Cameron Militana

Professor Redding
English Comp. 1101
3 September 2015
Composition One: On Monsters Summary

In the book 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 the readers
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 the
teachings of Socrates and the story of Medea.
In chapter the chapter Alexander Fights Monsters in India, 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, chasing him back within the strange land of India. During
Alexanders time India was believed to contain strange beast unlike any others found in the
world. Within the first night upon reaching a lake, with an island kingdom directly in the middle,
creatures fit for the imagination had bombarded Alexander and his man continuously. The
soldiers 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, Alexander and his
men were miraculously able to survive regardless of which monsters appeared. After the story of
the battle is is over, Asma, in the embellishment section, describes how and why Alexander the
Great and ancient writers told such fictional tales. Asma explains that ancient Greek and Roman
citizens would have no trouble believing these stories (Asma 22). Citizens, as explained by
Asma, would not have questioned Alexanders stories because of the culture and time period that
he lived. Heroic tales littered with monsters and magic were common and trustworthy at the
time. Asma clarifies, explaining that Physiologist have identified a common tendency to
unconsciously exaggerate perceptions (Asma 22). Meaning that it is human nature, involuntary
or voluntarily, to overemphasize details in story telling and routine actions in life. Both evidence
outline and clarify the reasons why Alexander's battles in India were never discredited during his
time.
Hermaphrodites and Man-headed Oxen is the third section within the first chapter of On
Monsters titled Ancient Monsters. The section entails the reasoning, teachings, and tales of
ancient philosophers, humans with abnormalities, and their roles in society. In the ancient world,
superstitions and portents held a very intricate role in society: All of nature was sending signals
foretelling the future (Asma 39). Romans and Greeks believed in reading signs, given to them
by nature, to foretell the future. In Rome, the fortunetellers were called augurs, and in Greece
they were called oracles. Both civilizations practiced the ritual of sacrificing an animal to extract
its the liver. The liver was believed to be the source of life and from it the future could be seen.
Asma uses the story of Caesar Augustus sacrificing an animal and found a twin set of organs
success followed him (Asma 39), as an illustration of the Romans superstition. On the

contrary, when a when and animal was sacrificed but no liver was found it meant almost certain
defeat. Hermaphrodites, as being a part of nature, were perceived as terrible omens 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 families and Rome as a whole.
Furthermore, hermaphrodites represented a dangerous freedom to a state that believed in total
control over the population. Romuluss order to drown all hermaphrodites upon discovery was
then later extended to all seriously disabled children, including mental and physical disabilities.
Section four, in chapter one Ancient Monsters, is titled Monstrous Desire and details
the monstrous side of human desire (Asma 51). The section is used by Asma to show the
physiological aspects impacting the creation of monsters. beginning with the ancient Greek
philosopher Socrates and his explanation of human psyche. Socrates, explaining his findings to
his students, created a monster that embodied all parts of the human psyche, which he had three
parts: reasoning power, emotional conviction, and appetite or desire. Socrates uses the lion,
signifying emotion; the small homunculus illustrates reason, and the multi-headed monster
embodying appetites. Socrates believed in order 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. In the course of a humans life,
Socrates explains, we experience and acknowledge the most about our selves with out personal
habitats and the nurturing we have received. Later in the chapter, Asma tells the story of a
monstrous mother, Medea, who murdered her own children, which was written in Greece
between 480 and 406 BCE.The legend says that Medea was the 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 and must flee
the country to avoid being captured. However, Medeas brother is on the fleeing boat and
threatens to take the jacket back to their father. Medea, in a state of rage, murders her brother and
then proceeds to chops up his body and throw 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 anger, Medea poisons the fleece killing the Jasons soon to be
bride and her own father the King. 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 habitats for which they live in.
Throughout these chapters there are countless examples of monsters, hyperbolized
stories, and the reasonings behind why humans have such irrational fears. In section one, titled
Alexander Fights Monsters in India, for instance, Alexander the Great never faced those horrific
creatures that he wrote to Aristotle, but in point of fact wrote those things to heighten his legacy.
Alexander was able to tell such fictional stories as a result of the public not questioning and in
fact believing such monsters existed. Section three, titled Hermaphrodites and Man-Headed
Oxen, evidences of Roman emperors killing hermaphrodites and physically disabled people
represents the superstition and the fear of the Roman society. The same superstations and fears,
Socrates believes lead to people doing horrific things. Finally, in section four titled Monstrous
Desire, 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.