Justin Downard
Tim Greenup
English 101
February 24, 2013
The Beast Within
Of all the monsters that people have created over the course of time, one of the most frightening is the werewolf. A werewolf is a human with the ability to shape shift into hybrid wolf-like creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse. When the human does transform into this hybrid wolf like creature he becomes an awesome creature of incredible strength and prowess, but only at the sacrifice of his humanity. The idea of a werewolf was created to explain the dichotomy of our personalities. It explains man’s inner struggle between the things we know we should and should not do. This transformation is often associated with the appearance of the full moon. Also there is a distinction often made between voluntary and involuntary werewolves. The voluntary werewolves are generally thought to have made a geal with the Devil or with another werewolf, and transform into werewolves at night to feed their primal urges. Involuntary werewolves, on the other hand, are werewolves by an accident, like being bitten on accident during a struggle with a werewolf.
Why are werewolves so frightening to people. Again and again they appear in mythology and horror stories. The reason that werewolves are so horrifying to people is that they represent people’s ability to lose their self-control and give in to the primal more instinctual part of the brain. In the 1994 movie “Wolf” Jack Nicholson plays the part of Will Randall who is bitten by a wolf while driving home through Vermont, where soon after, he is demoted from editor in chief of a publishing house. The publishing house then replaces him with Stewart Swinton, who was his protégé in the past but has now reviled himself to be wills rival and enemy. A few days after being bitten and hearing news of his demotion Will begins experiencing physiological changes, ranging from increased appetites and libido to hair regrowth and sharper sensory perceptions. His heightened senses are a symbol of the transformation, a symbol of the increased need to give in to his primal senses. Because of his heightened senses Will catches an unfamiliar scent on his wife’s clothing, Will rushes over to Stewart's house, bites Stewart during a brief physical altercation, and rushes upstairs to the bedroom, where he finds evidence that charlotte has been unfaithful to him and has been sleeping with his enemy. Will leaves his wife, takes up residence in a local hotel and, as the moon ripens, takes on increasingly bestial aggressive characteristics. Late one night Will goes out to the park while he is transformed into a werewolf and kills the wife that has been unfaithful to him. Again, this is why werewolves are so monstrous to us they represent loss of self-control. Even if Will was extremely discontent with his wife, if he was not transformed into a werewolf when he met her in the park he would not have killed her. But since he had crossed the line crossed the line from human to werewolf he gives in to his bloodlust and greed and murder his own wife.
The idea of a person becoming a werewolf and having to struggle with the inner conflict of losing ones humanity is very popular. In the 1997 film ”An American werewolf in Paris” Andy McDermott is a tourist seeing the sights of Paris with his friends. When a girl named Serafine Pigot jumps off the Eiffel Tower just before Andy is about to jump, he performs a rescue. After he saves her from her death, she vanishes into the night. That night, Andy attends a night club called "Club de la Lune". The club's owner, Claude, is actually the leader of a werewolf society that uses the club as a way to lure people in to be eaten. Right before the werewolves devour all the people in the club Serafine arrives, tells Andy to run away and transforms into a werewolf. The club owners also transform into werewolves as well and butcher all the guests. The next day, Andy discovers himself transforming into a werewolf. Andy also finds out that in order for Andy to become normal again, he must eat the heart of the werewolf that bit him. Andy ends up meeting with an American tourist named Amy, but transforms and kills her. Andy also kills a cop who had been tailing him, suspecting Andy was involved in the Club de la Lune massacre. Andy is arrested but escapes. All throughout the movie Andy and Seraphine is portrayed as having an inner conflict, the same conflict that is portrayed in almost all werewolf movies.
. In an article Lawrence, Elizabeth posted in the Journal of American Culture of Fall 1996 Werewolves in psyche and cinema: Man-beast transformation and paradox, Elizabeth compares the 1994 movie Wolf to the the 1941 movie “The Wolf man” he writes that, “ Although the severity of the struggle that takes place in our minds may vary, all people must undergo this struggle. Werewolves symbolize the inner struggle to control our inner urges. In the article Lawrence explains that the werewolf legend, like all legends, has some truth; it is an "ancient explanation of the dual personality in all of us." For him, lycanthropy is a variety of schizophrenia, expressing "the good and evil in every man's soul. In this case, evil takes the shape of an animal." For some people, he says, "life is simple, black and white, with no shades of gray." For others, good and bad are complex and not so easily distinguished. Although he does not believe in the physical form of the werewolf, he feels that "anything can happen to a man in his own mind." He thinks his son has conjured up an evil thing and wants to help him "get out of this mental quagmire." The doctor who is consulted agrees that "a man lost in the mazes of his mind may imagine he is anything. He argues that” lycanthropy is "mind over matter," mental suggestion, or a kind of self-hypnotism like the stigmata.” (Lawrence)
In the past werewolves were blamed for some killings that people just couldn’t figure out. The general public just could not except that a normal human could be capable of such atrocious acts. According to the article by Elizabeth Lawrence one of the most famous “werewolf murders” was in March 1765 in the French countryside. A boy named François and his older sister were walking down a road, when suddenly, a strange beast sprang from the shadows. Francois's sister screamed in horror as the beast attacked her little brother. By the time help arrived, the boy was dead, his body mutilated. In-between the years 1764 and 1767 in a region of France called the Gévaudan, a werewolf was blamed for the killings of more than 80 people. Preying mainly on women and children, the beast was said to tear of the heads of his victims. All of Europe was fascinated by stories of its grisly murders, and many tried to capture the werewolf. There was even a time when a group of hunters thought they saw the werewolf in the woods. (Elizabeth)
In conclusion, the reason werewolf movies like wolf and the wolf man are frightening to people because the idea that they represent and that the idea of the struggle for self-control in one’s self is very prevalent, we all have an inner dilemma that we must struggle with? That is why the idea of the werewolf has been popular for such a long time. Even today in the Twenty first century werewolves are becoming more and more popular because of the dichotomy they represent. We must be careful of our actions and thoughts, and must not dwell on the things in our minds that evoke hate, jealousy, and malcontent. We must all be careful to be mindful of our thoughts and be careful not to release the beast within.
Work cited page
“An American werewolf in Paris” Hollywood Pictures December 25, 1997
Fe Elizabeth, A. Lawrence. "Werewolves in Psyche and Cinema: Man-Beast Transformation "The Horror of Werewolves." Scholastic Scope Oct 31 2011: 17-9.and Paradox." Journal of American Culture 19.3 (1996): 103-12.
“The Wolf Man” Universal pictures Dec 12, 1941
“Wolf” Columbia pictures June 17, 1994
Tim Greenup
English 101
February 24, 2013
The Beast Within
Of all the monsters that people have created over the course of time, one of the most frightening is the werewolf. A werewolf is a human with the ability to shape shift into hybrid wolf-like creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse. When the human does transform into this hybrid wolf like creature he becomes an awesome creature of incredible strength and prowess, but only at the sacrifice of his humanity. The idea of a werewolf was created to explain the dichotomy of our personalities. It explains man’s inner struggle between the things we know we should and should not do. This transformation is often associated with the appearance of the full moon. Also there is a distinction often made between voluntary and involuntary werewolves. The voluntary werewolves are generally thought to have made a geal with the Devil or with another werewolf, and transform into werewolves at night to feed their primal urges. Involuntary werewolves, on the other hand, are werewolves by an accident, like being bitten on accident during a struggle with a werewolf.
Why are werewolves so frightening to people. Again and again they appear in mythology and horror stories. The reason that werewolves are so horrifying to people is that they represent people’s ability to lose their self-control and give in to the primal more instinctual part of the brain. In the 1994 movie “Wolf” Jack Nicholson plays the part of Will Randall who is bitten by a wolf while driving home through Vermont, where soon after, he is demoted from editor in chief of a publishing house. The publishing house then replaces him with Stewart Swinton, who was his protégé in the past but has now reviled himself to be wills rival and enemy. A few days after being bitten and hearing news of his demotion Will begins experiencing physiological changes, ranging from increased appetites and libido to hair regrowth and sharper sensory perceptions. His heightened senses are a symbol of the transformation, a symbol of the increased need to give in to his primal senses. Because of his heightened senses Will catches an unfamiliar scent on his wife’s clothing, Will rushes over to Stewart's house, bites Stewart during a brief physical altercation, and rushes upstairs to the bedroom, where he finds evidence that charlotte has been unfaithful to him and has been sleeping with his enemy. Will leaves his wife, takes up residence in a local hotel and, as the moon ripens, takes on increasingly bestial aggressive characteristics. Late one night Will goes out to the park while he is transformed into a werewolf and kills the wife that has been unfaithful to him. Again, this is why werewolves are so monstrous to us they represent loss of self-control. Even if Will was extremely discontent with his wife, if he was not transformed into a werewolf when he met her in the park he would not have killed her. But since he had crossed the line crossed the line from human to werewolf he gives in to his bloodlust and greed and murder his own wife.
The idea of a person becoming a werewolf and having to struggle with the inner conflict of losing ones humanity is very popular. In the 1997 film ”An American werewolf in Paris” Andy McDermott is a tourist seeing the sights of Paris with his friends. When a girl named Serafine Pigot jumps off the Eiffel Tower just before Andy is about to jump, he performs a rescue. After he saves her from her death, she vanishes into the night. That night, Andy attends a night club called "Club de la Lune". The club's owner, Claude, is actually the leader of a werewolf society that uses the club as a way to lure people in to be eaten. Right before the werewolves devour all the people in the club Serafine arrives, tells Andy to run away and transforms into a werewolf. The club owners also transform into werewolves as well and butcher all the guests. The next day, Andy discovers himself transforming into a werewolf. Andy also finds out that in order for Andy to become normal again, he must eat the heart of the werewolf that bit him. Andy ends up meeting with an American tourist named Amy, but transforms and kills her. Andy also kills a cop who had been tailing him, suspecting Andy was involved in the Club de la Lune massacre. Andy is arrested but escapes. All throughout the movie Andy and Seraphine is portrayed as having an inner conflict, the same conflict that is portrayed in almost all werewolf movies.
. In an article Lawrence, Elizabeth posted in the Journal of American Culture of Fall 1996 Werewolves in psyche and cinema: Man-beast transformation and paradox, Elizabeth compares the 1994 movie Wolf to the the 1941 movie “The Wolf man” he writes that, “ Although the severity of the struggle that takes place in our minds may vary, all people must undergo this struggle. Werewolves symbolize the inner struggle to control our inner urges. In the article Lawrence explains that the werewolf legend, like all legends, has some truth; it is an "ancient explanation of the dual personality in all of us." For him, lycanthropy is a variety of schizophrenia, expressing "the good and evil in every man's soul. In this case, evil takes the shape of an animal." For some people, he says, "life is simple, black and white, with no shades of gray." For others, good and bad are complex and not so easily distinguished. Although he does not believe in the physical form of the werewolf, he feels that "anything can happen to a man in his own mind." He thinks his son has conjured up an evil thing and wants to help him "get out of this mental quagmire." The doctor who is consulted agrees that "a man lost in the mazes of his mind may imagine he is anything. He argues that” lycanthropy is "mind over matter," mental suggestion, or a kind of self-hypnotism like the stigmata.” (Lawrence)
In the past werewolves were blamed for some killings that people just couldn’t figure out. The general public just could not except that a normal human could be capable of such atrocious acts. According to the article by Elizabeth Lawrence one of the most famous “werewolf murders” was in March 1765 in the French countryside. A boy named François and his older sister were walking down a road, when suddenly, a strange beast sprang from the shadows. Francois's sister screamed in horror as the beast attacked her little brother. By the time help arrived, the boy was dead, his body mutilated. In-between the years 1764 and 1767 in a region of France called the Gévaudan, a werewolf was blamed for the killings of more than 80 people. Preying mainly on women and children, the beast was said to tear of the heads of his victims. All of Europe was fascinated by stories of its grisly murders, and many tried to capture the werewolf. There was even a time when a group of hunters thought they saw the werewolf in the woods. (Elizabeth)
In conclusion, the reason werewolf movies like wolf and the wolf man are frightening to people because the idea that they represent and that the idea of the struggle for self-control in one’s self is very prevalent, we all have an inner dilemma that we must struggle with? That is why the idea of the werewolf has been popular for such a long time. Even today in the Twenty first century werewolves are becoming more and more popular because of the dichotomy they represent. We must be careful of our actions and thoughts, and must not dwell on the things in our minds that evoke hate, jealousy, and malcontent. We must all be careful to be mindful of our thoughts and be careful not to release the beast within.
Work cited page
“An American werewolf in Paris” Hollywood Pictures December 25, 1997
Fe Elizabeth, A. Lawrence. "Werewolves in Psyche and Cinema: Man-Beast Transformation "The Horror of Werewolves." Scholastic Scope Oct 31 2011: 17-9.and Paradox." Journal of American Culture 19.3 (1996): 103-12.
“The Wolf Man” Universal pictures Dec 12, 1941
“Wolf” Columbia pictures June 17, 1994