Brief Summary
Monsters, a short story written by Anna Quindlen, is arguably the most controversial story explaining the transformation from the naivety that characterizes childhood to the self-realization nature of adulthood. Apparently, the story, which is portrayed through extended metaphor effectively, brings out the silent communication between the persona, who is a mother, and the innocent child, who is her son. The story is based on the dilemma in which the narrator is entangled in trying to explain to her son that the fear of monsters perceived to be under his bed is just imaginary. In the story, the narrator’s son informs his mother that there are monsters under his bed.
The mother reflects on her own experiences as a child. She perfectly understands what her son is going through, but seems to have no solution to the situation because, according to her deep reflection, she is not willing to lie to her son, yet she has always made children believe in such tales as Santa Claus, a non-existent figure associated with religious festive seasons. In a nutshell, the narrator realizes that fear of the unknown is real and concludes that in the end; her son will come to realize that fears do exists, even when such fears are unjustified or unfounded. In the end, human beings do grow out of naivety and innocence.
Reflective Essay
The message conveyed in the short story is an experience that every average human being has experienced, especially as a child. Perhaps one of the most noteworthy aspects of the story, from my own judgment is the fact that explaining such concepts as fear to children can be particularly difficult. This is especially so when the adults get confused by their own beliefs and earlier experiences (Sharp 98). Notably, the story sounds exceptionally natural, especially considering that every reader will agree with the narrator’s conclusions concerning self realization. Typically, there are so many things we have had to learn by ourselves, simply because there were no people to teach and inform us, or because we could not adequately express our information needs (Saklofske and Sybil 112). Personally, there are so many things that I have managed to learn by myself, not because there wasn’t a person to explain them to me, but because nobody really explained to me in terms that I could comprehend at my tender age.
When I was a child, I was so much afraid of some weird whistles that I could hear, especially at night. My brother and I believed that such sounds were made by some unfamiliar and probably unfriendly creatures, possibly ghosts. I cannot forget how we could sink deep into our blankets I fear of the unknown creatures. When morning came, we could hear the sounds slowly fade. Perhaps what got me even more confused is the actuality that when I informed my parents, they dismissed my claims as unfounded imaginations. At some point, I was so much disturbed by the whistles that my father spent practically the entire day explaining to me that such sounds were natural and that there was nothing extraordinary about them.
As I went to school and developed into a mature person, I came to learn that the whistles came from the thin leaves of the pines that stood in our backyard. I came to realize that the sounds were common at night because the winds were stronger at such hours. While I felt stupid upon the discovery, I realized that such fears are the monsters that we create in our innocent minds as children. From what Quindlen narrates, monsters can come in different forms, depending on the experiences of a person in childhood. Breaking down the metaphor, we realize that such monsters are simply our fears.
Works Cited
Quindlen, Anna. Monsters, 2011. Print
Saklofske, Donald H, and Sybil B. G. Eysenck. Individual Differences in Children and Adolescents. New Brunswick, N.J: Transaction Publishers, 2008. Print.
Sharp, Michael D. Popular Contemporary Writers. New York: Marshall Cavendish Reference, 2005. Print.
