It's not easy making friends when you spend your time dissecting Anthropophagus corpses and visiting rotting sea captains in the insane asylum. Poor twelve-year-old Will Henry is utterly alone in The Monstrumologist, especially because his only housemate is an egotistical megalomaniac who is obsessed with the study of monstrumology. So it's hardly surprising that one of the major themes of this book has to do with isolation, loneliness, and the effects it has on young men.
Questions About Isolation
- Why doesn't Will Henry leave to try to find somewhere he'd be less lonely? Is it just his age or are there other reasons?
- If there are empty rooms in the Warthrop manse, why does Will Henry sleep in a tiny loft? Use the text to support your answer.
- How much can we blame Will Henry's isolation on the necessity of lying due to the doc's unorthodox calling?
- If Dr. Warthrop is lonely, too, why can't they keep each other company?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
Dr. Warthrop is emotionally distant to Will Henry because that's how his father was to him.
Dr. Warthrop is emotionally distant to Will Henry because he's so absorbed in his work he doesn't even realize Will Henry needs more from him.