THE ELEPHANT MAN

The book is about the true story of Joseph Carey Merrick who was terribly  deformed  and looked very frightening . After being thrown out of his house when his mother died, he joined a circus freak show.

One day Dr. Treves came to the circus to examine Merrick. Treves asked his supervisor to help Merrick  but Dr.Gomm refused.

When the Freak Shows were forbidden in England, Merrick worked in Belgium with Ferrari who beat Merrick, stole his money and abandoned him.

Hungry and sick, Merrick travelled back to London and after suffering an attack by an angry mob, he was taken to hospital by the police. Ther with Dr. Treves’s help, he was given a permanent home at hospital. Treves taught him to be a gentleman and he met very important people.

He accidentally died as he slept in a bed and not on his special chair, just because he wanted to be “normal”.

Treves was knighted, and Merrick’s bones were saved at the London Hospital. Over 100 years later, scientists were still fascinated by The Elephant Man.

Opinions

In my  opinion I have to say that it’s a great book. In fact, the story wants us to see it is important to accept everyone with their strengths and weaknesses because we are all important by the simple fact we are humans. I admire the Merrick’s courage just because, despite his appearance and people’s rejection, he is able to forgive.

The vocabulary of the book is not too difficult, but there are some expressions and a few words that I have had to look up in the dictionary.

Alberto Muñoz    1ºCTB 

 This book is a beautiful and impressive story because it makes you think about this type of illness. You feel bad about his tumor and his sad life. I like drama and  I recommend this book .

Aitor Rodríguez   1ºCTB

 For me, this book is very interesting because it tells the sad story of a person  who finally gets what he wants : a decent life.

Iciar Monforte    1ºCTB

This is a hard book which teaches us that the “normal” people don’t appreciate what they have because we are very superficial. It is a grat book and it makes you feel sad when  you see how much Merrick suffered.

Nerea Poyato    1ºCTB

 This book is a fantastic story of drama and tragedy. A true story. I think this book is easy to read although I found it a bit repetitive at the end.

 José Pérez    1º CTB

I like this book because it is about the difficult life of a freak and about the problems and overcoming of a person with deformities.

Lucía Ortiz  1ºCTB

  In my opinion this is a great book because it tells a real story of a man that had to fight because he was quite different from the other people. He was a very good man but the people only see his physical defects and they were really cruel to Merrick

Diego Muñoz    1ºCTB