Kenzaburo Oe Monster

What makes someone a monster? Is it a ghastly appearance, is it when a person inflicts seemingly impossible pain onto others, or is it just a title reserved for the select few that inspire such terror and fear in man that it is easier to mythologize them as a inhuman beast rather than a human? In the novel A Personal Matter by Kenzaburo Oe only a handicapped child born with a brain hernia is ever referred to as a monster. The novel’s main story is about the journey of the father of this monster child referred to only as Bird, and his attempt to kill off his newborn son and flee to Africa. Bird is fearful that the child will hinder his dream of one day going to Africa and will do nearly anything to protect his fantasy. Throughout the novel …show more content…
After meeting with Mr. Delchef and discussing Bird’s situation Bird begins to think about his child and panic slightly. His panic is described through narration saying, "Bird felt as if he were about to be led to his own death at the hands of a shady abortionist. Not the baby" (143). Not only does Bird refrain from calling his child something dehumanizing or demoralizing but he actually seems to be feeling empathetic. So close to his task of killing his child and this is the moment Bird realizes after all he is closer and more connected to the child then he thought. Bird’s eyes are finally opening up to reality and realizing that a child is being sent to death, not a monster. No one would feel himself or herself dying for a monster, but neatly ever parent would feel that exact same way knowing their child was destined to die. This is a key moment in the book because it is one of the only times he just sees the child as the hopeless infant it truly is which allows him to empathize and connect with it beyond the point of just accepting responsibility for it’s birth. In this moment Bird realized he was not just Dr. Frankenstein responsible for creating a monster but was in fact a parent responsible for his infant’s