Monsters In Margaret Atwood's Lusus Naturae

Monsters are everywhere. They are on television, in video games, and all around the world. Each monster has a different back story of what caused this categorization. Margaret Atwood’s “Lusus Naturae” is a timeless tale of what it means to have others label you as a monster. Translating to freak of nature, this story exemplifies that throughout history nothing brings people closer than a common hatred. The Fly, a 1986 film directed by David Cronenberg gives a more modern approach to monsters and how they come to be. The trouble is finding what universally connects all monsters throughout history and time. A monster is a physicalized fear. Many monsters exist because many fears exist too. Often, these fears appear when exposed to a subject not well understood. The lack of intelligent arguments leads to creating fictionalized versions of the truth. To truly examine a monster one must analyze how the monster comes to be as well as the fear behind the monster. The way a monster comes to be can give great insight into their minds. Shakespeare’s famous quote, “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them,” is oddly relatable to monsters as well. Some

Veronica faces the fear of losing someone you love, but not solely in the physical sense. “My teeth have begun to fall out. The medicine cabinet's now the Brundle Museum of Natural History” (The Fly). Brundle changes so drastically in personality as well as physically that she no longer recognizes him. Brundle deals with the fear of losing agency over oneself. “Insects don't have politics. They're very brutal. No compassion, no compromise. We can't trust the insect” (The Fly). Brundle has enough agency at this point to know that he is slowly going to lose control over his instincts. Still mostly human, he says his last rational words to Veronica, a warning and a guarantee. “I'll hurt you if you