also makes notes about his movie and about details he observes in court. Review: MONSTERS IN AMERICA - Scott Poole - The Englewood Review Thanks to Poole's insights we see the ubiquity of the monster lurking in and around us. ", Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.Learn more how customers reviews work on Amazon. A must read for fans of horror and monsters! Learn how your comment data is processed. Omer-Sherman, Ranen. However, this book was not only as easy read, but incredibly enlightening, eye-opening, and thrilling. Salem witches, frontier wilderness beasts, freak show oddities, alien invasions, Freddie Krueger. Monsters are here to stay. Discount, Discount Code Project MUSE promotes the creation and dissemination of essential humanities and social science resources through collaboration with libraries, publishers, and scholars worldwide. Acknowledgements: Thank you to Kelly Hughes from Dechant-Hughes for my review copy! The scary tales found in the classic texts remind usno matter our nationality, ethnicity, or political persuasionthe monster is us. religious texts and newspaper accounts of "satanic panics" into a highly readable analysis of the concept of the devil in American cultural history. Even fewer scholars do so as adeptly and as entertainingly as W. Scott Poole. Mr. Pooles evidence is as intriguing as it is informative. These summaries should not . I also think this could've used a second editor before being published as there are many typos and grammatical errors, as well as a few points that could've used some fact-checking. Excellent examination of horror movies evolution through the years and also how societal happenings influence the movies at the time they are made. Poole explains his parameters of a monsters nature from the outside, in: monsters are a product of our collective hatreds outside the human psyche. By so delimiting his interpretation, Poole mirrors his stated concern for other theories that monster interpretations are reductive and overdeterminative (13-18). Its not a salacious book, either.