Themes:
· Loyalty—celebrates a warrior’s culture and kinship to his king and tribe.
· Bravery—Just like the heroic code –also the character Unferth (unbrave).
· Importance of art and storytelling—Much like the Bard in the Odyssey and Penelopiad. Whose story do we believe?
· Conflict between traditional heroic ideals and existentialist philosophy.
· Philosophy-- Fate versus free will
· Astrology-- Each chapter of Grendel is associated with a sign of the zodiac. Connect each chapter to its associated sign
· Perspective-- The POV allows us to feel for Grendel who is otherwise considered a monster
Questions
What Grendel is looking for:
· Who he is
· What is real
· What philosophy is right
· What to believe
Why he hates men:
· They’re dumb
· They’re selfish
· They’re violent
· They areas selfish and violent as Grendel but hate Grendel
Chapter 1
· Grendel reflects on his childhood, which was sort of sad and lacking meaning
Chapter 2
· Grendel sees humans for the first time and is interested but they are scared of him and instinctively attack
· Grendel is disappointed and lonely
Chapter 3
· Gemini –look for doubles
* “Food was plentiful. Every sheep and goat had its wobbly twins, the forest was teeming, and the first crops of the hillsides were coming into fruit”
· He reflects on the growth of humankind and how they developed
· He knows they are cruel
* “It didn't matter to me what they did to each other. It was slightly ominous because of its strangeness--no wolf was so vicious to other wolves--but I half believed they weren't serious.”
· He mocks war and how bloody and futile it is. They make it sound so bold and brave but it’s DUMB
· Grendel is sicked by men, war, and lies
· Poor Grendel has to watch the “Advancement” of men
· Along comes the bard, a story teller, that comes to Hrothgar’s mead hall
· The bard makes Grendel confused about his opinions and philosophy
· He goes soft a little!
* "I was so filled with sorrow and tenderness I could hardly have found it in my heart to snatch a pig!"
· Identity crisis
* “Thus I fled, ridiculous hairy creature torn apart by poetry--crawling, whimpering, streaming tears, across the worldlike a two-headed beast, like mixed-up lamb and kid at the tail of a baffled, indifferent ewe--and I gnashed”
Chapter 4
· Old Testament
· Grendel visits an old dragon who tells him that everything is meaningless
· The dragon also tells him that Grendel has a magical protection against weapons (as in a curse or spell) but this does not seem to make him feel much better.
Chapter 5
· Grendel is basically like "okay you think I am a monster? fine then I will be" and starts to terrorize the town's mead hall, Heorot
Chapter 6
· Hrothgar, the king, is losing his grip and so is the kingdom
Chapter 7
· Beowulf, a Geat, arrives at Heorot to save the day
Chapter 8
· Beowulf waits for Grendel to arrive, he attacks Grendel, mortally wounding him, and Grendel realizes that Beowulf is built different
Chapter 9-12
· Grendel reflects on his life
· His last words are "Poor Grendel"
· Grendel dies