The Monster Inside Main Menu Where the Monsters are, and Where Kids Can Find Them To the Other World Boredom and Family Leading to Monsters With(In) You Grief Leading to Monstrosity To the Past Monstrosity in Others Monster in Me...On the Screen Looking at Human Monsters in Film What Happens After We Find the Monster? Concluding Thoughts and Questions Sources Articles, Books, and More Used in the Exhibit

To the Wild Things

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The book for the youngest audience is Where the Wild Things Are. Published in 1963, it is also the oldest book in this exhibit of monstrosity in children's literature. The book focuses on Max, a young boy who finds himself in the land of the Wild Things after being punished at home. On the night of his travel, Max is wearing his "wolf Suit" (Sendak 00:00:30) and causing trouble in his home.  His mother calls him a "Wild Thing" and he responds that he will "eat" her up in retaliation (00:00:52). After being sent to bed without dinner, Max finds his room transformed into a jungle, jumps on a boat, and travels through time to get to the Wild Things. These creatures are not human, rather they are giant beasts. Still, Max is able to tame the Wild Things (00:02:46) and is called "the most Wild Thing of All" by the creatures (00:03:04). Eventually, he is declared "King of all Wild Things" (00:03:10) and finds himself as one amongst the Wild Things. Even though he goes on adventures with the Wild Things, Max eventually becomes lonely was wants to be "with someone who loves him" (00:04:16). In a parallel to the temper tantrum that Max throws when he is sent to bed without dinner, the Wild Things say that they will eat up Max out of love is he leaves them (00:04:28). Despite the threat, Max returns home to find his dinner waiting for him.

Max's adventure ends happily for him. But there is something monstrous about himself in his journey. He finds himself among the Wild Things because his mother tells him that he is one of them. Max, a young human boy, somehow finds himself as the ruler of these great beasts that tower over him in height and power. He is one with them, and even their threats are very similar (both threatening consumption of an other when they are wronged). Still, Max feels lonely and unloved amongst the Wild Things. Max is not with the person who loves him (his mother) and finds himself missing her despite his anger that he felt towards her at the beginning of the book. He finds himself acting as the “mother” to these Wild Things, in addition to the King and worst of all of them (Airas 106). Max has to realize that the Wild Things are as much a part of him as his anger is, and only when he does this that he is able to travel home and back to the warm meal waiting for him.


 

This page has paths:

  1. To the Other World Emma Regan
  2. With(In) You Emma Regan
  3. To the Past Emma Regan
  4. Monster in Me...On the Screen Emma Regan
  5. Where the Monsters are, and Where Kids Can Find Them Emma Regan

Contents of this path:

  1. To the Other World
  2. With(In) You
  3. To the Past
  4. Monster in Me...On the Screen
  5. What Happens After We Find the Monster?

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