Maggie DeMarco Post 6

In the poem, "The Venus Hottentot," Sara Baavatman is taken advantage of and exploited by a scientist, Cuvier, for money and fame. Similar to this in, "End of the Line," the little man is exploited as well in order to boost Big Man's confidence. In both the stories, the men who are exploiting their victims share the same idea that if a person looks different then themselves, then it is okay to treat them badly. Its clear that in both stories, the men try to make their victims feel insignificant and inferior.

In Alexanders poem, Cuvier tricked Venus into coming with him and becoming part of his show. He used her looks to provide people entertainment, and after her death, he preserved her body and put it on display. It seemed that he needed her to make him feel better in life, and to earn money. In comparison to this, Big man used Little man to make himself feel better. He put him down and abused him in order to feel more powerful. He drugged him, froze him, and sexually abused him. He did anything he could to see Little man hurt, which helped him feel like he had control and was in power of something less than him.