Emilyann Yuhas
Honors World History
Mrs.White
16 March 2018
A Taste for Monster Book Report
A Taste for Monsters Matthew J. Kirby
The main character is 17 year old Evelyn Fallows, she had the bottom half of her face blown off when working in a matchstick factory, and after being left horribly disfigured she can only find a job as a maid/nurse for Joseph Merrick, the elephant man. When victim’s ghost from Jack the Ripper’s killings show up to haunt the elephant man and her, she has to venture out onto the dangerous streets in attempt to stop the hauntings. The second character is Joseph, John, Merrick. John Merrick is the infamous “Elephant Man” and serves as a kind heart and teacher to Evelyn. Though he is disfigured, he has the heart of a saint, which teacher Evelyn as she forms herself on her road to adulthood.
The main conflict in the book was centered around the ghost. The hauntings were taking a toll on John Merrick and he soon became weaker and weaker. Evelyn aids the Elephant Man by traveling the dangerous streets of London in 1888, looking for a solution to the hauntings. Three major points in the book, that do not spoil the book, are first when Evelyn’s father dies from an unstated cause and she is horribly disfigured on her jaw by working in a dangerous matchstick factory. This action propels the book forward and allows for the advancement of the rest of the plot. Without her father’s death, she would not have been left alone, and had she not been disfigured, she could have found work in other places, not allowing her to meet Joseph. Going in chronological order, the second major event is her actual meeting with Joseph Merrick. When Evelyn is first given him as a patient, she dreads working with him. She is repulsed by him and saddened that she has to live such a life from now on. Evelyn before this meeting was not your typical heroine. She was naturally selfish and judgemental, just as all humans are. After meeting with John and working with him, she changes her attitude and learns to be kinder, braver and hold more self confidence. The last important action would be there first meeting with the ghosts of the victims who died at the hands of Jack the Ripper. The hauntings caused John to fall mentally ill which in turn affected his physical health. Evelyn is forced to face all her fears and put away any and all selfishness she has, to risk her life finding a way to stop the hauntings and stop the killings.
The quotes that I chose each had an impact on the story. “Confidence cannot change my appearance.” ”It may not change your appearance but it can change how you are perceived.” This quote displayed the internal and external struggle Evelyn had. After her disfigurement she had no self confidence and felt she couldn’t do anything or make anything of herself. The Elephant Man showed to her that appearance isn’t everything and she can find her own self confidence from within her, giving her the courage to leave the safety of the hospital and stop the hauntings. “It flattered me to be fancied by him, if in fact I was, but that wasn't a sufficient reason for me to fancy him in return, and I realized in that moment I didn't and never would.” This quote shows how Evelyn isn’t your typical heroine and is a well developed and humanized character. She began the book with a mindset of ignorance and judgement. She never thought that she could consider John Merrick a man with any worth or value, but as time goes on, this quote is no longer how she feels. She changes her outlook and realizes her past arrogance and changes her ways. “Debts were dangerous.” This quote may not seem important or of any worth at first glance but I consider this quote to not only apply to the book and the characters but to reality as well. Evelyn was a penniless woman and throughout the book struggled with doing things on her own, and without aid. She knew that if she borrowed someone’s money or time she wouldn't be able to pay it back, which can show through to our world as well. Many of us become in debt for the rest of our lives, not financially, but in debt mentally to others.
The historical perspective is very insightful. This book takes place during 1888 on the dangerous, poor streets of London, England. During this time the killings of Jack the Ripper were on every headline and London was one of the most unsafe places to be. This true fact was a major factor in the book, both the killings and Jack the Ripper himself were in the book and historically accurate. The Elephant Man was also historically accurate. Joseph Merrick was a real man born in 1862, and had a unknown case that caused disfigurements to show up on his body throughout his life. He was the real Elephant Man and his life in the book was accurate to his actual life.
A Taste For Monsters was successful and earned an average rating of four stars on a numerous amounts of websites and platforms. Though this book is not widely regarded as Kirby’s best, many are fans of this book and hold it close to their hearts.
Matthew J. Kirby was born on January 28th 1976 and has written 9 books in his lifetime,
The Clockwork Three being his first. He won the Edgar award for the best juvenile mystery fiction and continues to write to this day.
Although the story lines of our novels were almost completely different, both of our characters had some trouble finding themselves. My characters troubles were more based on the death of her mother and inability to marry the person she loved and not on her own self.
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