Do Now: Reflect on Beowulf's words to Grendel. How do they echo the dragon? How are they different?
- Beowulf says that if people see hope in the world there will be a meaning in the future which contrasts the dragon. He tells Grendel that he impacts the world and shapes it, no matter what he does whether it be good or bad.
Why does Grendel never use Beowulf's name?
- Beowulf, when he talks in the book, his words are italicized, Grendel doesn't use his name because it is understood that his name "Beowulf" is his "human" name. Beowulf represents something otherworldly, like an angel.
- The class also talked about Beowulf and his relation with Gabriel the archangel. He brings the apocalypse and tells Mary that she will birth baby Jesus. The apocalypse is also telling that there will be purification, purifying the Danes of the Norse gods and Grendel.
*Read the letter from John Gardner to a small group of students and a teacher. What does this highlight about your interpretations and expectation for Grendel? Does this create any validation regarding "over-analyzing" literature?
*Today was a shorten period, we didn't quite get to talk about Gardner's letter to the students*
Reflection:
Today, we had a discussion about Chapter 12 of Grendel in class. This chapter Beowulf smashes some sense into the monster, contrasting Grendel's ideology of nihilism with his ideology which is that whatever happens has an impact on the world. Of course, life imitates art and vice versa, Beowulf wants the reader to know that even if life is pointless, you must find your own meaning. Gardner even says in his letter "if the world really is meaningless (as it now stands) how should I live?" When I apply this philosophy to my life I see it as make the best out of everything. Even when Beowulf was smashing Grendel's face into the walls, Beowulf wanted to drill into Grendel that even if he is in a terrible position, you can see the good in it.
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