Well, in terms of the books we've read so far, I guess he might be. But it depends how you look at it of course. I mean, in the category of Best *Actual* Monster, the award goes to Grendel. But monster (obviously) doesn't always imply reptilian skin and beady eyes and slime and all that. I don't really know if he's the BIGGEST... All I know is that he's definitely up there.
The thing is, Grendel has kind of an 'excuse', because he is an actual monster and it is therefore in his nature to kill (I was thinking that it is also what is expected of him, and that he may be just like Jim, wearing a mask to conform with the commitatus's view of him...). Same goes for his mom and the dragon - who also kind of have a motive. Pap, on the other hand, is human (or at least used to be human, because according to Huck's description he is more of a corpse) who has chosen to become this nuisance of a man who ruins his son's life and only lives for himself, and that makes him even more horrible. Not to mention that we know that Grendel and the dragon are fantastic creatures that don't exist, but there may be a lot of paps out there.
Agreed. To me Pap is the biggest type of monster. The kind that haunts me. He exists in this world lurking on sketchy street corners waiting for new victims on which to pounce. He represents a lot of the evil in our world whereas Grendel represents the evil in other worlds.
Pap is like the all time monster because he is not only a monster in the eyes of Huck, but also in a methaphorical way... In the eyes of Huck, Pap is the person that constantly bullies him. He truly is scary and violent. Plus, Pap also tries to control Huck limiting many aspects of his life, such as his education, his right to go out and his money. He is trying to undermine his child (who is obviously already worth more than his father), and limiting him to a life that is as miserable as his own. This incredible cruelty makes him a true monster. In a methaphorical way, Pap also represents the monster of the society of the time. All the racism, lack of education, and ignorance are personified and concentrated in Pap to create this cruel and mean person. So what puts him over the top is the fact that he represents the worst possible things that existed back then...
I know I am super late posting a comment on this but I completely agree with the posts above on how Pap is the biggest monster. Pap exemplifies everything that was wrong and immoral in Southern society during that era (as Olivia said: the racism, ignorance and lack of education of the small-minded Southern people). The fact that Huck describes him as being a disgustingly pale and almost terrifying reinforces how evil he is. Personally, I find him to be almost diabolical. There is nothing slightly positive that can be said about Pap. That being said, I find Pap to be a bigger monster than Grendel due to the fact that, as Coralie mentioned, Grendel is a monster and therefore is expected to act in a certain way. However, every human being has a choice to act respectfully and courteously or maliciously and cruel (which is Pap's case).
Well, in terms of the books we've read so far, I guess he might be. But it depends how you look at it of course. I mean, in the category of Best *Actual* Monster, the award goes to Grendel. But monster (obviously) doesn't always imply reptilian skin and beady eyes and slime and all that. I don't really know if he's the BIGGEST... All I know is that he's definitely up there.
ReplyDeleteThe thing is, Grendel has kind of an 'excuse', because he is an actual monster and it is therefore in his nature to kill (I was thinking that it is also what is expected of him, and that he may be just like Jim, wearing a mask to conform with the commitatus's view of him...). Same goes for his mom and the dragon - who also kind of have a motive.
ReplyDeletePap, on the other hand, is human (or at least used to be human, because according to Huck's description he is more of a corpse) who has chosen to become this nuisance of a man who ruins his son's life and only lives for himself, and that makes him even more horrible.
Not to mention that we know that Grendel and the dragon are fantastic creatures that don't exist, but there may be a lot of paps out there.
Agreed. To me Pap is the biggest type of monster. The kind that haunts me. He exists in this world lurking on sketchy street corners waiting for new victims on which to pounce. He represents a lot of the evil in our world whereas Grendel represents the evil in other worlds.
ReplyDeletePap is like the all time monster because he is not only a monster in the eyes of Huck, but also in a methaphorical way...
ReplyDeleteIn the eyes of Huck, Pap is the person that constantly bullies him. He truly is scary and violent. Plus, Pap also tries to control Huck limiting many aspects of his life, such as his education, his right to go out and his money. He is trying to undermine his child (who is obviously already worth more than his father), and limiting him to a life that is as miserable as his own. This incredible cruelty makes him a true monster.
In a methaphorical way, Pap also represents the monster of the society of the time. All the racism, lack of education, and ignorance are personified and concentrated in Pap to create this cruel and mean person. So what puts him over the top is the fact that he represents the worst possible things that existed back then...
I know I am super late posting a comment on this but I completely agree with the posts above on how Pap is the biggest monster. Pap exemplifies everything that was wrong and immoral in Southern society during that era (as Olivia said: the racism, ignorance and lack of education of the small-minded Southern people). The fact that Huck describes him as being a disgustingly pale and almost terrifying reinforces how evil he is. Personally, I find him to be almost diabolical. There is nothing slightly positive that can be said about Pap.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I find Pap to be a bigger monster than Grendel due to the fact that, as Coralie mentioned, Grendel is a monster and therefore is expected to act in a certain way. However, every human being has a choice to act respectfully and courteously or maliciously and cruel (which is Pap's case).