Love In The Elephant Mans Life Essay free essay sample

, Research Paper MIKE MINELLO Love in The Elephant Mans Life The novel The Elephant Man by Christine Sparks tells a melodramatic narrative of a adult male who s visual aspect is so startling, it prevents him from sing the indispensable love most people experience in life. John Merrick is robbed of his childhood when his female parent wantonnesss him. He is besides degraded and disregarded as a human being when he is put on show as portion of a freak show. As a consequence of Merrick s visual aspect and forsaking he lacks the esthesis of maternal love but he experiences self love and the love of friendly relationship when he meets Dr. Treves. John Merrick neer experiences the maternal love of a female parent. Even though she abandons him, he forces his ego to disregard the world that she leaves him. He believes that for some ground they have been forced to portion and this was a great mystifier to which he would return to once more and once more, for he knew his female parent loved him and would non hold volitionally allow him travel. ( 117 ) Merrick is unable to see the comfort of a female parents touch, alternatively he is forced to work like a slave in the work house and to be laughed at in the monster show. As a consequence Merrick becomes really intimidated by his proprietor ( bytes ) and refuses to talk. He tells Treves the ground for him non talking is because no 1 asked him to. Merrick becomes attached to Mothershead in a manner because she is about like a female parent. She takes attention of him and gives him emotional support, but does non allow him acquire away with everything he MIKE MINELLO 2 wants. Merrick lacks the maternal love of his female parent but he ever believes that she is watching over him and that she will be at that place for him when it is clip for them to be together. she had come for him at last. ( 278 ) Merrick s emotions are really unstable because he neer experienced the fondness of a adult females, particularly a female parent. Merrick is used to being treated as an animate being so when a adult females such as Mothershead shows him that she cares he is really overwhelmed. Merrick has small self love for his ego as a consequence of his yesteryear. He begins to believe what people tell when they call him ugly and dense. He does non esteem his ego because he is convinced he does non merit to be treated like a human being. When Dr. Treves first discovers Merrick he shows no regard for him, during his presentation in the talk hall he is ready to bespeak assorted parts of the specimen with a stick. ( 37 ) This type of disrespect leads Merrick to experience worthless. Because of Merrick s deficiency of love for his ego he is really diffident and intimidated. The bullying all ows bytes to make whatever he wants with him, including crushing him. When Bytes is non satisfied with Merrick s public presentation he jabs his exhibit with a stick. ( 242 ) This type of intervention Merrick receives causes him to fell that he is non deserving being loved by others nor his ego. Treves knows that Merrick s visual aspect makes Merrick upset so he has all the mirrors in the suites where he is remaining removed. Merrick knew he was ugly even though he did non cognize what it meant ( 122 ) As a consequence of rude remarks and violent intervention Merrick feels he does non merit to experience love from others nor his ego. Merrick is deprived of the love of friendly relationship all of his life until he meets Treves. Throughout Merrick s life he is disrespected and made merriment of. Treves remembers MIKE MINELLO 3 how Merrick had obeyed Bytes shouted orders the twenty-four hours before. ( 29 ) Bytes has small regard for Merrick, he merely wants to gain off of Johns bad lucks. Treves and the remainder of the staff at the infirmary go really fond of Merrick s good being. Merrick is non used to this sort of love and support he receives from them because no 1 has of all time treated him this manner. Merrick is kidnapped by Bytes and is beaten and becomes really ill. Bytes has Merrick perform in the circus to do money. All the other performing artists in the circus cognize he is aching Merrick so they say we ve decided, he said calmly you ve got to acquire off from here. ( 248 ) The performing artists care about Merrick so much they risk acquiring caught by Bytes. They put all their money together so they can set him on a train place. Merrick finds it really hard when people are sort to him. through his shortness of breath Merrick managed to state hoarsely, I m non used to such kindness from a beau tiful adult female. ( 164 ) Because of Merrick # 8217 ; s experience of the love of friendly relationship he feels his life is about complete. I feel as if I ve traveled my whole life merely to stand here. ( 272 ) The love of friendly relationship and the love of ego can alter a individuals life dramatically. Maternal love is of import in obtaining love of ego. Merrick believes he is non worthy of the friendly relationship because they may hold problem being honest or unfastened with others. They may besides go really covetous of other kids who have experienced maternal love. As a consequence they may be without self love because they feel as if their female parent does non love them or that there must be something incorrect MIKE MINELLO 4 with them. Merrick is really lucky to hold a friend like Treves who accepts him as he is and he is besides really lucky that he neer looses religion in his female parent. She had come for him at last. ( 278 )