ENGLISH 400: MONSTER THEORY
Saber Chadili
Research Abstract
"'Greedy Choke Puppy': Greedy Puppy Does Choke"
​“Greedy Choke Puppy” is a short story by Nalo Hopkinson containing a shape shifting monster known as a soucouyant. In the story, this monster takes form within a family where their female lineage is tainted with this blood-sucking monster, and our main character is a grandmother who has seen much death in her lifetime, including the death of her own daughter. Greed is present throughout the story. The title belongs to a phrase that argues that a puppy can't eat too much and/or too fast because it’ll choke. With this in mind, wanting things, being greedy for things, changes you. This is what that quote means, and what the entire story is hinting at: Greed is such a strong feeling that it creates monsters. Nothing good comes from having and festering greed, that it can literally turn us into a ball of aggressive energy.
​There is a paragraph in “Greedy Choke Puppy” that not only says the title but explains the meaning behind the entire story. The phrase “Greedy puppy does choke” is a great sentence to describe this story from Granny's perspective because she has seen what greed has done in the past. She has seen it with her daughter, now she is seeing it with her granddaughter. This emotion changes us into insatiable monsters. The phrase “greedy puppy does choke” helps the story form its message because it’s clear that the monster in “Greedy Choke Puppy” is a symbol of how Greed breeds monsters.
Capstone Presentation
"'Dry Spell': The Horrors of Online Dating"
“Dry Spell” by Adam Golub writes the dangers and horrors of online dating with a story about a monster that sucks the soul out of women and liquefies them to make this male character’s luxurious, water abundant lifestyle consistent during a time when water is scarce. By using monster theory, Golub’s “Dry Spell” can be viewed as a story about a monster that sucks the life out of unsuspecting women, a metaphor for sexual assault, thus benefiting him and his water supply. The way that our main character transforms through different phases of water towards the end demonstrates the aftermath of sexual assault and how it breaks a person down.
This monster’s water supply is the amount of previous partners that have fallen victim, fooled by the same trick. Over the internet, anyone can have the advantage of shifting their persona, tricking people into trusting and believing they are worth meeting up in person, when, in reality, they have much more sinister plans. In this short, we see the mask of the internet fade away, and the results are fatal and monstrous.