Nakaue 1

Tyler Nakaue
Professor McClure
Writing 39B
25 October 2015
The Monster Within
In the short story, The Other Place, written by Mary Gaitskill, recipient of the Guggenheim
Fellowship award and nominee for the PEN/Faulkner award, a man recalls moments of his life
and sees how similar he and his son are. The man talks about how he would travel to another
place when he was mischievous, which later becomes his drive for murder. In The Nature of
Horror, by Noel Carroll, a well-respected author in the philosophy of art, a monster is described
as an extraordinary being in an ordinary world. Although this man is an ordinary human, he is a
monster because when he steps into the other place he is able to do extraordinary things. He is
different from the daily norm, yet the reader is not scared of him. They instead see themselves
inside that man, which Gaitskill uses to argue that everyone has a monster inside them.
Gaitskill purposefully structures this man to be relatable to the reader. The mans name was
never stated in the story, so for clarity he will be referred to as Man. When the story begins he is
a caring father. When he talks about his son, Man states that his drawings of crows are
beautiful and precise (Gaitskill 1). Parents tend to encourage their child in all their endeavors.
Man is no different. The reader sees him marveling at his sons drawings, even though they
depict death or crows. Man also has a strong marriage, which many people can relate to or
inspire to have. The last detail he shares with most parents is his attention to his son. He
noticed his excessive interest in guns, gore, and death, asking, How did this happen? (1).
When the video game industry began manufacturing violent games about killing the enemy,
many parents became concerned about how this affects their children. Man also feels that way.
He noticed that his son has become found of killing virtual people. He even draws pictures of
them dying, but Mans relation takes a symbolic turn.

Nakaue 2
In the story the man recalls his young life and the creation of the other place. This was the
creation of his monster. It began when he would drink and do drugs with his friends he was with
them and yet [was] completely apart from them (Gaitskill 5). He created this world where he
was able to do whatever he wanted. He wasnt a drunk boy messing with friends. He was
whatever he desired to be. In his case, he became a murderous monster. This other place
showed him things, like death and carnage. This place was in his mind, so in a way it was his
mind showing him what he truly wanted. He wanted to kill someone. He wanted to assert his
dominance over them permanently. He was a normal boy until he created this world, this other
place.
The man, although he was the main character, was the monster of the story. In Noel Carrolls
The Nature of Horror, Carroll states that in horror stories the monster is an extraordinary
character in our ordinary world (Carroll 52). The man in this story fits that description. He is
normal to the average human, but his mind is twisted. He created a world where he is a
monster. He became extraordinary when he entered the other place. There he wasnt a little
boy. He was a man who could kill anyone if he were inclined to do so.
Being extraordinary doesnt make a person a monster. If that were true Superman might be
considered a monster, instead of a hero. There are other requirements one must fulfill to be
considered a monster. Carroll also describes monsters to be impure and unclean (54). Im sure
the man washed himself daily, but he is unclean and impure in a different way. He has these
urges to kill people. These thoughts are impure. He has attempted to break and broke a few
rules from the Ten Commandments. It states, Thou shalt not kill Thou shalt not steal
(Wikipedia). He stole a gun from his friends dad. This gun was going to help him murder one of
his victims. He never murdered anyone, but he did hold a lady at gun point. These actions made
him impure and unclean in the eyes of the law and of God. A monster is one that is considered
to be hated by God. By breaking the Ten Commandments he has broken one of ten rules God
created for all humans. He asked for no forgiveness, in fact he wanted to kill the woman he

Nakaue 3
couldnt bring himself to kill. His mind was twisted, disturbed, and overall impure. These
monstrous qualities are not only found in him.
Gaitskill uses this story of a mans twisted desires to show off how every person has a monster
inside them. In the story the man has a son. He praises his son for his uniqueness, but also is
wary of his inner monster. His son, Douglas, enjoyed video games where people die, and toy
guns. He also did beautiful, precise drawings of crows (Gaitskill 1). The man was very specific
to state that he drew crows. This might have tipped the man off that his son has an inner
monster since crows and ravens are associated with the divine. Sometimes they are used as
messengers of Gods, other times they are omens of bad tidings or death. The man never told
his son about the other place, yet Douglas still found it. He is intrigued and excited by the pain
and struggle of women. Douglas watched an ad where a blond girl was being held captive. She
was terrified and crying. During this commercial Doug didnt speak or move (1). Like his father,
Douglas has become fascinated by the pain of others. Gaitskill is showing how every person
has the capability of opening the door to the other place.
The man isnt the only extraordinary person to find the other place. His son, Douglas, has found
it as well. Gaitskill uses this story to show how everyone can enter the other place. His son has
found it. Another fictional character that has found a place like this is Robert Neville from New
York Times Best Seller horror novel I Am Legend. In this story a man slowly becomes the
monster in a post-apocalyptic, vampire infested world. Neville begins to display a split
personality. The other half of his mind starts out as a strong moral compass, but slowly Nevilles
monstrous side took over. He began to see life from the other place. He did what he wanted,
when he wanted. Neville would take vampire women from their home to experiment on them.
Although it was never specifically stated that he traveled to another place, his minds
deterioration shows it. He began as a civilized man, but when society fell and he became the
last man in the world, a split side convinced him to abandon the morals society chained him to.
He became free to do what he wanted.

Nakaue 4
Gaitskills depiction of the other place isnt just limited to the fictional universe. There are things
we have thought about doing, but something has stopped us. It was society that stopped us. It
was the way people looked at us if we decided to do it. Gaitskill tells a story about a boy growing
up. This boy decided to do what he wanted with little regard to society. Of course, he fought with
the idea of people judging him. After he gets caught creeping on a sleeping girl he cut school
the next day and the next (Gaitskill 6), because he was afraid of the rumor spreading and being
mocked for it. Gaitskill implies that we all have The Other Place inside us, but only the truly
extraordinary can access it. Only those who are not afraid to be looked at differently can get in it
and manipulate the other place. We all have this place, this monstrous place inside us.

Nakaue 5

Bibliography
Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2015.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ten_commandments>
Carroll, Noel. The Nature of Horror. The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 1987.
Print
Matheson, Richard. I Am Legend. New York: ORB, 1995. Print.
The Other Place - The New Yorker. The New Yorker. Web. 27 Oct. 2015.
<http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/02/14/the-other-place>