The Nature of Horror by Noël Carroll
Writing
In “The Nature of Horror,” Noël Carroll defines the art- horror monster as an “extraordinary” being who is “threatening and impure” and “categorically interstitial, contradictory, or incomplete.” We’ve also discussed various types of monsters in class. Now it is time to create your horror monster. Imagine your monster and describe it in detail in this exercise. You may ask the following questions when you imagine your monster: Where does it come from? What does it look like? Is it male or female, old or young, beautiful or ugly? Can you define it in any of the “(extra)ordinary” categories? What are its strengths and flaws? How does it respond to external stimulations? Does it exhibit emotions such as anger or fear? Does it howl or does it smile? Does it shed tears when it is sad? Does it howl when it is in pain? Does it live on brains or plants? Does it have any human characteristics? …Let your imagination fly, but keep in mind that your monster is capable of evoking emotional responses and may reflect social and cultural anxieties. Ultimately, your description of the monster will help answer these questions: What makes your monster a monster? What is the symbolic significance of the monster? Why is it important that your audience should know about this monster? —Remember that you have a rhetorical purpose to achieve and an audience to target. In what context would you situate your monster? And who would be your audience and how would you invoke your audience’s interest? Consider the conventions we discussed in class and be ready to play with them.
