Acknowledging Your Dreams Within Bernard Pomerance’s play The Elephant Man, there lies a focus on how society affects an individual’s well-being or state of mind and what drives their dreams. In my opinion, it is society at times that alters what aspirations we have for ourselves. Sheri E. Metzger has written an essay titled “Overview of ‘The Elephant Man’” which examines “Merrick’s humanity” within the play. She states, “Normalcy is an illusion in other respects” (Metzger) and Merrick has this longing dream to lead a life as normal as possible.
An essay titled “Overview: The Elephant Man,” taken from Literature and Its Times: Profiles of 300 Notable Literary Works and the Historical Events that Influenced Them, by Joyce Moss and George …show more content…
The influence from The Enlightenment era clearly has an effect on Merrick’s situation. He dreams of one day being treated as a normal human being rather than a freak of nature; “I would prefer it where no one stared at me” (Pomerance 22). Unfortunately for Merrick, this is not likely to happen because he “forces himself to suffer humiliations … in order to survive, thus he exposes himself to crowds who pay to gape and yawp at this freak of nature, the Elephant Man” (Pomerance 3). Merrick seems to depend on and encourage these types of people for survival rather than attempting to gain acceptance from them. He dreams of one day no longer being stared at; however he allows the staring to continue by putting himself in the situation. The reality of it is that this man’s appearance is not accepted in society and his dreams of leading a normal life have been altered, “Merrick’s reality is revealed as nothing more than illusion, there is nothing left to do except die” …show more content…
His terror of is all comes from having been held at arm’s length from society. [He is] determined that shall end” (Pomerance 28). Treves has interest in both personally helping Merrick and the rest of the world by “examin[ing] him in the interest of science” (Pomerance 4). Treves is one of the only characters within this play that treats Merrick just as he has dreamt of being treated. Within Andrew Stuttaford’s essay “Monster, Man & Principal Boy” he expresses Treves’s benevolence towards Merrick “[He is] the savior who extracts Merrick from the freak show twilight in which he had been living and finds him a permanent home in the hospital where he works” (Stuttaford). Treves states that Merrick has “a disorder, not a disease… [Other people] actually believe he somehow brought it on himself, this thing, and of course it is not that at all” (Pomerance 17). He gives Merrick a safe haven to reside in for the rest of his life; “Treves looked upon Merrick as a curious medical oddity and eventually had him moved to the London Hospital in order to further study his disease” (Moss, Wilson) and Merrick was indifferent on what this really meant. He asks Treves “How long is as long as I like?” (Pomerance 22). While Treves’s response was “You may stay for life. The funds exist” (Pomerance
An essay titled “Overview: The Elephant Man,” taken from Literature and Its Times: Profiles of 300 Notable Literary Works and the Historical Events that Influenced Them, by Joyce Moss and George …show more content…
The influence from The Enlightenment era clearly has an effect on Merrick’s situation. He dreams of one day being treated as a normal human being rather than a freak of nature; “I would prefer it where no one stared at me” (Pomerance 22). Unfortunately for Merrick, this is not likely to happen because he “forces himself to suffer humiliations … in order to survive, thus he exposes himself to crowds who pay to gape and yawp at this freak of nature, the Elephant Man” (Pomerance 3). Merrick seems to depend on and encourage these types of people for survival rather than attempting to gain acceptance from them. He dreams of one day no longer being stared at; however he allows the staring to continue by putting himself in the situation. The reality of it is that this man’s appearance is not accepted in society and his dreams of leading a normal life have been altered, “Merrick’s reality is revealed as nothing more than illusion, there is nothing left to do except die” …show more content…
His terror of is all comes from having been held at arm’s length from society. [He is] determined that shall end” (Pomerance 28). Treves has interest in both personally helping Merrick and the rest of the world by “examin[ing] him in the interest of science” (Pomerance 4). Treves is one of the only characters within this play that treats Merrick just as he has dreamt of being treated. Within Andrew Stuttaford’s essay “Monster, Man & Principal Boy” he expresses Treves’s benevolence towards Merrick “[He is] the savior who extracts Merrick from the freak show twilight in which he had been living and finds him a permanent home in the hospital where he works” (Stuttaford). Treves states that Merrick has “a disorder, not a disease… [Other people] actually believe he somehow brought it on himself, this thing, and of course it is not that at all” (Pomerance 17). He gives Merrick a safe haven to reside in for the rest of his life; “Treves looked upon Merrick as a curious medical oddity and eventually had him moved to the London Hospital in order to further study his disease” (Moss, Wilson) and Merrick was indifferent on what this really meant. He asks Treves “How long is as long as I like?” (Pomerance 22). While Treves’s response was “You may stay for life. The funds exist” (Pomerance