THE ELEPHANT MAN

CHARACTERS AND CHARACTERISTICS

a. JOSEPH MERRICK
Character Trait Evidence

- He can speak despite the difficulties of his twisted lips.

* He is well read and articulates his mind clearly.
.• He understands the cruelty of the society towards deformed people like
Intelligent him and accepts his predicament. Thus, he does not get angry when people
laugh at him.
* Mr Carr Gomm, the chairman of the hospital, claims that Merrick can read,
write, and thinks a lot in his letter to the editor of The Times.
* He remembers the play in the theatre for a long time and is very
inquisitive about the people in the play.

• he is accepted by the staff in the hospital.

Friendly •he chats easily with his visitors in the hospital, even though they are
prominent members of the society.

Accepting and • He forgives people who laugh at him.

• He is not angry with the new nurse who screams upon seeing him.
forgiving
Instead, he feels sorry for her.

• He is overwhelmed by the kindness of Dr Treves, his young lady friend,

Grateful
and Queen Alexandra.

• He remembers his mother though he has not seen his mother for a very
long time after her mother gives him to Silcock.
• He does not hold a grudge against his mother and consoles himself
whenever he is sad by looking at her picture.
Loving • He makes things with his hands and gives them to the nurses because
they are kind to him.
• 1 le cries for nearly five minutes when Dr Treves' young lady friend visits
him with a smile and shakes his hand.
• He misses Dr Treves when he lives in the country.

Sensitive and • He expresses his desire to live in a lighthouse or a home for the blind
understanding people so that people cannot see him and be afraid of his appearance.

• Despite his de 3rmity and physical disability, he returns to London by

Tough
himself after Silcock cheats him of his money and deserts him in Belgium.

• He is very happy when Dr Treves's young lady friend visits him and he
Easily never talks about living in a lighthouse any more.
contented • He tells the Queen that he is a very happy man because now he has a
home, friends and books.

• He thinks and plays like a child.

Childish • He behaves like a child at the theatre.
• He believes that everything in the play at the theatre is true.
 THE ELEPHANT MAN

• He is wonderfully happy living in the country, close to nature.

Naive and
• He forgets about his disabilities and believes that he is just like everyone
simple-minded else.
• He sleeps lying down and breaks his neck, causing his unfortunate death.

b. DR FREDERICK TREVES

Character Trait Evidence

• He feels angry and afraid when lie first sees the picture of the Elephant
Man in the window of a shop near the hospital.
• Merrick's voice sounds strange but he listens to Merrick carefully to
understand what he is saying.
Empathetic • When the police hands Merrick to him, Merrick is very tired, hungry, and
dirty. He puts Merrick to bed in a quiet little room, though he knows that
Merrick cannot stay at the hospital.
• He persuades the chairman of the hospital to provide Merrick with a
permanent sanctuary in the hospital, as Merrick does not have a home.

• He does not laugh at Merrick but tries to help him.

• He treats and respects Merrick as a human being. He apologises to
Compassionate Merrick and helps him get into a cab when Merrick faces difficulties.
and kind • he realises that Merrick needs a life outside the hospital so he fulfils
Merrick's desire to go to the theatre and to stay in the country, despite the
difficulties in doing so.

• He gives Merrick books to read since he loves to read.

• He does not like the nurses laughing at Merrick.
Caring • He gets angry when the new nurse runs out of the room in fear.
• He visits Merrick every day and does not want him to live by himself. He
wants Merrick to talk to more people and women

• He notices the things in the dirty shop.

• He realises that both Merrick and his nurse are afraid when he first
Observant examines Merrick.
• He notices that Merrick has a little picture of his mother in his good
hand.

• He is too concerned to find out about Merrick's illness that he fails to see
Merrick's emotional and social needs until Merrick expresses his desire to
live in a lighthouse or a home for the blind.
Selfish
• He frees Merrick from being an object of entertainment but he himself
exploits Merrick for his self-interest. He allows Merrick to become an
object of curiosity of the high society and allows them to view Merrick,
though in a much more humane manner.
 THE ELEPHANT MAN

C. SIMON SILCOCK
Character Trait Evidence

Aggressive and • He shouts at Merrick.

mean • He hits Merrick with his hand.

• He claims that Merrick is the best Elephant Man in England.

Boastful • He boasts that he takes Merrick all over the country and hundreds of
people come to see him.

• He asks for twelve pence to view the Elephant Man, although the picture
says 'two pence'.
Greedy and • He asks for more money because he claims that the shop is closing at
cunning that time.
• He indirectly asks for more money when Dr Treves wants to bring Merrick
to the hospital.

Ruthless • He leaves Merrick alone in Belgium after taking Merrick's money

• He knows the difficulty in getting Merrick to the hospital although the

Smart
hospital is nearby and suggests taking a cab.

c. MR CARR GOMM
Character Trail Evidence

Attentive • He listens carefully to Dr Treves's story about Joseph Merrick

Supportive and • He helps Dr Treves by writing to the editor of The Times newspaper to
helpful appeal for funds so that Merrick can stay in the hospital.

d. DR TREVES’S YOUNG LADY FRIEND

Character Trait Evidence

• She smiles at Merrick the minute she enters Merrick's room, greets him
Friendly and
and shakes his hand.
respectful
• She addresses Merrick as 'Mr Merrick'.

Empathetic • She puts her hand on his arm when he cries.

• She visits Merrick the second time and talks to him for half an hour.
Kind and
• She brings along a friend and gives him some books.
unbiased
• They have tea with Merrick.

e. QUEEN ALEXANDRA
Character Trait Evidence

• She smiles at Merrick the minute she enters Merrick's room, greets
Friendly and
Merrick and shakes his hand.
humble
• She addresses Merrick as 'Mr Merrick'.
 THE ELEPHANT MAN

• She sits together with Merrick at his table.

Kind and gentle • She holds Merrick's good hand as she talks to him.

• She asks if Merrick is happy.

• She listens to Merrick talking about his love for books for nearly half an
Caring
hour.
• She gives Merrick a little book and some red flowers before she leaves.

• She visits Merrick frequently and sends him a Christmas card with a
Considerate
picture of herself as a present.

Exercise 1
When answering questions on characters,
 make sure you describe the qualities of the character(s)
 give examples of what the character says or does (textual evidence)

e.g: Joseph Merrick

QUALITIES TEXTUAL EVIDENCE

(a) Merrick keeps a picture of his mother. He tells people she is beautiful and kind although she gave
him away to Simon Silcock long ago. He still loves her and cries whenever he remembers her. Any
lady who smiles or is kind to him reminds him of his mother.
1. Loving
(b) Merrick cries when Dr. Treves's friend, a beautiful young lady smiles at him and holds his hand.
He tells Dr. Treves that she is wonderful and kind like his mother because only his mother had smiled
at him once long ago.

2. Intelligent and Merrick loves reading and talking about books. He reads a lot of books that his visitors give him and
well-read talks about his books with them.

(a) He is thankful to kind and helpful people like the doctors and muses, lie tells Dr. Treves that he is
happy that he and the nurses are kind lo him.
3. Appreciative
(b) He makes beautiful things and gives them to (he nurses who are kind to him.
and grateful
(c) During his stay in the country, Merrick writes to Dr. Treves every week and sends him some
flowers.

(d) He is happy and appreciative of people who visit him because they do not laugh at him. He tells Dr.
Treves that he is happy to know so many famous ladies and kind people like him. Merrick also tells the
Queen that he is happy to have a home, friends and books.
(e) When the Queen of England visits him and gives him a little-book and some red flowers, he is
overjoyed and sings all day after she leaves.
(f) The Queen of England sends Merrick a Christmas card and a picture of herself as a Christmas
present. He is so happy that he cries and puts her picture by his bed. Then he writes the first letter in
his life and thanks her.

4. Creative He makes beautiful things and gives them to the nurses who are kind to him.
 THE ELEPHANT MAN

(a) A new nurse is shocked to see Merrick. She streams, drops the tray of food and runs out. Dr. Treves
is angry with her and tries to console Merrick, but Merrick is not angry with her. Instead, he
5. Sympathetic
understands and feels sorry for her because that is what some people would do when they sec his ugly
and thoughtful
face and body.
(b) Merrick feeds many birds and a big dog in the country with bread. They become his friends.

(a) Merrick is good, quiet and intelligent. Although he is very ugly, everybody likes him.
(b) Merrick gets a lot of visitors and he makes many friends. They all give him books and have
positive things to say about him.
6. Good, kind (c) Mr. Gomm describes Merrick as very ugly but good, kind and friendly to the editor of "The
and friendly Times".
(d) Everybody is willing to help Merrick.
(i) All the nurses and doctors help him.
(ii) One of his new friends lets him stay in her small country house for six weeks.

e.g: Simon Silcock

QUALITIES TEXTUAL EVIDENCE

 Silcock treats Merrick badly.

(a) As Merrick's master, he does not ensure that Merrick is clean and comfortable. Merrick's
room at the back of the shop is cold, dark, dirty and smelly. Merrick remains seated with a
1. Merciless, cruel, rude cloth over his head because it is cold.
and harsh (b) Silcock does not care about Merrick's physical disabilities. He shouts at Merrick rudely
and angrily when people come to see him. He orders Merrick to get up and walk quickly. He
also hits him. lint Merrick cannot walk fast because his legs are enormous and heavy. He also
has a bad back.

 Silcock exploits Merrick and exhibits him as a freak.

(a) He advertises Merrick by labelling him as "The Elephant Man" putting a horrible, ugly
picture of him in the window of his shop.
(b) He charges two pence per person to see Merrick.
2. Exploitive, mercenary
(c) He exhibits Merrick all over England in a freak show as a curiosity. He says that Merrick
and dishonest
is "the best Elephant Man in England".
(d) Later Silcock exhibits Merrick in Belgium. But after a year, he steals £50 from Merrick,
leaves him there alone and goes back to London. Merrick comes back on his own to London
by ship and train with a lot of difficulties.

(a) All Silcock cares about is money. When Dr. Treves wants to see Merrick, Silcock refuses
3. Greedy und to let him see Merrick because he is closing his shop. But when Dr, Treves offers to pay him
materialistic more, he asks for twelve pence and happily lets him see Merrick.
(b) When Dr. Treves wants Silcock to take Merrick to the hospital to examine him, Silcock is
reluctant to let him. He says that Merrick cannot walk well and he needs help. Yet when Dr.
 THE ELEPHANT MAN

Treves says that he will pay him, he allows him to take Merrick in a cab the next day to the
hospital.

e.g: Dr Treves
(a) When Dr. Frederick Treves sees the horrible, ugly picture of "The Elephant Man",
in the window of Simon Silcock's shop, he is angry that Silcock exploits him to earn
his living.
(b) Then he feels sad to see such an ugly creature because he has never seen anything
like Merrick before. Merrick has an enormous head and loose skin hangs all over his
face and body, besides, the creature is kept in a cold, dark, dirty and smelly room.
1. Sympathetic and patient (c) Silcock shouts at Merrick to walk fast and hits him. Dr. Treves sees that he cannot
walk well because he has a bad back and his legs are huge and fat. He feels ill and
sorry for Merrick. He does not want to see him anymore.
(d) The next day after seeing Merrick, Dr. Treves comes to take him in a cab to the
hospital. Merrick takes a long time to climb the three steps of the cab. Dr. Treves
waits patiently for Merrick to get into the cab. On the way to the hospital, he listens
patiently to Merrick's problems and gives him his visiting card.

(a) After two years, when the London police bring Merrick to Dr. Treves, he lets
Merrick sleep in a room at the hospital because he has nowhere to go.
(b) Later, Dr. Treves tells Mr. Gomm that Merrick has no home and no money.
Besides, nobody will employ him because he is severely deformed and very ugly.
And he cannot stay at the hospital as he is not a patient. Mr. Gomm writes to the
2. Kind,concerned, thoughtful,
editor of "The Times" newspaper for financial help and the readers donate £50,000
compassionate, caring, empathatic
for Merrick.
and helpful
(c) With Dr. Treves's help,
(i) Merrick gets a permanent home. He is happy and lives comfortably. Life is
more normal for him. His skin is much better and he does not smell horrible l
like before.
ii) The nurses and doctors at the hospital are kind and help Merrick.

iii) Merrick gets a lot of visitors and he makes many friends. 1 hey all give him
hooks because he loves reading. They respect him and do not laugh at him.

(iv) Merrick lives happily and leads a normal life until he dies

(d) Dr. Treves visits Merrick every day and they talk about books. He has no books
so Dr. Treves gives him some love story books.

(e) Dr. Treves notices that the nurses at the hospital talk very little to him because
they regard him as just a creature, not a man. He also realises that Merrick reads
about women in his books but he does not talk much about them. He wants Merrick
to have a normal social life.

(f) Dr Treves wants him to meet and talk to women and other people to lead a normal
 THE ELEPHANT MAN

life. That is why he introduces his friend, a beautiful young lady to Merrick. She
shakes his hand and smiles a! him. Merrick is very happy because no women smile at
him now.

(g) The beautiful young lady and her friend visit Merrick two weeks later. They give
him some books and have tea with him. Now, Merrick is happier because he has
some friends.

(h)Dr. Treves fulfils Merrick's wish to go to the theatre and the country. It is difficult
to take him there without people seeing him hut Dr. Treves makes all the
arrangements for Merrick to the children's Christmas play. And Merrick gets to stay
in the country for six weeks in summer.

(a) Dr. Treves gets angry when a new nurse screams and drops the •ray of food after
seeing Merrick in his room. He calls her and reprimands her. Then he consoles
Merrick and explains that he Wants his nurses to help him and not laugh or scream
when (hey see him.
(b) Dr. Treves does not want people lo see Merrick in public because they would
ridicule and embarrass him.
(i) He gets his friend, Mrs Kendall at the theatre lo help buy the tickets for a box at
3. Protective the side of the theatre to watch a play. Then he takes Merrick to the theatre in a cab
with dark windows. With Mrs. Kendals's help, they enter the Queen's door at the back
of the theatre. Merrick and Dr. Treves sit in the dark behind three nurses in the box.
Nobody notices them and Merrick enjoys the exciting children's Christmas play.
(ii) Dr. Treves ltkes Merrick to the country in West Wickham in a train with dark
windows so that nobody can see him. He also stays one night with Merrick in the
country house (Apple Tree House) to make sure that he is absolutely safe.

e.g: Mr Carr Gomm

QUALITIES Vi TEXTUAL EVIDENCE ~ <

(a) After Dr. Treves tells Mr. Gomin about Merrick and his problems, he writes to the editor
of'"The Times" newspaper for financial help to give Merrick, a home.

(b) Within a week, the readers of " The Times" newspaper contribute £50,000 for Merrick. The
Kind, thoughtful,
editor gives that money to Mr. Gomm who gives it to the London Hospital. They give Merrick a
helpful and honest
bathroom and a room with a bed, some chairs and a table for Merrick. It is with the editor's and
the readers' help that Merrick has his first decent home for three and a half years.
(c) When Merrick dies, Mr.Gomm writes to the editor informing him that he would give the
remaining money to the hospital.
 THE ELEPHANT MAN

e.g: Queen Alexandra

QUALITIES TEXTUAL EVIDENCE

( a) The Queen of England visits Merrick and shakes his hand. He tries to curtsy but he cannot
because his legs are enormous and heavy. The Queen understands his problem and tells him to
get up.
(b) The Queen holds his left hand and talks about him and his books for about 30 minutes.
Kind, concerned and
(c) She gives him a little book and some red flowers. He is very happy and sings all day after
helpful
she leaves. She visits Merrick many times after this.
(d) At Christmas, she sends him a Christmas card and a picture of herself as a Christmas
present. Merrick is so happy that he tries and puts her picture by his bed. Then he writes the first
letter in his life to thank her.

E,g: Life with Silcock VS life at the London Hospital

Life before Joseph Merrick stayed at the London Hospital and when he lives there.

WHEN MERRICK WAS WITH SILCOCK WHEN MERRICK LIVES IN THE HOSPITAL

1. In London, Silcock exhibited Merrick as a freak. He lived 1. Dr. Treves is good to Merrick. With his help, Merrick
in a small, cold, dark and dirty room at the back of Silcock's lives comfortably in his first home. The London Hospital
shop. There was no bathroom and a bed for him. Every gives him two rooms. One is a bathroom. The other room
week Silcock and Merrick went to a new place because the has a bed, a table and some chairs.
police got angry with them.

2. Merrick has a bath every day so his skin is much better

2. Merrick's skin smelled horrible.
and he does not smell horrible.

3. All the doctors and nurses are kind to Merrick and help
3. Silcock treated him harshly and hit Merrick.
him. Dr. Treves is good to him.

4. (a) For two pence, people saw Merrick as a

4. (a) Dr. Treves visits Merrick every day and they talk
freak and laughed at him at Silcock's shop.
about books.
(b) On the road, people were afraid to see him and some
(b) He has lots of visitors and friends. They treat him with
screamed. Little boys hit him. The police sometimes
respect and dignity. Many important ladies and gentlemen
imprisoned Silcock and Merrick.
also visit him. They smile, shake his hand and give him
(c) On the train and ship while coming back to England
books. He is happy because they do not laugh at him.
from Belgium, people ridiculed him.
(c) Even the Queen of England visits him and treats him
(d) In London, when he came back, the police imprisoned
with respect and dignity.
him.
 THE ELEPHANT MAN

5. Later, Silcock exhibited Merrick in Belgium. After about 5. (a) Dr. Treves takes Merrick to the theatre to watch a
a year, he stole Merrick's money, left him there and came children's Christmas play, (b) Merrick gets his wish to go
back to England. Merrick came back to England on his own to the country and he enjoys six weeks there.
much later.

e.gTHEMES AND MORAL VALUES (Messages/Lessons Learnt)

THEMES MORAL VALUE/ MESSACtE/l.ESSON LEARNT
1. Being kind and helpful We must be kind and help people who need help.
2. Being thoughtful and concerned We must think of others and show concern when ihey have problems.
3. Honesty We must be honest.
We must be good to our friends so that they will help us when we need
4. Friendship
them.
We must be public-spirited. /We must be ready to help those who need
5. Public-spiritedness
help.
6. Treating the physically disabled with
We must respect and treat the physically disabled with dignity.
dignity
7. Exploitation of the physically disabled We must not exploit a physically disabled person to earn money.
8. Cruelty We must not be cruel to anybody, especially the physically handicapped.

e.g: Themes
 Being thankful/grateful/appreciative
(a) Merrick is thankful to the kind and helpful people like Dr. Treves and the nurses. He makes beautiful things and
gives them to the nurses who are kind to him.

(b) Merrick is happy and appreciative of people who visit him and treat him with respect. Soon he begins to forget that
he is an ugly creature and feels like a man.

(c) The Queen of England visits him and gives him a little book and some red flowers. Merrick is overjoyed and sings
all day after she leaves.

(d) 'Ihe Queen of England sends Merrick a Christmas card and a picture of herself as a Christmas present. Merrick is so
happy that he cries. Then he writes the first letter in his life to thank her.
 2. Being kind, concerned, thoughtful and helpful

(a) When a new nurse sees Merrick, she screams, drops his food and runs out. But Merrick is not angry with her. He
understands and feels sorry for her because that is what some people would do when they see his ugly face and body.

(b) Merrick feeds many birds and a big dog in the country with bread. They become his friends.

(c) After two years, when the London police bring Merrick to Dr. Treves, he lets Merrick sleep in a room at the hospital.

(d) With Dr. Treves's help, Mr. Gomm, the Chairman of the London Hospital writes to the editor of "The Times"
newspaper to get financial help for Merrick.

(e) The editor of' "The Times" highlights Merrick's plight to collect donations from the readers for Merrick.

(f) The readers of "'The Times" donate £50,000 within one week so that Merrick can have a permanent proper home.
 THE ELEPHANT MAN

The editor then gives the money to Mr. Gomm.

(g) With that money, the London Hospital gives Merrick his first decent and comfortable home to live the rest of his
life.

(h) All the doctors and nurses at the hospital are kind and help Merrick.

(i) Merrick's visitors treat him with respect and dignity They do not laugh at him and they give him books because he
loves reading. Soon he begins to forget that he is an ugly creature and feels like a man.

(j) Dr. Treves visits Merrick every day so that he is not lonely. They talk about books, but Merrick has only the Bible
and a few newspapers so Dr. Treves gives him some love story books.

(k) Dr. Treves notices that the nurses at the hospital talk very little to him and Merrick does not talk much about them.
Thai is why he gets his lady friends and other people to visit Merrick. One day, he introduces his friend, a beautiful
young lady to Merrick.

(I) 'The beautiful young lady smiles at Merrick, like his mother and shakes his hand. He cries with joy. Two weeks later,
she visits Merrick with her friend. They give him some books and have tea with him.

(m) Dr. Treves fulfils Merrick's wish to go to the theatre and the country. It is difficult to take him there without people
seeing Merrick and he is busy but he makes all the arrangements for Merrick to see a children's Christmas play and later
stay in the country.

(II) The Queen of England visits Merrick. She treats him with respect and shakes his hand. Merrick tries to curtsy but he
cannot because his legs are enormous and heavy. The Queen understands his problem and tells him to get up. The
Queen holds his left hand and talks about him and the books that he has read for about 30 minutes. She gives Merrick a
little book and some red flowers. He is very happy and sings all day alter she leaves. She visits Merrick many times
alter this.

(o) At Christmas, the Queen sends Merrick a Christmas card and a picture of herself as a Christmas present. Merrick is
so happy that he cries and puts her picture by his bed. Then he writes the fust letter in his life to thank her.

(p) Mrs. Kendal, Dr. Treves's friend from the theatre, helps him to book a box at the side of the theatre. She also helps
Dr. Treves and Merrick enter the theatre by the Queen's door at the back so that nobody sees them.

(q) A lady whom Merrick knows lets him spend the summer in her small country house in West Wickham. She also gets
a countryman to send Merrick his meals every day.

 3. Being empathetic and patient

(a) Dr. Frederick Treves is angry that Silcock exploits Merrick to earn his living.

(b) Dr. Frederick feels sad for Merrick. He has never seen such an ugly creature before. Merrick has an enormous head
and loose skin hangs all over his face and body. Besides, the creature is kept in a cold, dark, dirty and smelly room.

(c) Dr. Treves observes that Merrick cannot walk well because lie has a bad back and his legs are huge and fat. Silcock
shouts at Merrick to walk fast and hits him. He feels ill and sorry for Merrick. He does not want to see him anymore.

(d) Merrick takes a long time to climb the three steps of the cab to go to the hospital. Dr. Treves waits patiently for him
and helps him.

(e) On the way to the hospital, Dr. Treves asks Merrick about his problems and gives him his visiting card.
 4. Being protective and caring

(a) Dr. Treves gets angry when a new nurse screams and drops the tray of food after seeing Merrick in his room. He
 THE ELEPHANT MAN

calls her and reprimands her. Then he consoles Merrick and explains that he wants his nurses to help him and not laugh
or scream when they see him.

(b) Dr. Treves does not want people to see Merrick in public and laugh at him.

(i) He gets his friend, Mrs. Kendall from the theatre to help buy the tickets for a box at the side of the theatre to
watch a play. Then he lakes Merrick to the theatre in a cab with dark windows.
With Mrs. Kendals's help, they enter the Queens door at the back of the theatre. Later they sit in the dark behind
three nurses in the box. Nobody notices them and Merrick enjoys the exciting children's Christmas play.

(ii) Dr. Treves takes Merrick to the country house in a train with dark windows so that nobody can see him. He also
stays one night with Merrick in the country house to make sure that he is absolutely safe.

 5. Honesty

(a) Within a week, the readers of "The Times" newspaper contribute £50,000 for Merrick. The editor gives that money
to Mr. Gomm who handles it honestly. He gives the money to the London Hospital. They give Merrick a bathroom and
a room with a bed. some chairs and a table.

(b) When Merrick dies, Mr.Gomm writes to the editor of "The Times" newspaper and informs him that he would give
the remaining money to the hospital.

 6. Being merciless, cruel, rude and harsh

(a) Silcock treats Merrick badly. As Merrick's master, he does not give him a clean comfortable place to stay. Merrick's
room at the back of the shop is cold, dark, dirty and smelly. There is no bed for Merrick so he remains seated on a chair.
He has a cloth over his head as it is cold.

(b) Silcock does not respect Merrick and he does not care about Merrick's physical disabilities. Merrick cannot walk fast
because his legs are enormous and heavy, He also has a bad back. Silcock shouts at him rudely and angrily when people
come to see him. He orders Merrick to get up and walk quickly and hits him.

 7. Being exploitive, mercenary and dishonest

(a) Silcock exploits Merrick and exhibits him as a freak. He advertises Merrick as "The Elephant Man" by putting a
horrible, ugly picture of him in the window of his shop. He charges two pence per person to see Merrick He exhibits
Merrick all over England in a freak show as a curiosity. He proudly says that Merrick is "the best Elephant Man in
England".

(b) Later Silcock exhibits Merrick in Belgium. But after a year, he steals £50 from Merrick, leaves him stranded there
alone and goes back to London. Merrick comes back on his own to London by ship and train.

 8. Being greedy and materialistic

(a) All Silcock cares about is money. When Dr. Treves wants to sec Merrick, Silcock refuses to let him see Merrick
because he is closing his shop. But when Dr. Treves offers to pay him more, he asks for twelve pence and happily lets
him see Merrick.

(b) Dr. Treves wants Silcock to take Merrick to the hospital so that he can examine him but Silcock is reluctant. Yet
when Dr. Treves says that he will pay him, he allows him to take Merrick in a cab the next day to the hospital.
 THE ELEPHANT MAN

TEST
A. Provide evidence for the characteristics stated
CHARACTER QUALITIES/TRAITS` TEXTUAL EVIDENCE
1. MERRICK Intelligent

2. DR TEVES Caring

3. SILCOCK Boastful

4. MR CARR GOMM Attentive

5. QUEEN ALEXANDRA Humble

6. MRS KENDALL Helpful

Character Event Character Trait

(a) He is not angry with the new nurse who screams upon seeing him.
(b) He makes things with his hands and gives them to the nurses
1 Joseph Merrick because they are kind to him.

(a) He realises that both Merrick and his nurse are afraid when he
examines Merrick.
2 Dr Frederick
Treves (b) He treats and respects Merrick as a human being.

(a) He leaves Merrick alone in Belgium after taking Merrick's money.

3 Simon Silcock (b) He hits Merrick with his hand.

(a) He describes Merrick's life journey in detail in his letter to the

editor of The Times.
4 Mr Carr Gomm (b) He writes a letter to appeal for funds from the readers of The
Times.

(a) She holds Merrick's good hand as she talks to him.

5 Queen (b) She addresses Merrick as 'Mr Merrick'.
Alexandra