Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Chapter 3

Twins? Stories? Or lies?

30 comments:

Darby said...

in this chapter Grendel was kinda being a creeper. Hiding outside of Hrothgars mead hall, and listening to their conversations. Life just seems to be going down hill for him though. First he gets attacked for almost an entire day, then his head gets split in two by the lies of the Bard and the truth. He must hate humans more and more as this book progresses. He must think we are such ignorant creatures, with no sense of how horrible we can be. Like 5 year old children, who don't really understand "consequence". He probably thinks that we are such wasters to, wasting good meat like that! :3
~FIRST COMMENT!!!! XD

sophia said...

In this chapter, Grendel is witnessing the cultural evolution of humans. A lot of it is war, protecting our selves, and power. Isn't that kind of what it is now too? Isn't that what our world and culture is all about? As horrible as that sounds, Grendel is right. He is making these first base observations about us people but they aren't that far off. They are what really happened and what is still part of our lives today even though we have evolved immensely and have no plans of stopping now. I also think it must be really scary for Grendel to witness this war and conflict. I can only imagine what it must be like to see these weird creatures running around like idiots. It must be quite a laugh, but I can't imagine it's very pleasant. Also, the shaper seems like quite a man! That he can charm and dazzle people like that and change their opinions completely. It shows how stupid we are. But what a talent. Poor Grendel, the man is making him go more insane than he already is.

Eliana said...

The more I read of this book, the more I think humans are terrible creatures. You begin to see more and more through Grendel's point of view... The way he describes how wasteful we are. And how it's unnatural the way we fight so much with our own species. It really makes me want to be an animal or something. Then there was the twist at the end of the chapter where you see Grendel, who is usually so intelligent and philosophical, get so angry he reverts back to his animalistic state and runs on all fours. It made me think how every creature, including humans have that primitive state of mind to retreat back to.
Another part of this chapter that really intrigued me was the whole idea of the Shaper. It makes me wanna scream that he's lying! I don't know why it bothers me so much, but for one man to change the past and the future however and whenever he wants seems unfair. Then again, I would hate to be the person the entire world believes because I wouldn't know what to do and I'd feel guilty if I lied.
This chapter had a lot of great discussion topics...

Julia said...

In this chapter Grendel got to observe humans, and how they interact with each other. He sees all of these men fighting, which made him dislike humans even more than before. And he sees how we protect ourselves and loved ones. Grendel really gets a good look and some of human’s stupidity and maybe one day he will come to the conclusion that being alone isn’t too bad if all that humans do if fight. Also in this chapter there is the Shaper who gets to control the past and future, which isn’t fair at all. Grendel gets really upset because he knows the truth, yet he also believes the lies that the Shaper is telling him. His reaction to this to get on all fours which shows that he still can act like an animal, but to be honest don’t we all?

Vivi said...

It's beautiful, how he watches the humans evolve. John Gardner makes evolution seem so quick, so simple, so non complex, yet we all know how frustrating long it takes for humans to evolve. The way it's explained, evolution seems so graceful, so calm, so serene.
"The man had changed the world." (p.43) Man changes the world, but it's so subtle, so slow, so elegant.The power of a story goes beyond that of reason. It's like how the belief in magic changes an entire child's childhood. Belief controls the direction of humanity before logic and intelligence. It's human nature to believe in something that explains the unexplainable and in this case, they believe a story that explains the horrible.
And the chapter ends on such a poetic note. Screaming in agony, screaming in relief. Two emotions let out through one action. Grendel stands on a cliff, on top of the world, in between man and god.
Grendel is part human, he has their gift for persuasion, their gift of trickery and full out lies and intelligence, but he also has the reason and instinct of an animal. Humanity is a superpower, isn't it. Being able to persuade even the creatures who know the truth and horror that humans have created to believe their lies. A curse, and a gift.
Grendel is still shocked by his voice, the powerful, violent thing. He's scared to death by the beauty created from his own destruction of silence, and the beauty created from the lies that mankind tell. How can beauty be so terrifying?
Not quite human, not quite beast.
He is afraid of his power, it's like being afraid of snow. Each little flake is so precious, so delicate, individual and intricate. Buy as they all come together to become one strong force, they make an avalanche that can kill anyone in it's path.
Is Grendel like snow?
His avalanche is forming.

Cameron said...

I really like watching the evolution of men in this chapter... And Grendel's confusion/ mixed feelings about it. First like a human he is repulsed, but then he becomes mildly amused by them, like the intelligent almost arrogant creature he is. Then with the lies of the Shaper he is confused and scared like a human then convinced, but instead of dealing like a human he acts like an animal! I like how Grendel's Evolution is going on at the same time as the humans' relating him again to the humans. Twins!

Anonymous said...

It's probably a weird connection to make, and I know there are no similarities whatsoever between the two books, but the Shaper's changing of the past and subsequent control of the present reminds me of certain aspects of "1984". The idea that in order to fully control things as they are one must change as effectively as possible people's memories of the past is present in both and is a somewhat disturbing concept.
-Charlie

Noah said...

This has been so far my favorite chapter. The subject matter, being akin to the human development we learn about in Dan's class, is so fascinating to me. I love to see such raw emotion in Grendel in this chapter, seeing his love and anger in such pure forms. It is indeed a beautiful and poetic way to represent the advance of men. I especially loved seeing his own frustration, being captured by the beauty, and creativity the shaper spins with his webs of music. To me it demonstrates the ultimate power of music and storytelling and the way it can bend the truth.

LoReN said...

I found it interesting how Grendel got to watch the humans progress and establish settlements. I saw humans differently in this chapter, they seemed so competitive and violent and I found it sad when he described all the stuggles and fights going on between groups. Grendel seemed so scared when his ideas conflicted with the shaper's lies, making him rampage and run around on all fours. This chapter changed my view on the humans and now it seems that in Beowulf, the humans had brought their trouble upon themselves and it wasn't all Grendel's fault.

Vicente :3 said...

This chapter was very well written. I liked how Grendel saw mostly the savage sides of humans (other than taking care of their families). I feel bad for Grendel after reading this chapter because he is getting so upset over all of this. I am starting to think of him as more of a "human monster" type of creature. Monsters traditionally don't have the ability to think and solve problems using logic. But this book seems to ignore all the other monster stories and make us feel for this monster rather than dislike it. I also liked The Shaper and the effect that he had on Grendel because he had to deal with truth and lies as a monster.

Devon said...

This chapter was slow at first, but became really interesting later. I didn't really look for the evo of man that much, but later I could see it. The H&G stuff, the settlments, Killing weaker bands and taking the food. Redistribution into chiefdom and building roads and what not.
Later, Grendel was hiding outside of the mead halls listening to the bard/"Shaper". At first he was really riveted by the fact that the bard spoke so intellectually and that you actually had to think. But then when he started to change stories and exaggerate things, he got REALLY mad. He went from his intellectual human side strait to his scary animal side. Oh yea. The twins. I found them.

cormac said...

In this chapter, we get to see Grendel's perception of human beings. we get to learn about how Grendel reacts to the strange behaviors of our kind. its obvious that he would be so curious as to what they are and why they behave in such a peculiar way. he has an odd experience with humans and figures they are violent and unapproachable. wouldn't you want to know what was around you? i would certainly be curious. if i were in his situation, id listen, watch and react. but this version of the monster doesn't seem so monstrous. everybody retaliates.

Evan said...

This chapter is very... Slow, at the beginning,(a bit boring too).. But as the chapter progressed, I found it very interesting and very funny at the way Grendal was seeing us as humans. His perception of us was, and still is, that we are ignorant,we do ignorant things, and we are just plain gross! An example of us being, ignorant, in his eyes, was when some drunk fools were dumb enough to say, let's go burn things, and them stupid enough, to then burn the things! I mean like really, burning cows and dogs? Ignorant. Haha. I also found this chapter to become quite more interesting towards the end when he talked about the Shaper. This guy sounds like a real 'craft' (as Cormac would say) because he could like... BRAIN WASH PEOPLE'S FREAKIN MINDS! :O... Well, kinda, but he could change their options and knowledge on anything he wanted to. And I mean like, come on Grandal, I can't believe he was that good of a poet writer and good of a singer to literally make you go insane on what the truth was.

Bailey said...

In chapter three things were different. The beginning of the chapter seemed to go much slower than the previous two chapters. This chapter also showed more and more of Grendel's view which made it so that I had a different impression on people and things compared to Grendel in the book Beowulf. This chapter makes it seem like everything must just be straight up crazy for Grendel. The Shaper also makes this chapter very interesting.

Charlie Pedlow said...

I really liked this chapter because of all the ways Grendel looks at the people. The cultural evolution of the humans was really interesting to read about. Grendel had such a weird way of looking at things. The humans naturally started to fight and kill each other off. Grendel looks at this thinking that it is a waste of meat.HAH.. Grendel experiences decades of changes in just a few years. I feel like Grendel is going to get himself in a bad situation sometime soon. Since he explores and interacts with the humans so much he has a higher possibility of getting killed or hurt. Grendel's interest in the shaper was one of the best parts of the chapter. Grendel seems like he can tell the future since he can plan out what will happen to the humans if they keep acting how they are. over all this chapter was very deep and interesting.

Jack said...

In this chapter Grendel is very curious about humans actions and why they do what they do. Even though I know what Grendel does I still feel really like his character and I don’t have a strong liking towards the humans. Because he is trying to analyze human nature during this chapter you can tell that he is very different from them and that the way he thinks compared to the humans is completely different.

Matthew Mannucci said...

In the third chapter of this book, I am curious to what Grendel was thinking about humans as he saw them go through the early stages of civilization. I mean Grendel even says that wolves aren’t as vicious to each other as the humans are to each other. I also feel really bad for Grendel because he even tries to befriend some of the humans he encounters that were exiled from their group of humans. I just don’t think it is fair that the humans were so mean to him. I do think that the humans that he did encounter probably were not the best kind of people because they were exiled. I mean if other humans are pushed away from this exiled person, then it would be pretty safe to say that this exiled person would not be the most welcoming kind of person in the world to monster-like creatures that were unfamiliar to them. Even so, I still feel really bad for Grendel because he just wants somebody to play with and such.

Robin said...

In chapter 3, Grendel starts to see the evolution of man and the way that men are changing the world around him. What fascinates me most is his reaction to this growth. Grendel, for the most part, seems to be very curious, but at the same time I think that he is actually somewhat scared of them. He sees how dangerous they are and how they seem to kill each other for no real reason and he comments on how “no wolf was so vicious to other wolves.” He also sees another flaw in all their killing and burning of each other’s homesteads; he notices that it is extremely wasteful. Why kill each other’s food and each other and then not eat it? Leaving food on the ground to rot is pointless in Grendel’s eyes and I think this is another thing that makes him curious about the humans. They care more about fighting wars for treasure than they care about how many people are dying. When the Shaper sings, I think Grendel was so upset because he had always been living in his own little world where nobody told him what to think or do. When Grendel heard the Shaper’s side of the story sung so beautifully he is, in a way, being told that what he thinks and knows is not true, and even though he knows that the songs are lies, it confuses him deeply.

Madeleine said...

Grendel is starting to witness the cultural evolution of humans. As they start to organize war and pillage, Grendel doesn't understand why they do it. He views it as a waste. he also finds it a little unsettling how cruel the humans are to each other, but eventually it starts to amuse him. Although he tries to make friends with the exiles, it never works out. This might contribute some to his growing dislike of humans. Grendel is probably so strongly affected by the Shaper because he's never heard poetry like that before. He's caught between the mundane truth and the Shaper's beautiful lies, and it's causing conflict in his brain.

Madeleine said...

Grendel is starting to witness the cultural evolution of humans. As they start to organize war and pillage, Grendel doesn't understand why they do it. He views it as a waste. he also finds it a little unsettling how cruel the humans are to each other, but eventually it starts to amuse him. Although he tries to make friends with the exiles, it never works out. This might contribute some to his growing dislike of humans. Grendel is probably so strongly affected by the Shaper because he's never heard poetry like that before. He's caught between the mundane truth and the Shaper's beautiful lies, and it's causing conflict in his brain.

Sydney said...

Grendel is starting to see the change in human evolution. He and the rest of Hrothgar's people know the truth that is within the lies of the song sung by the bard. In my opinion, I find it hard to believe that since the truth is there, and you listen to all the lies being told,you tend to believe the lies. Even though the truth is stuck somewhere in the back of your head. Moreover, I pity Grendel because of the way he is living. In other words, he has no one to talk to, know one to listen to him talk because there is no way of understanding him. On the other hand, he has the oppertunity to watch the humans evolve and how they react to one another. I find Grendel very unique, especially from his perspective. He's not realy a bad guy after all. He's just another person, but in a different shape or form that's living a hard life which makes him stronger.

the Last one said...

Grendel gets facsinated with the "rats with shiny heads and horns". After his meeting with them in the last chapter he decides to watch them and see what they do. Grendel sees the humans fight, hurt, and kill each other. This also shows the progression of the human race. They go from being hunters and gatherers to kingdoms. Near the end of this chapter Grendel hears the "Shaper" who is the bard/storyteller who "shapes" the past and present. Grendel knows that this person is telling lies and exagerating, but he cant get his head around the fact that hes soooo convincing. This drives Grendel mad and forces him into his animal side of being. -Eamonn

Chris said...

Grendel is, in this chapter, similar to an all seeing being, or something above the mental capacity of humans. He is, in this sense, almost a god like intelligence above that of humans. The evolution of humans in this chapter in one month of Grendel's life was a representation of this idea. The humans did stupid things (in the eyes of Grendel) like lie, cheat, destroy, and kill. These behaviors were foolish because they were wasteful and Grendel recognizes this. The most interesting part of this chapter to me was the multi personality issue grendel was having, as an argument within his own head on what was the real truth.

Anthony said...

I kinda like the way that humans are the ones who are viewed as terrible creatures. We are the ones who fight with our own species. In this chapter I was amused with The Shaper and how he can control the past and the future( totally unfair). This effects Grendel in a big way because he knows that the Shaper is telling nothing but lies, yet he still believes them. Even though the reader sees Grendel as an innocent creature, he finally shows his "inner animal."

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