Please read Chapter 3 and respond to the prompts below. Use complete sentences, display analysis, and use quotes when stipulated.
1. The first paragraph is exceptional. Why? Think about structure. Oh, you can't just say it's "good".
2. What does the first paragraph on pg. 31 tell us about humanity? Use a quote as support.
3. What, using the text on pg. 33, breeds greed? Use a quote as support. What literary device is at play with "breed" and "greed"?
4. What is stated about war on pg. 34?
5. How is humanity and progress juxtaposed with nature on pg. 40? Use a quote as support.
6. How do we see the Shaper impact history? Think of the name he is given...why is this so important? Where does Grendel fall in respect to history? Is he in or out? (1 paragraph).
1. The first paragraph is exceptional. Why? Think about structure. Oh, you can't just say it's "good".
2. What does the first paragraph on pg. 31 tell us about humanity? Use a quote as support.
3. What, using the text on pg. 33, breeds greed? Use a quote as support. What literary device is at play with "breed" and "greed"?
4. What is stated about war on pg. 34?
5. How is humanity and progress juxtaposed with nature on pg. 40? Use a quote as support.
6. How do we see the Shaper impact history? Think of the name he is given...why is this so important? Where does Grendel fall in respect to history? Is he in or out? (1 paragraph).
1. The first paragraph begins by saying that the battle ax thrown at Grendel was not why he went to war with Hrothgar. As Grendel watches people war he thinks their reasons are trivial, much in the same way that we consider his actions. But Grendel also says that animals wouldn't kill for the sheer pleasure of it the way people do and is disgusted by the waste that they create. These observations make Grendel seem more human and us less human, although "human" to Grendel (also Ishmael, although he mentions only takers as the monsters) means killing for reasons other than food or protection. In the end, Grendel being a monster is what makes him human. The only difference is that he is alienated for what he does, where as the warriors are celebrated. This shows how arbitrary what value we really is. Grendel is making it very clear that it was not sheer lust for battle that made him turn on Hrothgar, but reasons as complex as ours are.The first paragraph explains his logic, which is what lets us relate to him.
ReplyDelete2. On pg. 31 people fight for no other reason than simply coming across each other. "When two hunters from different bands came together in the woods, they would fight until the snow was slushy with blood, then crawl back, gasping and crying, to their separate camps to tell wild tales of what happened." They would be thought heroes for being monsters. This shows that our idols are often romanticized and phony or cruel. Many things that we try to make sense out of by turning into stories, become lies, like the blind man singing in the mead hall.
3. Wealth breeds greed. "It was late spring. Food was plentiful. Every sheep and goat had it's wobbly twins, the forest was teeming, and the first crops of the hillside were coming into fruit. A man would roar, 'I'll steal their gold and burn their mead hall!' . . . Then once, around midnight, I came to a hall in ruins." Breed and greed rhyme.
4. There has always been war, and it has always warped the way we portray ourselves and out past.
5. Nature and progress look, to Hrothgar, mutually exclusive. Humanity is thriving and Nature is dwindling.
6. Shapers tell history. When we think about the world we don't see it as trivial events, but as interconnected stories. We need these stories to make sense of what happens, and to tell us where to go. War is scary, and one way to deal with it is to romanticize what happens, make it seem as if there is a greater purpose.We need to be able to make out coherent shapes to understand things, and it is the Shapers job to cut these out for us. Their name is important because it is not the events that form stories, but us. We make it polished and beautiful so even a monster can feel like it's beautiful and true.
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ReplyDelete1.
ReplyDeleteThe author starts off with a point as if he's continuing what he has said previously. However, he just starts to talk about a different topic, which doesn't begin with the usual "The next day...",etc. He also brings back Grendel's flashbacks and a few hints into the future.
2.
The first paragraph on pg. 31 is a typical representation of humanity; "In the beginning there were various groups of them... When two hunters from different bands came together in the woods, they would fight each other..." Clearly, people have always lived in groups which shared the same beliefs and fought whoever was different from them.
3.
I think it's our human nature, as we possess many things and become materialists, there's a need to have more and more. "Food was plentiful. Every sheep and goat had its wobbly twins, the forest was teeming..." Victory, treasures, and feasts bred greed in humans as they would go steal gold from others and burn their halls. I also thought that maybe Grendel was breeding greed when he stole the cow from the warriors, because he was jealous of their lifestyle; "...furious at my stupid need to spy on them...".
Breed and greed is a rhyme.
4.
It is stated that the wars had begun once again and it wasn't a big surprise for anybody. Even the songs talk about how there had always been wars and both sides had a mutual feeling of exhaustion.
5.
Humanity and progress was juxtaposed with nature when Hrothgar became very wealthy and powerful that his features and ambitions were compared with "the foot of my cliff to the northern sea to the impenetrable forests south and east". Nevertheless there was a negative side to Hrothgar's prosperity as "...they killed birds for sport, set accidental fires that would burn for days".
6.
1. The wording that is used in the first paragraph is detailed. The paragraph had a nice simile in it. Also the way that Grendel speaks of what happened between him and Hrothgar doesn't make him seem like he is a monster. It is as if Grendel knew why but didn't hold a grudge like most monsters from books that I have read, have done.
ReplyDelete2. It makes humans look like monsters. Like we are more monstrous for killing animals for food. Grendel makes the humans sound like carnivores hungry for food. "Occasionally wandering out into the snow to plow through it slowly, clumsily, after more meat"(31). Searching, and killing, just for one meal.
3. The humans get drunk, kill each other, and don't even care. "The cows in their pens lay burbling blood through their nostrils, with javelin holes in their necks. None had been eaten"(33). The killer would kill anything and still fall asleep, drunk like the rest.
4. The war songs. Grendel mentioned that they sang and played war songs, but even if they did that, they still had wars. The humans still fought among each other. Killing and murdering, not caring wheter its civilians or not. This is true now. It always has been true in wars.
5.The nature is being torn down by the humans, causing the trees and plants to be replaced with something completely different. Instead of trees, it was houses and huts. Instead of animals, it was humans. The animals and all the creatures that used to inhabit the land, got kicked out so the humans can satisfy their own needs.
6. The Sharper told stories of dead kings and how they would split away heads and take precious swords. He had to think of what to say every now and then about the stories that he made up to interest the crowd. When he would stop speaking, the crowd would shout and try to make him think of more. The "history" he tells the crowd was mostly all fake. The leaders were obviously remembered for something, but the Sharper twisted the truth to make things more interesting for the people listening to his speak.
1.The first paragraph is exceptional because it does not relate to the ending of the last chapter. It is like a flashback, but continues to talking about now because he talks about how he as a child, remembers Hrothgar.
ReplyDelete2.I think the paragraph tells us that there are different social classes in our world. For example, 'crafty-witted killers that worked in teams' represents warriors(31). And of course, 'hunting through the summer' are hunters.Another example is people 'shivering in caves or little huts the winter' can be the lower class like the peasants(31).
3.'I'll steal their gold and burn their meadhall!'(33). This quote shows how humans became greedy since it was nice weather, they had plenty of food, and had fun times drinking.
Rhyme is the literary device that is used with the words 'breed' and 'greed'.
4.The wars were a period where it was calm compared to other stereotypical wars. For example, it was calm that 'nothing would be stirring except leaves moving in the light spring breeze'(34). Also, there has always been wars like it is sang in the songs.
5.Humanity is a vicious creation that attacks nature such as 'killing bird for sport,set accidental fires that would burn for days'(40). They made nature look like a dark graveyard.
6.Shaper impacted history because he was the one telling stories. He is important because the word 'shape' can be taken from his name that he creates everything. He told made-up stories to make it more interesting so that the people will listen to him more.
1) The first paragraph is exceptional because it doesn't have transitions between sentences and yet makes sense. The words are really detailed too. "my soul on destroying him - slowly and cruelly. Except for his thanes...." (30). The sentence jumps from one topic to another. I think this is interesting.
ReplyDelete2) The second paragraph indicates us as "cruel animals". It tells us that humans were always in groups and whenever they saw a different group (although they were all human), they killed each other. "they would fight until the snow was slushy with blood...." (31).
3) The thinking that we want more. "I'll steal their gold and burn their mead-hall!" (33). Humans were selfish, and they always wanted more. Rhyme is used.
4). On page 334, it states that war has always been along. The war songs sung by men stated that there has always been war, but there was a time when there was a period of mutual exhaustion.
5) Humanity is harming the world and its nature. Humans "overran the world, from the foot of my cliff to the northern sea to the impenetrable forests sout hand east" (40)
6) Shapers stories has impacted the world a lot. His name is given since he 'shapes' the world. Most of his stories were lie but to keep the stories interesting, he had some truth in it. Grendel fell to one of his story.
1. The first paragraph is exceptional because of its sudden transition to a new topic; Grendel's hatred towards Hrothgar. It is hooking due to its contrast with the last chapter and its unanticipated hateful and sly tone. The whole paragraph also contradicts itself; Grendel says that the battle-ax that Hrothgar threw at him wasn't the reason he disliking Hrothgar, yet he doesn't mention any other clear rationale behind his loathsome attitude. It suggests that Grendel began hating Hrothgar simply due to his barbaric, monstrous instincts.
ReplyDelete2. The paragraph on page 31 suggest that humanity is deliberately cruel yet intelligent. Grendel mentions men as "crafty-witted killers that worked in teams" that "would fight until the snow was slushy with blood" when they came across an opponent (Gardner 31). Although men are sly creatures, they are brutal fighters who often choose to run into trouble.
3. Plentiful resources breeds greed, for when "food was plentiful","the forest was teeming" and "the hillsides were coming into fruit", a man would boast of how he would dare to loot one's "gold and burn their meadhall" (Gardner 33). The more surplus a man gets, the more they desire. "Breeds greed" is an example of assonance.
4. War is stated as a glorious and recurrent thing on page 34. It mentions how dead kings are honored for their skill in battle. War seems to be an honorable thing in many old myths; I suppose those ages were stained with blood wherever you went.
5. Humanity's progress is ultimately destructive towards nature. The men "hacked down trees in widening rings arend their central halls and blistered the land with peasant huts and pigpen fences till the forest looked like an old dog dying of mange" (Gardner 40). It is as if men were born to destroy nature, yet irony is present when the warriors are described as hornets, since hornets are part of nature.
6. The shapers compose songs out of history, and thereby leave a tune echoing through generations. He retells honorable stories in harmony with his harp and impacts the information being passed on to the world. From hearing the shaper sing, people will tell others of the stories of great kings or warriors. He is called the shaper, because he shapes history in ones mind by creating a song that one can remember. Grendel is far from being respected in history. He is, in contrast, a major villain, rather loathed amongst the danes.
1. In most stories, we see structural patterns where each chapter represents a continuing transition. However, in the beginning of the third chapter, it starts out as if the storyline continues from the previous chapter, but I think they don’t chronologically match. The first sentence foreshadows the main aspect of this chapter, which is basically about war among mankind.
ReplyDelete2. I think the first paragraph simply depicts civilization. After tribes and nomads become a large group, they begin to create their own society and civilization. “As bands grew larger”, they would slowly develop their community by “setting out their shrines and scatter seeds on the sides of the hill, below the shacks, and put wooden fences to pen their pigs and cows” (Gardner 31). This clearly shows how people civilize within their culture.
3. Breed’s greed is an example of a rhyme. The main point is that people get greedy overtime, and the more they get, the more they become greedy. “Food was plentiful. Every sheep and goat had it wobbly twins...” (Gardner 33). All human beings are greedy. We want infinite luxury. Let’s face it, we’re all greedy.
4. Gardner expresses that humans had fought each other countless times for ages, and in Grendel’s perspective, it’s not so surprising. I’m assuming that Grendel has seen many human warriors fighting in wars. I think that war is a part of human nature, and there will never be peace because we are never perfect.
5. As Hrothgar reigned, he began to flourish, until his “power overran the world, from the foot of my cliff to the northern sea to the impenetrable forests south and east” (Gardner 40). This quote expresses Hrothgar’s expanding power by expressing the vast environments of nature.
6. I think the Shaper impacts history by telling stories and praising the significance of Scandinavian history, etc. One of the reasons I think why he is called the “shaper” is that because he “shapes” history into stories to make them influential. Grendel becomes obsessed and somewhat enraptured by Shaper’s story, which exemplifies the beauties of the past.
1) The first paragraph is talking about what is happening now and the future. He predicting a time where Hrothgar will be old and weak and possibly forget about him. At the same time Grendel is acknowledging Hrothgar as a worthy foe.
ReplyDelete2) This paragraph tells us about the beginning when humans would "clung to their eyebrows and beards and eyelashes" (Gardner 31). A time when humans were barbaric and killing machines.
3) Wealth breeds greed. Anything humans do, they just want more and more. Men would say things like '”I'll steal their gold and burn their mead hall!”, which shows how much the loath for gold and power. Breed and greed rhyme.
4) There has always been war, and has always warped the way we portray ourselves as well our pasts.
5) As humans progress in history, the declamation of nature begins. They "hacked down trees in widening rings arend their central halls and blistered the land with peasant huts and pigpen fences till the forest looked like an old dog dying of mange".
6) Shapers stories has impacted the world a lot by recording history. His name is given since he 'shapes' the world in a sense. Most of his stories were lies but to keep the stories interesting, he had some truth put into them. Grendel is far from being respected in history and so he is a major villain, rather loved amongst the danes.
1) The first paragraph is unique for its structure because it holds no transition between the calm ending of the previous chapter to an enraging beginning ,appearing all of in a sudden provocative manner. As the is being encased by his mother after learning about life he disobeys all his past experiences and loses his existentialism.
ReplyDelete2) The first paragraph states, "ragged little bands that roamed the forest on foot or horseback, crafty-witted killers that worked in teams"(31). In my opinion this reflects on how we humans are intelligent killers, we strategically kill living things and thats the scary trait about us.
3) “Food was plentiful. Every sheep and goat had it wobbly twins...”, breed and greed rhyme and this puts a lighter setting to the main picture of humans being greedy and desiring more material objects. More materialistic we become, the more we desire to an infinite value.
4) To maintain a balance you need the ying yang, good and bad, Grendel as seen many humans fighting through out his lifetime and they war with each other with no dignity. This also shows that with these humans fighting and killing each other (bad), humans are created who desire peace (good) which maintains a balance. There is no good if there is no bad.
5)"They hacked down trees... till the forest looked like an old dog dying of mange". Humans through the course of all history are destructive for nature. As the a species evolves it dominates, and as it dominates it grows desire to improve itself so it was eliminate its predecessors and obstacles to do so.
6) Shaper records stories and writes history that is immortal and as we know history is only written by the victors so Grendel's position is incoherent to the present situation. His names is such because he's words "shape" the future of our perpetual world.
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ReplyDelete1. The way Gardner does not continue what has happened from the last chapter, instead, he starts with a flashback. Grendel talks about how he has known Hrothgar till he was old and frail. Grendel also talks about his fear towards Hrothgar unlike the other humans. The paragraph also makes the readers feels as if everything was started by Hrothgar, when he threw the battle-ax.
ReplyDelete2. I think the first paragraph of page 31 makes humans seem more, inhumane, without thinking of making peace, they would fight with their fellow kind, "When two hunters from different bands came together in the woods, they would fight..."(31) but, it also makes it seem that humans back then had mercy for one another as he said "...then crawl back, gasping and crying, to their separate camps"(31). As in, they did not kill, but still fought.
3.The quote "A man would roar, 'I'll steal their gold and burn their mead-hall!'"(33) was used to show how wealth breeds greed in our human nature. It is said when the humans had great victory, making them feel superior towards others and bragging. Breed and greed rhymes.
4. It was stated as it is just a period of mutual emotions of exhaustions. How there had always been wars between humans and how it is considered "normal" for us.
5. Humanity and progress juxtaposed with nature was shown through Grendel describing how Hrothgar's tribe messed up the cycle of nature with his on growing wealth and curiosity towards the unknown. That "There was nothing to stop the advance of man" (40). Like us right now in a global warming crisis.
6. The Shaper's given name has already describe what he is and how important he is to the society Grendel lives in as the Shaper tells stories of what has happened, and by that, is able to change their course at will, true or not. Grendel is definitely in, he also has kind of a strong impact on the humans' history. But he may be seen as only an emotionless monster, it can differ, it depends on the Shaper's point of view. If the Shaper is only able to see from a human's point of view, then Grendel would definitely not be viewed as whatever really is.
JOSHUA
ReplyDelete1. Initially I was confused and quite perplexed when I read it, mainly due to its overly descriptive sentences, as well as its insignificant content. However, I figured that it was something like a flashback. Considering that, it also foreshadows the essence and aspect of the chapter.
2. The first paragraph doesn’t properly deliver the situation properly to the readers, nevertheless, it portrays the structure of civilization, an uncivilized one of course. Quotes such as, “wandering out into the snow to plow through it slowly, clumsily, after more meat” and especially “until the snow was slushy with blood, then crawl back, gasping and crying to their separate camps”, (31) represents and defines chaos and mayhem.
3. Basically “Breeds greed” is shown as a rhyme. It basically represents greediness. The more we get, the more we crave for, which we can all relate too. We all are covetous, insatiable beings who are desirous for everything
4. It depicts about the relentless, ceaseless war. Throughout the entire history, killing and mayhem were absolutely normal for people, hence, there is no big surprise of how sudden the implacable society can be.
5. The quote, which humans "overran the world, from the foot of my cliff to the northern sea to the impenetrable forests southand east" (40) absolutely stood out to me. This quote depicts development, expansion, and ultimately evolution, through history.
6. Sharper’s tells an impacting story (which seems foolish to me). He foreshadows the narrative, and also plays a significant role in the plot. I believe his name is “sharper” mainly due to how he straight up and keen with his stories. Also, Grendel, nearly becomes obsessed with his stories. Although he was exposed in the narrative to a certain extent, his conceal and mysterious behavior leaves me with questions, perhaps, concerns.
1. The first paragraph of chapter 3 is exceptional because it is not related to what the book was talking about before. The previous paragraph talks about how Grendel's mom hugged him tight after the attack. This paragraph, however, goes back to when he was getting beaten up.
ReplyDelete2. I think the first paragraph of page 31 wants to describe how brutal humanity is. People would stay calm and together with their own relatives or band. But when they were conquered or threatened, "they would fight until the snow was slushy with blood" (Gardner 31).
3. When people meet their goal, they tend to want and desire more. When they were struggling with normal needs such as food, they fought for their lives. If they didn't defend themselves from losing food, they would die. However, when they became rich and "food was plentiful", they searched for luxury (Gardner 33). People now wanted luxury goods like gold, and made meaningless deaths.
The literary device is rhyme.
4. In page 34, another war happens. Although war might be a big thing for us these days, people back then were used to wars and it was no longer a surprise for them.
5. In page 40, Grendel talks about how progression in technology and how it juxtaposes nature. When Hrothgar's people gained strength and were settled, they got interested in unnecessary activities. People killed birds for fun, and burnt down trees by accidents. "There was nothing to stop the advances of man" (Gardner 40).
6. The Shaper has a huge impact on the story. He is the one who tells the tales. Thus he add spices to entertain the listeners, and skip some steps which he doesn't want to tell. It's just like historians. They had the power to decide what information to let the prosperity know. In consequence, the winners were mainly the ones who "shaped" the history, just like the Shaper in this book.
1. The first paragraph is exceptional because the chapter starts off from what seems like the middle of a flashback. Grendel talks about his mother tightly holding onto him in the end of the chapter before, but Chapter 3 starts off about Hrothgar, an ax, and the war.
ReplyDelete2. In this paragraph, Grendel talks about his observation on the humans. He is just there and calmly watching, what we would call "human", while the humans "would fight until the snow was slushy with blood, then crawl back, gasping and crying, to their separate camps to tell wild tales of what happened" and acting rather monstrously(Gardner 31).
3. When we have lots and get what we want, we tend to want even more. "Food was plentiful. Every sheep and goat had its wobbly twins"(Gardner 33). It is just human nature to never be satisfied with what we have. Breed and greed rhyme.
4. On page 34, Grendel talks about a war that starts. He talks calmly as if it is just another war, something that happens quite often.
5.On page 40, you can see the humanity and progress is juxtaposed because humanity's progress is destroying nature as "wagon wheels sunk in the rich black earth that only the wind had ever seeded or harvested".
6. The Shaper impacts, or "shapes" history. He did this by telling historical stories, which were mostly lies and a bit truth, to keep the story interesting.
1. I am personally stunned by the first two sentences. Grendel is mortal and he "forgives" Hrothgar's men for that. He is only frustrated because he thought the whole night was stupid and foolish. This again, goes back to the concept of Existentialism. But it is also interesting because he takes on killing Hrothgar, therefore he is contradicting his thoughts of nothing mattering to him.
ReplyDelete2. I think it tells us a lot of universal characteristics about humans. FIrst of all, we like to stay in "groups" & work in "teams" and we have been doing that forever and even today, our armies consist more than one individual (Gardner 31). Unity is power. It also says that we, fundamentally, like to brag and we "tell wild tales" which are sometimes exaggerated, so people respect us more and think we are awesome.
3. Firstly, the literary device used is rhyme. Again, this is very universal, the resources are what breed the greed. The richness of the resources is what drives people greedy. We see that because the food "was plentiful" and since gold was so valueable, people would try to "steal their gold" and "steal cow[s]" (Gardner 33).
4. Its the waste that war produces. Event hough on page 33, we see how Grendel is disappointed when the cows and humans die with no "actual" reason. All it causes it pollution and dirt, the filth of which is very irritating. That is why Grendel still assumes he has not seen a real war, because this is just a "mutual exhaustion" (Gardner 34). Its humans wasting time stupidly "exhausting" their resources.
5. It is telling us that as men progress mentally and technologically, they are killing the nature. The trees have been "hacked down" and the environment is destroyed and it looked like "old dog dying of mange" (Gardner 40). The animals are killed just "for sport" and "accidental fires" occur (Gardner 40). This caused Grendel to be filled with "murderous unrest" (Gardener 40). From that we can understand how frustrated the animals would be, due to the destruction of nature.
6. Shaper shapes history. His name explains everything. He has that name because he makes up history. He makes it and he can lie. We already know that he exaggerates Hrothgar's achievements. Since history is orally passed down, if Shaper makes up information, it will be passed down incorrectly, which might glorify characters to a degree that they don't deserve. Since Grendel is not something awesome that Hrothgar would want his people to know, therefore, Shaper might not even put him in history. No one might not even hear of Grendel, because he won't be passed down in history. He will be out of it. This is how Shaper influences history.
1. The first paragraph is exceptional because it has a different structure compare to other paragraphs, which makes it interesting. The paragraph starts with a flashback of a scary scene where Grendel gets sliced by Hrothgar. Then it tells us details of how he felt during that moment or scene. The similes also makes this paragraph unique.
ReplyDelete2. The paragraph on pg 31 tells us that humanity doesn't get along together. "two hunters from different bands came together..they would fight until the snow was slushy with blood"(Grendel 31). From Grendel's point of view, he's probably thinking that humans are cruel, which isn't always true
3.The breed greed represents the humans that are selfish, even though their, "food was plentiful...the first crops of the hillsides were coming into fruits" (Grendel 33). The people don't value what they have.
4.It states that war was a normal thing during that period. It is surprising because if we had war now days it would be a really big thing
5. Just like these days, the humans are ruining nature, "They hacked down trees in widening rings around their central halls" (Grendel 40). Humans are killing the good part of nature for our benefits.
6.The Shaper is important to history because they are the ones who record and pass on the history, or stories to the people to be remembered. But on the other hand, they could tell and make up fake stories and pass that down, which makes stories inaccurate.
1. The first paragraph is outstandingly good because of its first sentence: "It wasn't because he threw that battle-ax that I turned on Hrothgar" (Gardner 30). I was like, what is he talking about? But because I kept reading it, I had the understanding on what the first sentence was referring to.
ReplyDelete2. Page 31 represents the stereotypical idea of the medieval humanity. The people were "ragged little bands that roamed the forest on foot or horseback, crafty-witte killers that worked in teams" which is probably referring it as hunters (Gardner 31).
3. The word breeds greed is a term used to express human greed and/or how people are starting to mess around because they feel safe. For example this man who claimed he will "steal their gold and burn their meadhall!" is just saying this because he thinks he's cool but because he feels safe with their plentiful supplies (Gardner 33).
4. It is said that war is something that will happen every now and then, so it is nothing really capricious. Dead kings and warriors will be honored with their fighting skills during the war phase.
5. Hrothgar used his powers to destroy nature and replace them with houses and other needs for his civilization. He chopped down trees "till the forest looked like an old dog dying of mange"(Gardner 40).
1.The first paragraph is exceptional because it seems that this chapter begins in the middle of the story.We can't clearly understand what is happening,but we have a strong impact from this paragraph,because the story of the last chapter suddenly changed.
ReplyDelete2.Grendel thinks humanity is paltry,weak,and not adapted to life. He speaks so calmly that the creepy monsters become heroes in their settlements,which i feel his contempt for humanity.
3.The literary device is rhyme.Even when people got all the things they need,they can't stop to want more.So,to satisfy the growing desire,they start to steal the gold and so on.
4.War is a normal thing for them."There had always been wars".Grendel talks about another war as it is just part of daily life.
5.They are killing animals,destroying nature...They're going too far.Just like today,people don't know where to stop.
6.The Shaper tells the story,but he can lie."Who controls the past controls the future".So,he "shapes"the history and he can decide the outcome of the story.
1. The first paragraph is exceptional because of its chronological sentences and his purposes. He starts off saying that he dismissed Hrothgar's actions when he was young and now, that Grendel is fully grown trying to destroy him slowly and cruelly. It's also different because it doesn't really relate to the last chapter's ending.
ReplyDelete2. The paragraph tells us that humanity is still portrayed the same in terms of having fights between each other. "Two hunters from different bands" fought "until the snow was slushy with blood" which is really similar to our world right now; fighting from different groups or maybe because they were different groups (Gardner 31).
3. The literary device of a rhyme is at play with breed and greed. Both words embodies how the 'bands' were greedy. One of them attacked the other, even though they had plenty of food and "every sheep and goat had its wobbly twins, the forest was teeming, and the first crops of the hillsides were coming into fruit" (Gardner 33). They still wanted to steal the other bands' "gold and burn their mead halls" (Gardner 33). Greed had consumed them.
4. It was stated based on the war songs, that it was common. However, from Grendel's perspective it was "merely a period of mutual exhaustion" (Gardner 34). The war seems pretty brutal since the shapers told stories of how it is.
5. Humanity had treat nature in a terrible manner such as "killing birds for sport and set accidental fires that would burn for days" (Gardner 40). Because of Hrothgar's power that overran the world, he had cut down trees and destroyed the peasants' land. All this actions had led to a horrific view of nature.
6. Shapers impact history by singing stories to people and they would be remember it. Shapers are pretty similar to bards. The only difference is that they sing the glory of what people did. Shapers got their name thorough their ability to change people's mind. He puts words into a better form to sound better and fancier. Grendel is pretty important in respect to history. In the shaper's stories he might have been out of it because since it is passed down, no one would want to know the horrible things that happened in the past.
B3 Literature
ReplyDeleteEnrique
1. The first paragraph is exceptional because even though transitions between sentences are irrelevant it still makes sense. The paragraph talks about the past and the future in the same tense. Grendel also states that he didn't care or want vengeance towards Hrothgar when he was younger but as he grew older he came to a realization that he would destroy Hrothgar.
2. The first paragraph on page 31 depicts that at first there were "ragged little bands" who were "killers that worked in teams ,hunting through the summer, shivering in caves or little huts in the winter" (Gardener 31). Although each band shared the same needs and lives as other bands "when two hunters from different bands came together in the woods, they would fight" (Gardner 31). This shows that humanity is hostile when it comes to sharing differences with strangers even though they share the same needs and lives but possibly share different cultures.
3. The literary device being used for breed and greed is rhyme. In the text it states that "food is plentiful" but men still want to take gold from another band and to burn down their mead-hall (Gardner 33). It just shows the bad side of humanity in which enough is never enough and that people have a huge hunger for wanting more.
4. On page 34 it is stated that war is something that has been going on forever and it isn't anything new. Also war is something that humans take to another level by destroying everything another human has and leaving it to waste.
5. On page 40 humanity and progress is juxtaposed to nature because as human progress continues the easier it becomes for them to be destructive towards nature and what it holds. As their progress in population increased "they thinned out game" and instead of making situations better they "killed birds for sport" (Gardner 40). It reveals that humans may progress in great ways like making roads or building huge buildings but their understanding for preserving nature is very poor.
6. We see Shaper "shape" history by creating songs that are based around some true historical fact and he sings them. This songs pass down through generations that retell the story to other generations. Although most of what he says are boasts or lies the tunes still go down through generations. One of these songs had Grendel almost believe it and fall into it. Grendel's position in this is out, he is seen as a hideous monster and something not to respect among society
1. The first paragraph is exceptional because the story seems chronologically misplaced, since the storyline holds no relation to what happened in the previous chapter. As for the content, for me it is still a bit unclear if Grendel is simply using dark sarcasm, by saying he had easily dismissed Hrothgar’s “midnight foolishness”, since the only reason a monster of his sort would seek to destroy somebody was if they had done something horrible to him. However, Grendel really may have forgotten about the ax incident at some point, and when he did remember, he may have finally understood for the first time the cruelty of what Hrothgar had done. This could have then led to Grendel’s sudden determinedness to seek revenge on the king.
ReplyDelete2. Seen from Grendel’s perspective, the humans seem both pathetic and unrelenting. They looked pathetic because they seemed to have blindly ignored the alternative to fighting, due to their combative nature, and yet they complained as they “crawled back, gasping and crying, to their separate camps”(Gardener 31). However, they seemed to have gained from the fighting, and they would work persistently to keep themselves alive by finding shelter and hunting for food.
3. Wealth breeds greed. “Food was plentiful... the forest was teeming, and the first crops of the hillsides were coming into fruit” (Gardener 33). Wealth gives us confidence, since our world pretty much defines power as wealth. The literary device used for “breed” and “greed” is rhyme.
4. It is stated that war has always been around in the course of human history, as it is what gives us honor and a sense of unity with the people on our side.
5. While the humans “hacked down trees,” “thinned out game, killed birds for sport,” and “set accidental fires” (Gardener 40) with ceaseless greed and unrest, nature simply stood by and tolerated the destruction the humans were causing.
6. Shapers regurgitate historical events and “shape” them into stories so that they are easier to digest, and present them to the people through songs so that they would be more memorable and admired. These accomplishments of men are twisted, with the power of art, to sound more glorious than they really are. But these shapers not only shape history, they may rearrange or omit some details. If Grendel is considered insignificant or unqualified by these men who pass down history, he would most likely be forgotten after a while. Even if he was included in their tales, the Shapers would not have enough knowledge of Grendel and would probably label him blindly as a violent monster.
1. Its exceptional because the paragraph talks about the past and the present at the same time. It is confusing because the chapters so far are going all over the place , meaning skipping to the present and going back to the past. Also Grendel talks about how he doesn't want vengeance on Hrothgar but now he wants to kill him.
ReplyDelete2.It tells how humans can be cruel to each other. They will make groups and when they see other groups they start killing each other, stealing and destroying their property. " In the beginning there were various groups of them"(31). "Two hunters from different bands came together in the would fight until the snow was slushy with blood, then crawl back"(31)
3.It means how greedy people are. "Ill steal their gold and burn their mead hall!"(33). When humans get what they want and become rich, they want more and more.
4.It states how humans had war for an long time and it isnt a new thing. The wars and cruel and brutal and is never a good thing. But they made songs about their previous wars.
5.Humanity is destroying the nature. The humans are swiping out forests to make towns and killing animals not only for food but for fun. "Killed birds for sport"(40). Its a good thing that the humans are progressing of making a civilization but how they think about nature is not that great.
6.The Shaper creates stories based on historical facts. He is called the Shaper because he shapes history into stories. The stories are passed down to generations telling old Scandinavian tales. Grendel gets obsessed with one of the stories.
1. The first paragraph is exceptional for it starts out with a statement of an incident we don't know anything about (as if answering a question), then continues by further explaining it (..That was mere midnight foolishness [Gardner 30]). In contrast it to the rest of the chapter, it does not really relate, for the rest of the chapter is more about the history of mankind, and Hrothgar. But it acts as a perfect platform to keep readers thinking.
ReplyDelete2. It shows us the barbaric war obsessed nature of mankind from the view point of Grendel. "When two hunters from different bands until the snow was slushy with blood, then crawl back, gasping and crying, to their seperate camps to tell wild stories of what happened"(Gardner31).
3. The literary device being used for breed and greed is rhyme. By stating that "food is plentiful", it shows how the war is not necessary and that it is only in the interest of gold (Gardner 33). It shows that greed dominates human actions, and can take matters to extremes.
4. It state's that "they had always been war" (Gardner 34).
5. Humanity and progress is juxtaposed to nature for as there is progress in wealth, humanity plummets, and nature suffers. The statement they "killed birds for sport"(Gardner 40), explains it all. By saying they kill birds for sports, shows the luxury they are living with, but because of that nature has to suffer and that the morals of humanity is non-existent.
6. Shaper was the one who tells the stories. The reason he is called shaper is because he "shapes" the stories in a bombastic fashion. Therefore he impacts history by twisting key aspects of history in order to romanticize the story. Grendels not got an active position in the story, however he was a witness of what really happened at the time of these historical events and therefore knows the wholesome truth.
1. The first paragraph is exceptional because, the end of chapter 2 and the start of 3 doesn't relate at all. The story skips and tells another different story. He tells something that happened sometime ago. It is like he is telling about the past, as a flashback.
ReplyDelete2. The first paragraph is trying to tell us that human fight for no reasons. They just fight and kill things whenever they want to. This paragraph tells us that humans are cruel. "When two hunters from different bands came together in the woods, they would fight until the was slushy with blood, then crawl back, gasping and crying, to their separate camps to tell wild tales of what happened" (31).
3. "It was late spring. Food was plentiful. Every sheep and goat had its wobbling twins, the forest was teeming and the first crops of the hillsides were coming into fruit" (33). Breed and Greed is a rhyme. People become greedy when they have plenty of things. The more they get, people becomes selfish.
4. They were many wars and even if there were many wars, they didn't really care about it. War was something regular for them. It was nothing
unusual. Also on page 34, they talk about war songs. "If the songs were real, … there had always been wars…" (34).
5. Humanity and progress is juxtaposed with nature by humans breaking down the nature. "They hacked down trees in winding rings around their central halls and blisters the land with peasant huts and pigpens fences till the forest looked like an old dog dying of manage"(40). As cutting down trees, humans are destroying the nature for their own greed.
6. Shaper impacted the history because he was the one who told stories. Even though his stories were mostly fake, it interested many people. His name "Shaper" comes from shaping the story to make it interesting. Grendel falls for one of his stories.
Claire Otake
1) The first paragraph is exceptional because of its dramatic changing of topics. It truly shows the hate between Grendel and Hrothgar and how Grendel will never forget the past incidents to do with the ax that still haunt his mind. He keeps the same tone through the first few chapters yet the change is still out standing.
ReplyDelete2)It shows the cruel barbaric side of humans from a monsters perspective. "When two hunters from different bands until the snow was slushy with blood, then crawl back, gasping and crying, to their seperate camps to tell wild stories of what happened"(Gardner31).
3)People are selfish and Breeds greed is a good example of this. “Food was plentiful. Every sheep and goat had it wobbly twins...” (Gardner 33). It also rhymes.
4)On page 34 war is mentioned as a wonderful honarable thing. The long passed away kings are mentioned for the battle strength. And pretty much war is just a great thing back then and is everywhere else in the world at that time.
5)"They hacked down trees in winding rings around their central halls and blisters the land with peasant huts and pigpens fences till the forest looked like an old dog dying of manage"(40) humans were greedly cutting down trees for their own good and still has not changed in the modern day.
6)The shaper had a great impact on the story to make it interesting but adding some facts but at the same times slipping in some lies to keep things interesting.