Beowulf slideshow

Beowulf

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Boast

This will be my boast

What am I?

I am the perfect problem deciphering device.

Push my buttons, I won’t bite.

I am the number-box, name your numeral.

Give me your number, I’ll give mine, guaranteed.

I am small and compact, but don’t let my size swindle you;

As the computer-brain, I will calculate your answer.

Answer: Calculator

Journal 1

Mr. John, a firefighter, is a true hero. Every day he faces dangers, difficult decisions, and a stressful, round-the-clock job to save the lives of the common people. He fights against the all time evil force—fire—and yet for no other reason than because he enjoys helping others. Unfortunately, the fires can be difficult to work with. He, along with a group of others, hoses down the fires and rescues trapped victims from burning buildings. Sometimes though, a firefighter has to choose between two people and it can be a stressful choice. Mr. John has to stay at the fire station sometimes all night and leave his family. For being such a risky job, firefighters do not get paid well. Mr. John works for the joy of helping others. He has courage, perseverance, hope and compassion on his side. What would we do without the heroes that we see every day, but never think of?image

Journal 2

Beowulf is the archetype of the dragon slayer, a hero who faces death in order to save a threatened community. Beowulf reminds me of the policemen. They capture people who are causing danger in the community. Police capture murderers, thieves, etc…all people who are wreaking havoc in society. In Beowulf, Beowulf is the “lone police officer” who saves the town. While police often have a backup force that actually helps, they have to face people with guns and put their lives in danger. Police, as well as Beowulf, are brave, courageous, caring, strong, tough. image

Journal 3

     In the book Grendel by John Gardner, Grendel is quite different from the typical animal. Unlike most animals whose “squeezed shut, like the ram's, by the roots of horns (p.6)," Grendel can speak. In fact, this is extremely uncharacteristic of his kind. His mother can’t even speak, though he thinks she could at some point she was able to. "Talking, talking. Spinning a web of words, pale walls of dreams, between myself and all I see." Since the beginning of the book, Grendel is fascinated with language. The story is truly amazing because it shows his growth as time goes on. At the beginning of the novel, we see really simple text, but as we move towards the end, his style and the poetry of the story really take flight. In the very beginning of the story when Grendel gets stuck in a tree, he tries to talk to the humans, but is unable to. He can understand them, but they can’t understand him. As the story goes on, however, Grendel is able to communicate with Unferth. Unferth cannot understand everything he says, but catches the most of it. As we can see, just between these two points, his language has developed in the story as well as in the novel itself. The importance of language is shown through the Shaper’s poetry. While Grendel did not believe everything the Shaper said, he still longed the poetry and hope-filled stories. When the Shaper, a personification of the beauty of language, dies, Grendel is lost. He has no chance against Beowulf and is defeated.

Journal 4

Anglo- Saxon society valued many ideals, such as strength, courage and the desire for fame. These values are shown in the English epic, Beowulf. Beowulf himself is the embodiment of these traits. He was known to be the strongest in the land and came to Hrothgar’s kingdom to defeat Grendel. No man prior to Beowulf has been able to take the monster, though many have shown their courage and tried. Yet, he still steps up to the challenge, bringing only a few of his best men. "My lord Higlac might think less of me if I let my sword go where my feet were afraid to, if I hid behind some broad linden shield: my hands alone shall fight for me, struggle for life against the monster (Line)".  When it came down to time, his men didn’t even fight with him. He defeated Grendel using only his wits, no sword or help.  This poem also shows characteristics of a wise leader. Towards the end, Beowulf ruled the Geats for 50 years, embodying the characteristics of a strong, wise, and brave leader.image

Journal 5

Character Name	Details from Epic
Actions	Kills many
Motives	Angered by the poet’s songs  about the beginnings, “the Almighty” ‘s creation of earth, and of the beauty of his creation “The monster’s thoughts were as quick as his greed or his claws(34-35)…”
Words Describing Character	Powerful monster Lives in darkness (in the wild marshes) described in the translation as hell on earth Conceived of monster’s born of Cain(20-21)
People’s responses	After seeing what he had done the night before, the people would “break their long feasts with tears and laments(43)”
Setting	Grendel attacks Hrothgar’s mead hall in Herot
Does the character symbolize anything?	The character symbolizes sin, or punishment.

Grendel, as depicted in Part One of Beowulf in the translation by Burton Raffel is a monster tormenting Hrothgar’s mead hall. Grendel is a very strong monster “conceived of monsters born of Cain (20-21).” He lives in the darkness in the swamp. Each night, Grendel is angered by the loudness of the mead hall. The poet sings, accompanied by harp music, about the beginning of the Earth and “the Almighty’s” beautiful creation. (From the novel Grendel, we know that the Dragon informed him that the harpist was full of lies.) Grendel would travel to Herot and snatch up humans from their beds as they lay resting in a drunken sleep. Out of anger and curiosity, he attacked the mead hall led by his “thoughts…quick as his greed or his claws (34-35).”

While this is not typical of Anglo-Saxon literature, there is biblical symbolism in the origin of Grendel. As stated earlier, Grendel is said to be a descendant of Cain. In the bible, Cain was one of the first murderers, killing his own brother. As a punishment he was cursed and from then on, it was said that all evil creatures come from him. In other words, Grendel is an embodiment of sin and punishment, said to be living in a hell—earth.

 By night, there is music played telling about the origin and creation of Earth. The Devil is said to test those who believe in “the Almighty.” It is even easier for the devil to get in when there is sin already. The Danes were a people that partied every night and it wasn’t until they passed out into a drunken slumber that Grendel attacked the hall. The book said he was powerful and, most likely, he could have easily taken them in the day when they were awake. Instead, he waited until after they were through partying. He was punishing them each night and yet, every evening, they continued their ways.

 It wasn’t just any punishment, but a cruel punishment. “He slipped through the door and there in silence snatched up thirty men, smashed them unknowing in their beds (36-38).” Many tried to flee and postpone their fate, but they could only flee so far. They just postponed the fate instead of changing it as they thought they were. Hrothgar’s kingdom was weakening. The Danes were falling to death. The tone following the fun, upbeat night was much more somber the next day. After seeing what Grendel  had done the night before, the people would “break their long feasts with tears and laments (43).” This is natural for human behavior—despite the signs that something should be stopped, we continue to sin and it is thought to weaken us as Grendel was doing to Hrothgar’s kingdom. The fate of the Danes seemed inevitable until Beowulf came to save them from the beast, eventually giving his own life as Jesus was said to do, saving the world from fate.

Grendel is a terrible monster, said to be a descendent of Cain, that represents an embodiment of sin and evil on Earth. He tormented the home of Hrothgar, as well as his people, sometimes killing thirty a night. Each night, the Danes continued to party and agitate the monster. In some ways, the monster is like fate. The people tried to escape what they was inevitable death by moving to beds further away; however, they weren’t escaping fate, just postponing it. The Danes thought they were in control of the territory; they had power over a large area and felt they could do anything, however Grendel brought them back down to Earth, punishing them for their sinful ways.

Journal 6

While Grendel seems simply to be a book about a monster who wreaks havoc in a community, it is much more than that.  It is a parody of the famous philosophies of Gardner’s time. These philosophies are shown through the character Grendel. His beliefs start out seeming like Orphism. Basically, this view sees the world as a cycle. What goes around comes around. For example, each year he sees a ram that comes to the same spot. He begins to realize that each new cycle begins, just like the old one. .

Grendel hears words of beautiful poetry coming from a man called, the Shaper. The Shaper sung about the origins of the Earth and how people were brought together. Grendel found this wonderful and believed every word the Shaper said. He longed to be part of human society. As the shaper continues, he speaks of two brothers, one of whom was cast out. Cain killed Abel and since, it is said that all “monsters” and “demons” are born of Cain. Grendel, of course was one of these monsters said to be born of Cain. He feels bad and tries to repent so he can be allowed into human society; however, he is attacked instead.  At this time, Grendel believes that he exists in the world alone.

After talking to the dragon, Grendel’s outlook on life isn’t as optimistic. The dragon teaches Grendel the importance of material things. “My advice to you, my violent friend, is to seek out gold and sit on it”(74). Opposed to this, he comes to think, as Alfred Whitehead believed, that the world is something that should be understood in terms of processes as opposed to material things. He begins to reject materialism almost completely to be replaced with concepts. Grendel realizes that there are beings that exist other than him; however, he considers them all enemies.

As Wealtheow comes along, we are directed more towards Christianity. Wealtheow symbolizes the server of the cup. She ends up being a symbol of hope and unity, much like religion is. She serves food and drinks as well as talks to all the guests in the mead hall. When there is a fight about to break out, she resolves it. In other words, she is a peace maker. Grendel is absolutely infatuated with Wealtheow. So much so that he tries to take her away from the Danes and kill her. He cannot seem to wrap his head around the fact that a condemned and hateful society can treat a peacemaker like she doesn’t exist.

After going through many different outlooks on the world, Gardner finally settles it. Grendel ends up following the views of John-Paul Sartre. Grendel no longer believes there is any real substance behind political, moral, and religious values. There is no point in doing anything because these tasks and values do not have meaning outside of an individual’s thought, or consciousness.

Throughout the novel, Grendel’s views change dramatically. He starts as a child, still being molded, having no experience in the real world. When he starts making an opinion of the world, it is shaped to be optimistic by many instances. As he becomes more and more experienced, his views become much bleaker. By the end of the novel, Grendels views have nearly taken a volte-face to believe that nothing is important, nor does it have meaning outside of an individual’s consciousness.

Journal 7

Anglo-Saxon works typically have motifs, or reoccurring ideas. Throughout the three poems “The Seafarer,” “The Wife’s Lament,” and “Beowulf” have some common motifs. Some that stands out in particular are loneliness and pain. Grendel, one of the main characters in “Beowulf,” was “shut away from men.” He was one of monsters that were cast out. The only one like him was his mother. Each day he laid in pain in the darkness. Similarly, the sailor in “The Seafarer” was cast out to sea; however his casting out was by his choice. As he grows older, he begins to feel pain as the ocean “showed him suffering in a hundred ships.” All his life he lived on ships, moving from one to another, stuck in a cycle that he couldn’t end. The sea is lonely even though there are other men aboard the ship; the guys are acquaintances, but that is the most they’ll ever be.  The wife in “The Wife’s Lament” was cast out by her husband’s family. She is sad and “weeps her banishments.” She suffers “pitiless anxiety.” All of the characters in these three poems are suffering. They have been cast out from society, doomed to live life alone. These are themes, motifs, that reoccur throughout the poems.

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Journal 8

Grendel is a parody based on the epic poem, Beowulf. This book takes the monster, Grendel specifically, and makes him into a comical character. He takes many aspects from the play. Though he was not a main character in Beowulf, he was the main focus of Grendel. Unlike normal monsters, this monster, of Cain, is greatly interested in poetry and wants to rise up to the level of humans. The entire novel is about Grendel going through different philosophies. These are made to ridicule famous philosophers of the time period. Grendel really focuses more on emotion than Beowulf does, often leading to a comical situation. While still capturing the ideals of courage and heroism, there is comedy in the novel. Unferth is supposes to be one of the king’s strongest men. He tries persistently to attack Grendel, or at least die and honorable death in battle, but Grendel refuses to allow him to do this. At some point Grendel throws an apple at him. Another time, Unferth travels all the way to Grendel’s lair and ends up passing out from exhaustion. Unferth’s embarrassment is just one example of the comedy in the parody of Beowulf.

Journal 9

In Anglo- Saxon literature, one of the most important values is loyalty to your lord, or king. While the poems “The Seafarer” and “The Wife’s Lament” show loyalty, they also show loneliness through the tragedy of exile. The sailor in “The Seafarer” is loyal to the sea, as well as to God. The sea “showed me suffering in a hundred ships, in a thousand ports, and in me (lines 4-5).” Though the sea causes him “sorrow and pain and fear (line 3),” he keeps going back. He rarely ever goes on shore anymore; he remains lonely out of respect and loyalty and most likely will until he dies at sea. In “The Wife’s Lament,” a woman is cast out by her husband’s family. “Care dawned cold for my lord (line 7-8).” The wife lives alone, yet remains faithful to her husband. She doesn’t have any love with her and loyalty overpowers her emotions.image

Journal 10

In the novel, Grendel, John Gardner used Grendel as a narrator. This technique really adds to the story. Though Grendel is a monster, we feel bad for him. He continuously tries to communicate with the humans and every attempt goes horribly bad. Grendel even eats humans for pleasure and yet, the way the story is told we feel sympathy for him. He simply can’t fit into the human world. He is lonely and suffering. Being that Grendel is a monster telling the story, the tone is naturally more morbid. The perspective we have is from a lower point of view than, let’s say, a derring-do story would be told. In a way, this can relate to the lower class or “common-folk’s” outcast in society. Though they are looked down on, they are the same as the heroes and lords. Grendel ends up taking on a nihilistic philosophy, believing that nothing matters outside of your own consciousness. This most likely would not have been the existing philosophy had the story been told from another point of view.image