Summary Of Jeffrey Cohen's Monster Culture

It is odd to see an author propose a topic that contradicts his or her writing choice and beliefs , to path readers on a trail of uncertainty, doubt, and speculation. Many would find it peculiar to pose an argument on oneself; however, Jeffrey Cohen does exactly this to the readers of his essay “monster culture”. Cohen sends his readers on a crumbling path of ambiguity when he asks readers a question that puts his readers either at one end of the path or the other asking if monsters truly exist. In Cohen’s “monster culture”, monsters and culture are discussed and speculated on to bring to light the connections between them.“What I will propose here by way of a first foray, as entrance into this book of monstrous content, is a sketch of a new modus legendi: a method of reading cultures from the monsters they engender,” he starts (11). Starting with formal tone of an intellectual, assuming that …show more content…
Very eerie and starch in tone, he states “What I propose here . . . is a sketch of a new modus legendi” (11). Because he starts with this statement he shows his motives blatantly as he wants to bombard the possessive walls of convention and comfort (11). The fact that he unveils his points potential flaws and posing such a hypocritical question, causes an uncomfortable anxiety that sit in the back of his readers minds. The impression that the motive to crush these “walls of convention and comfort” reappears in his ending passage. His diction and tone, leaves its seriousness that has been apparent throughout much of the essay and changes to a provoking and playful yet once again grim, serious demeanor toward the readers. You could imagine a smirking Cohen as he states phrases like “surely they must, for if they did not, then how could we?”(28). This ending statement that almost arises a burning frustration towards cohen for even proposing the topic and being so hypocritical in the first