2/25/20 Christopher Turano Period 8

2/25/20 Chris Turano Period 8 #28

Modern Mythology 2020

Aim: How does Grendel’s obsession with Wealtheow illustrate his struggle with identity?

Do Now: List everything Grendel is not

Answers Given: human, accepted, a liar, stupid, optimistic, oblivious, good, evil

WHOLE CLASS DISCUSSION

"What will we call the Hrothgar-Wrecker when Horthgar has been wrecked?" (91) What reason does Grendel give for not finishing off the Danes? Why Does he pace himself with "Form is function"

Since his meeting with the Dragon, Grendel has become nihilistic and believes that nothing in the world has meaning. When he gives himself the name “Hrothgar-Wrecker” he is giving himself purpose. If he goes and kills all of the Danes then he is destroying his only purpose in life. He uses the idea “Form is Function” to show that the structure he puts himself in is what gives him purpose in life. If you are given full freedom in school and are allowed to walk into and out of any class any time you want, you would most likely eventually create your own schedule that you followed everyday. Without some sort of order it all just seems pointless.

Balance:

The Dragon

Humans are inevitably violent and will destroy themselves. Everything is pointless. Past/Present/Future, it doesn't matter.

Wealtheow

Humans are capable of compassion and selflessness. Especially Women. With a word, the past is the past-changing future.

The Dragon instills the ideas of nihilism in Grendel, the idea that nothing in the world really matters. Wealtheow on the other hand acts as a sort of beacon of hope for Grendel. Her beauty and innocence show him that there may be some point to it all. The Dragon is a serpent which is representative of Satan and Wealtheow with her almost divine beauty and innocence can be seen as a sort of angel. The two naturally oppose each other. 

PAIR-SHARE

A Closer Look at Figurative Language and Syntax Structure 

Grendel seems to be speaking to himself in parentheses, almost in the fashion of a screenplay. Why? (Consider the time period this particular chapter refers to.)

Grendel is narrating what happened to him in the past and in doing so is seemingly having a conversation with himself. Past, present, and future are beginning to meld together for Grendel much like the Dragon.

Examples in humanity…

Pining over a lost love. The person broke your heart, shattered your world,even altered your perception of trust, and yet he/she still appears in your dreams, or creeps into your daily mind.Addiction-whatever the addiction maybe. A struggle to separate what is best from what we think we want.

When the heart and mind are on two different platforms, we struggle, we fear, we ache.

Innocence and Beauty are Futile

Grendel describes Wealtheow as “like a child, her sweet face paler than the moon”(101) He views her innocence in the same way we see children. We often do not like being called “innocent” or “naive” and spend much of our time trying to prove that we are exactly the opposite, regardless of consequences. However, as we grow older we realize that the satisfaction we get is often not worth the consequences, “snatched seven of them from their beds, slit them open and devoured them on the spot. I felt a strange, unearthly joy... But also, as never before, I was alone'' (79-80). 

Children, in their innocence, don't usually understand the damage that is caused by mankind's mistakes, sothey live in a world of ignorant bliss. Grendel is viewing Wealtheow from the perspective of one well-acquainted with both the pleasures and the pain of the world, and he sees her innocence as something to be protected. Even though we briefly enjoy the pleasures of sin, we still view the purity of children as something beautiful, because we know, deep down, that our world is supposed to be innocent. Grendel Wealhtheow's purity as something valuable, "priceless among the Scyldings treasures," but he sees her genitalia as a symbol of her fallen innocence (105). Not her vagina itself, but the fact that she has slept with Hrothgar makes her unclean to Grendel.

Reflection:

Today we continued to dive deeper into the psyche of Grendel and his conflicting emotions. Wealtheow specifically begins to tear Grendel apart much like the Shaper’s stories originally did. Grendel attempts to give himself purpose, becoming the “Hrothgar-Wrecker” and decides to not kill all of the Danes so as to not destroy his only purpose. Job security. When he first sees Wealtheow however, he begins to get torn apart. He can’t help but admire her beauty, grace, and innocence and this causes him to question the Dragon’s ideas. Grendel’s heart and mind are on two different platforms and it is tearing him apart. Today’s lesson can also be easily applied to our own lives. All of us struggle with the same things Grendel is currently struggling with. We all want to find purpose in life much like Grendel has as the “Hrothgar-Wrecker”. We want to follow our hearts in the next steps in life, going to our dream colleges, studying our passions. However we must realize that this often isn’t the best path logically, our dream college costs too much, our passions don’t pay enough. Our hearts and our mind are on two different platforms. The struggle of Grendel is the struggle of humanity. Wanting a purpose in life, a meaning to it all. Understanding what Grendel is going through can help us each understand more about ourselves and our lives.