Cameron Militana

English 1101/ Karen Redding

Composition 1
3 September 2015
On Monster Summary

In the novel On Monsters, Stephen T. Asma describes why throughout history

humans have created monsters that personify fears and horrors. Asma conveys this message by
giving the reader evidence, often including tales, legends, or a philosophers works, from
different time periods throughout history. Chapter one, Alexander the Great, gives evidence to
humanitys ability to greatly exaggerate ordinary creatures to monstrous proportions. Chapter
three, Hermaphrodites and Man-Headed Oxen, expresses when humans are unsure or
misunderstanding of someone or something we often shun or try to eradicate it. Chapter four,
Monstrous Desire, conveys humanitys ability to become monstrous overtime through teaching
of Socrates and the story of Medea.
In chapter one, Asma tells the tale of Alexander the Great and his battles with monsters in
India, sourcing from the letters Alexander wrote to Aristotle. These tales are perfect examples of
mankind's love of untruthfulness and exaggerations used to instill fear and make a better story.
Alexander had just defeated King Porus, in the Punjab Region, and was chasing him back into
the strange land of India, which was contained a strange beast unlike any other. Within the first
night, upon reaching a lake with an island kingdom directly in the middle, creatures only fit for
the imagination had attacked Alexander and his man. They encountered hippopotamuses, bigger
than elephants (Asma 20) and dragons slithering out of the woods (Asma 20). However these
beasts were no match for Alexander and his heroic warriors. Using his amazing strategies and

fighting techniques, no matter what monsters appeared Alexander and his men were
miraculously able to survive. After the story is over, Asma, in the embellishment section,
describes why and how Alexander and ancient writers told such tales. Asma explains that
ancient Greek and Roman citizens would have no trouble believing these stories (Asma 22).
He continues saying that Physiologist have identified a common tendency to unconsciously
exaggerate perceptions (Asma 22). Both pieces of evidence play a huge factor in the
exaggerations of Alexander's battles in India.
Hermaphrodites and Man-headed Oxen is the third subchapter within the first chapter of
On Monsters and it entails the reasoning, teachings, and tales of ancient philosophers, humans
with abnormalities, and their roles in society. In the ancient world, superstitions and portents
were a very intricate part of society: All of nature was sending signals foretelling the future
(Asma 39). Romans and Greeks both tried to read signs to foretell the future. In Rome, the
fortunetellers were called augurs and in Greece they were called oracles. Both civilizations
would sacrifice an animal and extract the liver, which was believed to be the source of life.
Romans were extremely superstitious people and when the Roman council sacrificed an animal
and found no liver, they were defeated on the battlefield. On the contrary, when Caesar Augustus
sacrificed an animal and found a twin set of organs success followed him (Asma 39). When
hermaphrodites were discovered, it was taken as a terrible omen to the state and to the well being
of society. The founder of Rome, Romulus, felt so threatened by hermaphrodites that he ordered
them to be drowned upon discovery (Asma 40). The Roman Empire labeled them as a terrible
economic and energy burden on their families and Rome as a whole. Furthermore, they
represented a dangerous freedom to a state that believed in total control. Romuluss order to
drowned hermaphrodites upon discovery was then later extended to all seriously disabled

children. These disabilities could range from mental retardation to any form of physical
abnormalities.
Subchapter four is titled Monstrous Desire and details the monstrous side of human
desire (Asma 51), beginning with the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates and his explanation of
human psyche. To explain his findings to his students, Socrates created a monster that embodied
all parts of the human psyche, which he had three parts: reasoning power, emotional conviction,
and appetite or desire. His monster represented this through the lion, signifying emotion; the
small homunculus illustrates reason, and the multi-headed monster embodying appetites.
Socrates believed that to have a healthy psychology or soul, we all must find the correct
organization of the three creatures. Further developing his thoughts, Socrates believed that
human beings grow as people through nurturing and personal habitats (Asma 53), which
overtime can lead us to become monstrous. Later in the chapter, Asma tells the story of a
monstrous mother, Medea, who murders her own children. The most famous version of Medea
was written in Greece between 480 and 406 BCE. The legend says that Medea was daughter of
Aeetes, King of the Colchis. Aeetes is in possession of the famous Golden Fleece that Jason,
Medeas lover, is in desperate desire of. Going against her father Medea steals the fleece with
Jason in attempt to run away. However, Medeas brother is on the fleeing boat and threatens to
take it, Medea then chops up his body and throws it overboard for her father to collect while
chasing after them. Jason, upon success of fleeing, leaves Medea and marries another women
higher in the political latter. Acting out of rage, Medea poisons the fleece killing the Jasons soon
to be bride and her own father. Still bloodthirsty, Medea kills her two sons that she bore from
Jason. Medeas actions are a direct example of Socrates stating that humans overtime can
become monstrous because of their environment and personal habits.

Throughout these chapters there are countless examples of monsters, hyperbolized

stories, and reasons behind why humans have such irrational fears. In chapter one, for instance,
Alexander the Great never faced those horrific creatures that he wrote to Aristotle, but in point of
fact wrote those things to greaten his legacy and because the public had no trouble believing such
beast existed. Chapter threes evidence of Roman emperors killing hermaphrodites and
physically disabled people shows how superstition and the fear of bringing on terrible things can
drive people to do horrific things. Finally, in chapter four, Socrates and the story of Medea
gives vivid images of the reasons why humans become monsters overtime.

Bibliography
Asma Stephen T. On Monster An Unnatural History of Our Worst Fears. New York: Oxford
University Press. 2009. Print.