Joseph Merrick

Introduction The life of Joseph Merrick has been an inspiration to many and the subject of numerous publications and dramatic works since his death in 1890. I aim to explore aspects of his physical, psychological, social and economic story to create a picture of "The Elephant Man". Life Joseph was born to Mary and Joseph Merrick on August 5th 1862 in Leicester. Although an 1890 article in the BMJ stated that it was almost certain Merrick was born with enlargements of bones of the skull, right arm and feet ¹, it appears this could not have been obvious at birth, since it is recorded that the first noticeable difference was picked up by his mother who appreciated swelling and hardening of his upper lip at the age of 21 months ¹, ², ³. A 1930…

Joseph Carey Merrick was an English man with very severe deformities who was first exhibited at a freak show as the "Elephant Man", and then went to live at the London Hospital after he met Frederick Treves, so becoming well known in London society. Merrick was born in Leicester, and began to develop abnormally during the first few years of his life: his skin appeared thick and lumpy, he developed enlarged lips, and a bony lump grew on his forehead, one of his arms and both of his feet became…

Treves documents his interactions with Joseph Merrick from their first meeting in November 1884, to his subsequent death in April 1890. Although Treves introduces the Elephant Man as John Merrick, his given birth name was Joseph Merrick. Frederick Treves was a wealthy, accomplished surgeon who was made a Baronet, a member of the aristocracy, by King Edward VII after successfully performing a surgery on the King himself (Keith). Treves was also a lecturer on anatomy; and, after his first meeting…

Treves realizes the pain that exists in John more than anyone, but not until he talks with and observes him. He states in the play, “It was not until I came to know that Merrick was highly intelligent, that he possessed an acute sensibility, and- worse than all- a romantic imagination, that I realized the overwhelming tragedy of his life.” Treves finds out how aware John is of his surroundings. Not only does he realize that other people see him as a deformed freak, but he also sees himself as a…

the change in his body and not the stares of others. For example, the dinner with Stephan, Jane, and a few of their friends shows Hawking losing control of his hands which eventually makes it too difficult for him to finish his food. He eventually leaves the table and attempts to climb up the stairs only to stop in defeat as he watches his son at the top. The camera is focused on Hawking’s realization that his body is changing in these scenes. Later, he defends his thesis where the camera is…

“No More Curtain Calls for Elephants,” an article published in the Los Angeles Times’ newspaper and composed by its own editorial board, brings the issue of domestic elephant mistreatment to light and declares its support of the Los Angeles City Council’s consideration of a measure that would promote domestic elephant welfare. In writing a story that was most immediately available and applicable to Los Angeles residents, the LA Times’ editorial board hopes to bring more awareness of the problem…

The article, ‘Elephants are more human than we realize’, by John Martin is all about how behaviors of an elephant can align similarly to those of a human. Martin took his wife’s close affectionate encounter with a wild elephant in Kenya, and he noticed that the elephant wasn’t attacking, it was merely showing affection. From that day on, Martin has been studying the way that elephants can have emotions, just like us, humans. There are multiple sides of an elephant, such as children’s books like…

The book I will be analyzing is, Kopet: A Documentary Narrative of Chief Joseph’s Last Year’s by M. Gidley. It was published in 1981 in Seattle, Washington, United States of America. This book is split up into three different sections: 1. Starting Out from the Meany Papers An introduction 2. Chief Joseph of the Nez Peres A chronology 3. White Witnesses to Chief Joseph’s End A Narrative This book discusses the last few years of Chief Joseph’s life, the white people…

Schumpeter’s work considered the role of entrepreneurs in creating profit as well as building on Weber’s examination of credit-money. He focused on these areas as an attempted to solve two problems with Smith’s circular-flow model. First, that it did not contain profits and secondly, it did not contain the element of bank credit-money. Schumpeter explained that the role of the entrepreneur was not passive, simply responding to price signals. He argued that in reality the entrepreneur’s…

Franz Joseph Haydn is widely known as one of the creators of classical music, as well as being dubbed the “Father of the Symphony” and “Father of the String Quartet. He is also one of the greatest and most celebrated composers of all time. Haydn once remarked, “Young people can learn from my example that something can come from nothing. What I have become is the result of my hard efforts.” And it was the truth. Haydn came from humbler beginnings than most. He was born in Rohrau, Austria on March…