The Monstrumologist Literary Elements

Gothic Horror

The United States in the 19th Century

The novel is told from the perspective of an unnamed narrator who finds Will's diaries that he wrote while he was with Dr. Warthrope.

The tone of the novel is gothic, violent, harsh, frenetic, and macabre.

Will Henry is the protagonist of the novel and the Anthropophagi force are the antagonists of the novel.

The conflict of the novel revolves around Will, Dr. Warthrope, and their friends fighting against the invading Anthropophagi force.

The climax of the novel occurs when Will, Dr. Warthrope, and their friends finally vanquish the Anthropophagi and the alpha which rules them.

Varner's death at the hands of the Anthropophagi is foreshadowed when Dr. Warthrope meets him at the mental asylum.

Will's effectiveness and ability to get things done are understated early in the novel because of his young age.

Because the novel is set in the 19th century, there are quite a few allusions to the world and American history, allusions to mythology and religion, allusions to other popular culture (particularly novels and films which deal with monsters), and to science.

Yancey uses violent and grotesque imagery to illuminate—and reinforce—just how cruel and evil the Anthropophagi are.

Will is a young boy, yet is able to vanquish hordes of the most vicious and cannibalistic creatures in the entire, called the Anthropophagi.

The actions that Will, Dr. Warthrope, and their friends take to fight the evil Anthropophagi invasion are often paralleled with each other to show how unified they are.

N/A

The town in which Will and Dr. Warthrope live is frequently personified in the novel.