I am not a Phantom I am a rat Julian Sands as Erik
A child is born, shunned by his own mother. He is brilliant andartistic, possessing skills untouched by even the greatest masters in manyareas. Perhaps he is also insane, not relating to the human race.Eventually, he will come to be known as a ghost, haunting the world ofnormal people as he passes in and out of sight in one of the greatestcenters of musical performance in the world. Passionate, he falls in love,and in jealousy he falls even further. This plot line has the potential tobe studied in depth by sociologists, psychologists, historians, andartists on so many levels, exploring the child himself and the life andevents that build around him. Similar to any number of ancient myths andfairy tales, this love story about an extraordinary outsider was firstintroduced as "Le Fantome de l'Opera" by Gaston Leroux, a French journalistin the late 1800's who happened upon bits and pieces of historical truthsand superstitious rumors that were incorporated into this groundbreakingand originally under appreciated novel. Nearly a century later, afterdozens of film versions of this classic tale had already populated popularand independent movie databases, one of the greatest horror movie directo
" (Ward) Erik isaccurately portrayed as chittering and whiffling to his rat companions inratspeak, but the amazing ability to speak a human language may befarfetched. Some children were reported as having occasionalfits of ferocity," (Ward) which is very accurate to the Phantom. Argento's Erik lives a very isolated life, choosing to remain beneaththe Opera House where he builds a home. A feral child (also known as "wild children" or "wolf children") isone that has been raised with little to no human contact, whether that bethrough isolation and confinement, or actually having been raised byanother species. He is also quite able to speak,possessing superior knowledge and ability to articulate thoughts, as wellas musical ability beyond that of other humans. Instead of speakingin human languages, feral children will learn to speak as their companionanimals do, whether that be barking, mooing, chittering, or squeaking. "Highly intelligent rodents, rats and mice are natural students who excelat learning and understanding concepts. Additionally, feral children take on the behaviors of the species thatraise them. We are introduced to another significant plotdifference as well; where Leroux's Erik is born with a severe physicaldeformity, Argento's Erik is physically perfect with smooth skin andflowing blonde hair, abandoned for some other unknown reason. The character additionally appears to possess some sort oftelepathic ability. Animal-raised children have been found in the care of dogs,wolves, ostriches, gazelles, bears, sheep, leopards, cows, jackals, goats,chimpanzees, and monkeys. Likewise, Erik builds secret passageways all throughout theOpera House and builds his home deep underground, nestled in a corner ofthe basement. He does not seek out thecompanionship of humans, although he is obviously fascinated with them,watching them from a guarded distance. Erik has always been a feral child, in the original of theisolated and confined variety, while in Argento's telling actually raisedby animals.
Common topics in this essay:
Opera House,
Jungle Book,
Phantom Opera,
Feral Children,
Ward Erik,
Leroux's Erik,
Fantasma Del,
,
PETA People,
Leroux French,
feral children,
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children raised,
raised rats,
opera house,
actually raised,
children develop,
argento's erik,
human contact,
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fairy tale nature,
opera house builds,
feral children learn,
actually raised animals,
house builds home,
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Acceptance Essays
