Fishbowl discussion
How and why does Grendel become a murderous
monster, a Hrothgar-Wrecker? What is life like for him after he is transformed?
Why does Gardner
depict Grendel’s change the way he does? Consider the choices Gardner makes with style, structure, imagery,
character, events, etc.
Ryan, Paula, Laura, Johayne, Kate; Ella, Everest, Michael, Morey, Dan
How does Gardner present a variety
of ways people respond to the problem of finding meaning in life? (What seems
to be Grendel's mother's way of finding/making meaning? Hrothgar’s way
of finding/making meaning? the Shaper’s way of finding/making meaning? Unferth’s? Wealtheow’s? Hrothulf’s? Red Horse’s? Ork’s? The Stranger's? What is the Dragon’s view of meaning
making? Grendel’s view of meaning making?)
How are each of these views presented—through Grendel’s (and others’)
judgments, through suggestive imagery, through suggestive events, through
allusions?
Tess, Bethany, Hannah, Emily, Jaclyn; Cody, Accursio, Rachael, Ryan, Gloria
Mindful of the
novel and Gardner’s letter to students, what do
you think Gardner’s
view is? How does the way he depicts the other views (and more generally the
choices Gardner makes with style, structure,
imagery, character, and events) contribute to suggesting or implying Gardner’s own view?
Joseph, Lauren, Melanie, Meghan; Emma, Spencer, Kerri, Winslow, Zoe, Josie
Refer to specific details, specific passages, specific word choices, specific choices made by the author.
Seek understanding in complexity and in nuance. Avoid reducing complexity to simplistic answers.
Seek to synthesize
all the parts of the book to support your understanding.
Here's the 3-2-1 from class on Friday (before vacation).
Make sure you respond in your "Grendel in Class" Google document.
Grendel Chapters 1-3* [Spring]
*Chapter 4 was also included here.
*Chapter 4 was also included here.
3=Explain
3 passages in chapters 1-3 that contribute significantly to John Gardner’s
exploration of particular themes in Grendel.
Provide page numbers (optional).
One possible theme to consider:
the tension between finding meaning in what we see and experience, one hand, and
rejecting or debunking meaning because of what we see and experience, on the
other hand.
2=Discuss
two literary/rhetorical strategies that Gardner
uses in the first three chapters. Consider narrative point of view, narrative
voice, characterization, symbolic/allegorical imagery, symbolic/allegorical
events, allusions, etc.
1=Write down a question, confusion, or mystery from chapters 1-3 that lingers for you and that you’d like to explore further.
Here's the 3-2-1 from class on Monday.
Make sure you respond in your "Grendel in Class" Google document.
Grendel Chapters
4-6 [Summer]
3=Explain
3 passages in chapters 4-6 that contribute significantly to John Gardner’s
exploration of particular themes in Grendel.
Provide page numbers.
One possible theme to consider:
the tension between finding meaning in what we see and experience, one hand, and
rejecting or debunking meaning because of what we see and experience, on the
other hand.
2=Explain
two big ideas or essential questions or themes you’ve been thinking about while
reading Grendel. Link your ideas to
these three chapters. Or, you could explain two interpretive ideas—why Gardner uses a particular
strategy, style, pattern, or image for example. Or, you could do one of each. Focus on chapters 4-6.
1=Write
down a question, confusion, or mystery from chapters 4-6 that lingers for you and that you’d like to
explore further.
Make sure you respond in your "Grendel in Class" Google document.
Grendel Chapters 7-9 [Autumn]
3=Explain
3 passages in chapters 7-9 that contribute significantly to John Gardner’s
exploration of particular themes in Grendel.
Provide page numbers.
One possible theme to consider:
the tension between finding meaning in what we see and experience, one hand, and
rejecting or debunking meaning because of what we see and experience, on the
other hand.
2=Explain
two strange or interesting changes in the language and/or narrative structure that occur during chapters 7-9. Speculate about the thematic significance of these changes. What might Gardner be suggesting?
1=Write
down a question, confusion, or mystery from chapters 7-9 that lingers for you and that you’d like to
explore further.
Here's the 3-2-1 for Wednesday
Make sure you respond in your "Grendel in Class" Google document.
Grendel Chapters 10-12 [Winter]
3=Explain 3 passages in chapters 10-12
that contribute significantly to John Gardner’s exploration of particular
themes in Grendel. Provide page
numbers. (At least one of them should refer to time and at least one of them should relate to the Stranger.)
One possible theme to consider: the tension between finding meaning in what
we see and experience, one hand, and rejecting or debunking meaning because of
what we see and experience, on the other hand.
2=
(#1) Find a passage
from 10-12 that echoes a particular passage from earlier in the book. (By “echoes”
I mean that both passages share similar language.) Speculate about the
significance. Provide the page number for both passages.
Then, (#2) Find a
passage from 10-12 that helps you better understand a question, confusion, or
mystery from earlier in the book. Give the page number(s) for the new passage
and explain how the new passage helps.
1=Write down a question, confusion, or
mystery from chapters 10-12 that lingers for you and that you’d like to explore
further.
I believe that Gardner views the world as a very negative place. In his letter he wrote “in this world, you simply cannot win”. Gardner believes that as humans, we will never be as great as we always had hoped, and once we think we’re about to reach it, its gone because “everything will eventually die.” He goes into great detail on this and mentions how everything we hold, whether it is a person, object or even an idea, it will not outlive this planet, so we need to treasure it while we have it. I believe this goes back to when his younger brother, Gilbert, was tragically killed early in his life on their father’s farm. Gardner’s negative views on how nothing is meant to last forever may be connected to how he never got to truly say goodbye to his brother and the guilt he may carry from the accident. He also writes about how young people do not realize that everything will eventually die because they are not yet fully aware, and I suspect this is how he felt as a child, but once Gilbert died he was quickly informed on how immediate something could be taken away. I however, do not believe that Gardner’s views on the world are as cynical as Grendel’s. Grendel views the world as a meaningless place and there is no significance to life, whereas Gardner thinks that people should make meaning and make everything in their life important because one day it will no longer be there.
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