Students turned in the Chapter 10-12 study questions, finished the Chapter 12 posters, and talked briefly about 10-11.
RIGHT NOW
Become a contributor to the blog. First let me say that I had you do the posters as one means of "reviewing" the book for your test, since you had to keep going back to material from earlier chapters. That reason is NOT what I'm about to ask. You can respond to one or more of the following questions:
- What purpose(s) do you think Gardner had in mind in making so many connections between Chapter 12 and earlier parts of the book?
- How does this technique contribute to the meaning of the work as a whole?
- Did you "understand" anything interesting, or important (or even POTENTIALLY important) from Chapter 12 that you hadn't gotten earlier?
TOMORROW
We'll start with 10 minutes of wrap-up, then do the test.
I think that Gardner may have been giving meaning to things throughout the book that Grendel continuously refers to as meaningless, as he connects so many parts of Chapter 12 back to the rest of the book. After all, how could something that ultimately comes back to haunt the reader be meaningless? This is a way to shoot down nihilism, by showing the connectedness of events, characters, lines, and images throughout the book. Perhaps Gardner is even reinforcing rationalism. This also gives a deeper meaning to the book (not that it wasn't deep already), by emphasizing the reality that although things that happen in the moment may seem pointless or miniscule, they can become recurring events in one's life.
ReplyDeleteAs for understanding things I missed before, I wouldn't say that Chapter 12 clarified anything for me that I hadn't understood, but I did pick out the minutia that I would have missed had I merely read the last chapter without looking so closely.
Riley Liddle(6)
ReplyDeletei believe that gardener put so many connections in chapter 12 relating to all the other chapters as a means of foreshadowing what was to come of to show his reasoning for him making the book about the 12 zodiac signs. i believe that it also shows how much time and thought he put into making this epic novel of grendel and how he tied it into the story of beowulf. personally, i was fascinated by the way that he could repeat all that imagery in chapter 12 yet it was still as interesting and engaging as when i read it earlier in the story.
to be honest, while reading the end of grendel, it really helped me to understand beowulf a little better than i had and it also gave me more imagery which is good for a writer to make a reader see.
I believe the purpose of Gardner relating so much of what was in chapter 12 to earlier in the book was to tie the book together as whole and to help the readers remember important elements that were present throughout the book. Also chapter 12 gave a glimpse back into Beowulf, which made understanding Grendel's side of the dillema a lot easier, which I had never really thought of before.
ReplyDeleteBy reiterating key components really helped me understand the importance of such events that I have overlooked earlier.
Delaney Johnson P.6
As an author, Gardener obviously spent alot of time thinking about ways that he can set his book apart from others. I believe he did a tremendous job of making connections at the end of the book to previous happenings. All of the "coinsidenses" I believe are completely intentional and in my eyes deserves alot more respect for these subtle things that put more meaning into the story.
ReplyDeleteThe end of Grendel really helped me to connect the dots between the entire story of Grendel and Grendels involvement in Beowulf
Spencer L(6)
ReplyDeleteI feel that Gardener made chapter 12 a revelations of a chapter in the book. In that chapter it feels like the end of "Pulp Fiction" type film where things fall more into place then they ever did, even though it is the end of the book it was a good way to end it. It sort of helps anyone reading it if they couldn't connect all of the things in the first 11 chapters of Grendel. Also it gave me a slightly better view on Beowulf. Grendel was a mindless monster, though here he is shown to have more of a mind then most gave him credit for.
I believe that Gardener used refrences in chapter 12 throughout the book for a few reasons. Chapter 12 is a really great way of almost summarizing the entire book, just like a concluding paragraph in an essay. In a concluding paragraph you take out important key elements from the rest of the essay and use them to end the essay strongly, this is similar to what Gardener did in the novel. It is actually helpful to the reader as well and makes you think a lot more, while reading it you remember different parts of the book that you had read previously and then it helps the reader to understand the book as a whole much more clearly.
ReplyDeleteDarci Curtin Period 6
Megan Smith (4)
ReplyDeleteGrendel had many key components throughout the book. Some details that were very important were also hard to pick up on because of wording or context. There were also a large amount of significant events that happened, from things such as raids on the meadhall to events with animals, such as the ram or bull. I believe that the reason the author made so many references to previous chapters is to help make sense of all of the previous events, and to remind the reader of what has happened. Everything that happened in this book had a purpose, and Gardener wanted to make sure the reader left with knowledge of what actually went on during the novel, and that they overall understood the purpose of this book.
Katie Carlson (6)
ReplyDeleteI think that Gardner made so many connections between chapter 12 and the earlier chapters of the book to show that the book could represent a whole, and in all remaim an unchanged story. Even though it seemed like Grendel ended his life with a much greater understanding and meaning than he possessed in the beginning of the book, the constaint flash backs and repetitivness of the final chapter show that Grendel is still the exact same unhappy character he was in the beginning. The similarities really connect the whole book together, and make the reader realize that no matter what events Grendel goes through during the book, he will remain the same character, and still possess the same though and action process. In all, the similarities between chapter 12 and the rest of the book show that nothing could have happened to change the way Grendel is, and the fate of Grendel's death was apparent from the beginning of the book.
The purpose of Garnder incorporating chapter 12 to earlier in the novel is to connect everything into one piece. Also, he does it to help readers understand the important aspects that were presented throughout this whole novel. Without the mention of chapter 12, I would not have been able to understand Grendel's problems and his fate. In a way, chapter 12 helps to sum up the entire novel in a shortened manner. Looking back to the earlier sections of the novel, I now see a connection between the small things that actully turned out to be something of meaning and value.
ReplyDelete-Kevin M (6)
in response to the first question i would like to say that Gardner wrapped up Grendel wonderfully. When reading chapter twelve knowing it was the last chapter it was nice to recall other sayings or events that happend in the previous chapters. I think Gardner left so many connections in chapter 12 throughout the rest of the book to give Grendel somewhat of a eulogy to remember his life and the things he did and thought of.
ReplyDeleteChase N (6)
What I believed was Gardner's purpose in connecting chapter 12 to earlier parts in the book was to tie everything together. Another reason that could be argued is that, it is said, when you are about to die, your life flashes before your eyes. When Beowulf grabs Grendel by the arm and is about to pull it off, Grendel knows that the end is near. By connecting the 12th chapter with various parts throughout the entire book, it is almost like instead of Grendel seeing his life flash before his eyes, he experiences it. Although it is an obscure argument, I believe that this is a clever way to relate chapter 12 to other chapters of the book.
ReplyDelete--Alyssa Kay
The reason Gardner made so many connections between Chapter 12 and earlier parts of the book is for two main reasons. First, I believe we wanted to tie all the various events that occured during the book together and reiterate key components of the novel. The second reason is to show the static character of Grendel and how, even though his mind may slightly alter based on the novel's events, he never truely changes who he is.
ReplyDeleteOlivia Schmoe (4)
I think that Gardner was thinking that it would be a clever way to relate everything else in the story to the last chapter because in everything else is life you always, in the end, go back and sum up everything. I feel that how he did it made the entire book make much more sense and flo a lot better. It made it feel like it was final and a nice closing.
ReplyDeleteI believe Gardner chose to connect his earlier chapters to the rest of the book to tie everything together. Every chapter has a significant zodiac sign and this was a tremendous thing to read about and see how an author can connect chapters to chapters while sharing connection through more symbolic ways. I believe he also did this because it tied Grendel to Beowulf and and how he showed imagery and the importance between the two.
ReplyDeleteGrayson G
taylor Johnson per 6
ReplyDeletei believe that that gardner thought that throughout the entire book he used key points that were important to the book and in chapter 12 he used all of them referring back to the beginning to help us understand how its all related and how important they are. it was a good ending to the book as well because in life you will learn from your past mistakes and move on in life.
I think Gardner used chapter 12 to tie the events in the previous chapter and sort of sum up the entire book. It also illuted back to Beowulf which helped me to understand it better. It gave Grendel's perspective of the events and what happened. In Beowulf, Grendel is portrayed as a terrible monster but after reading Grendel, its a complete different side. I almost feel bad for Grendel and think he is misunderstood.
ReplyDeleteI think Gardner probably did this (amongst other reasons) because he wanted to symbolize that all the events during the book were connected and important, as opposed to seperate. Also, I think he wanted to show that if Grendel had acted upon the lessons he had learned from these people/events (dragon, red horse, etc.) then Grendel would not have made the decision that led to his death by Beowulf.
ReplyDelete