A Monster Calls discussion

Is it a real creature with a physical form? Or perhaps a disembodied spirit? Maybe it's all inside Connor's head. Something else? What do you thing the monster is?

SPOILER ALERT

He is the monster. The boy is the monster for letting his mother die. He let go of her and he feels responsible and terrible. He is a terrible monster.

I think it depends how you look at it, it could be the boy..or it could be 'Death'....or it could be 'Cancer' ...i changed my mind a few times as i went through the story...i also think it could be his anger..the monster is actually his anger, denial and frustration at the situation.

I read it thinking the monster was real, as there were always signs that the monster had been (pine needles on the floor he had to clean up etc) but I assume the monster was also in his imagination as the child would have been the one to smash things or hit the other boy. the monster came to help him through his feelings and learn lessons in order to let his mother go without feeling personally responsible for her dying/death.
perhaps the author wasn't clear about the monster, so we could each imagine something different for our selves.

What a curious question. I haven't thought about it up until now. I guess it is open to interpretation. I see everyone's idea in this discussion as being plausible! For me, I don't see the monster being actually real. What I've kind of interpreted it as is the monster is a reflection of what they boy perceives himself to be. He is so afraid to admit his secret to the monster because it will then solidify that he is one. He feels he is a monster for wanting his mother to die from the long battle of cancer. I haven't read the story in awhile but in the end, the secret comes out but I remember there being a sort of peace in the end. I think the gist of the story is that he isn't a monster for wanting his mother to die. Instead, he is simply human.

The monster does say that he is the 'wild' and he 'choses' to inhibit the form of a yew tree.
I read it thinking the monster was real, and as the book progresses, I now think that Connor loses all the things that make him 'human' and coming closer to the 'wild', he and the monster come closer together.
In passages where Connor lets out his anger, becoming raging and primeval (Wild) he and the monster become one. In these moment Connor becomes part of the 'wild'.

The monster is a separate entity though, it's definitely real, and embodies all of 'the wild', the concept and the actual wild.
It can tell Connor stories that he's obviously never hear before, so it can't be some hallucination.

Pato wrote: "The monster does say that he is the 'wild' and he 'choses' to inhibit the form of a yew tree.
I read it thinking the monster was real, and as the book progresses, I now think that Connor loses all ..."

In my opinion it had nothing to do with the "wild." I think it's a possibility that Connor's subconscious created a villain for him to fight, since there was none, but realized that what he needed more was a companion. So in the end he was a little bit of both. And Patrick Ness's decision to have them watch "King Kong," probably influenced him. In a way, The Monster was like a mirror, reflecting his emotions without the filter that he put on for everyday life. Also, did anyone notice the similarities between the Monster and Grandma?

I honestly don't know. I like to believe the Monster was real, but deep down I feel like I know it wasn't, that the whole thing was in Conor's head. It could have started out as a dream and later become his own fantasy to help him cope with the truth about his mum. People saw him beating up on Harry. Who's to say he wasn't dreaming or sleep walking and collecting the berries and leaves that were in his room the first two times? And then at the same time I think it's all real. I think its just up to the readers imagination.

I read the monster as being real, but perhaps only visible or accessible to Conor when he was in a lucid dream state. I saw him as tapping into something ancient that has always existed, but that has been drowned out by the modern world. In fact, I vaguely recall from some mythology somewhere that Yew trees were worshiped by the druids and that they had something to do with death. (Please correct me if I'm wrong, I guess I will have to look that up.) With that in mind, it makes sense that this druid force / monster / god / spirit or whatever, would choose to reveal himself to Conor when his mother was "at death's door". Like gods in any number of religions or practices, he answers the boys "call" not by granting Conor's wishes like a genie, but by helping him accept and cope and learn what he needs to learn during an incredibly difficult time in his life.

As to the physical physical havoc and destruction wrought, I see that as having been perpetrated by Conor while he was dreaming and sleepwalking (or should it be "sleep-bashing"?).

Kristine wrote: "I vaguely recall from some mythology somewhere that Yew trees were worshiped by the druids and that they had something to do with death."

Well, that was easy. Thank you, Google!

https://treesforlife.org.uk/forest/my...

To me, I think that the monster was a figment of Conor's depression and grief, or perhaps of his imagination. It says in the book that yew trees are a sign of healing, but given the fact that Conor physically destroys Harry, and also physically destroys his grandmother's house, perhaps the monster is a kind of coping mechanism.

I don't know, I read books of higher levels.