Chapters 18-24 -- OMG!

Chapter 18
Why is Higlac mentioned in line 1202?
Chapter 19
Why does Grendel’s mother leave the den?
What is the poet reminding us of in line 1280 (“…slept as though already dead.”)?
What does Grendel’s mother do when she gets to Herot?
What does she take back with her?
At the end of Chapter 19, does Beowulf know what has happened?
Chapter 20
Does Hrothgar know who has killed his friend? How?
What is “twisted gold?”
Chapter 21
At the beginning of this chapter, are Beowulf’s thoughts pagan or Christian? Explain?
Who is Esher? What do the men find in the lake?
Find a kenning for the sea monster that Beowulf kills when he gets to the lake.
How do we know that Unferth is no longer angry at Beowulf?
What is Hrunting?
Chapter 22
What instructions does Beowulf give to Hrothgar, in case he does not survive?
Does Hrunting help Beowulf?
Chapter 23
How does Beowulf defeat Grendel’s mother?
What does Beowulf do before he swims back to land? What do Hrothgar and the other warriors think has happened?
What does Beowulf bring to show Hrothgar?
Chapter 24
When Beowulf tells Hrothgar about his battle, what does he say saved his life?

Beowulf Chapters 13-18

Chapter 13
What is the purpose of lines 862 and 863?
Describe the man who appears in ll. 866-873. What does he do to honor Beowulf, and why?
Why does the poet tell the story of Hermod?

Chapter 14
How does Hrothgar thank Beowulf?
What does Beowulf say is the reason he was unable to kill Grendel at Herot?
Why does Unferth grow quiet?

Chapter 15
Why is Herot bent and broken?
What kind of gifts are bestowed on Beowulf?

Chapter 16
Why is the story of Finn included in this poem?

Chapter 17
Is Unfurth punished for killing his relatives?

Chapter 18 questions in class tomorrow!

Kenning

• a descriptive, poetical expression used instead of a simple name for a person or thing
• words may be a bit strange
• a type of metaphor
• identifies a person or thing by a characteristic or quality
• adds variety and interest to this long poem

Beowulf Chapters 8-12. RAWWWWRRRR!

Chapter 8
1. Who is Unferth, and why is he so hostile to Beowulf? Why is he allowed to speak that way?
2. Unferth accuses Beowulf of something. What is it?
3. At line 530, Beowulf tells Unferth that his “face is hot with ale.” What does he mean?
4. What is Beowulf’s reason for losing the swimming contest?

Chapter 9
1. Beowulf accuses Unferth of something. What is it?
2. Who is Welthow? What does she do at the party?
3. Does Welthow believe Beowulf’s stories? Explain.
4. What does Hrothgar promise Beowulf if he kills Grendel?


Chapter 10
1. Why does Beowulf take off his armor?
2. Are Beowful’s soldiers confident? Explain.
3. What is “God’s dread loom” (l. 696)?

Chapter 11
Between lines 730 and 740, how does the poet predict Grendel’s fate?

Chapter 12
1. How does Beowulf first plan to kill Grendel?
2. Why are Beowulf’s men unable to help him?
3. Is Beowulf victorious over Grendel? Explain.

Beowulf chapters 6 & 7

Chap 6
1. Describe the connection between Hrothgar and Beowulf.
2. Who is "the Danes' high prince and protector"?
3. What’s a “mead-hall?”
4. What is poetic about the description of the deserted Herot?
5. What is Beowulf’s own explanation of why he came to Denmark?
6. What weapons does Beowulf decide to use in fighting the monster? Why?
7. Why does he repeat “If he can”? (l. 444)
8. What do you think is the purpose of lines 447-449?
9. How confident is Beowulf that he will kill Grendel?

Chap 7
1. Who is Edgetho?
2. Why does Hrothgar tell the story in lines 459-472?
3. What are Hrothgar’s religious beliefs? How do you know?
4. What does “to table” mean? (l. 489)

Beowulf Chapters 4 and 5 - Homework due Thursday 2/19

Answer these questions on chapters 4 and 5 (complete sentences, notebook).

Chapter 4
1. What does “unlocking words from deep in his breast” (ll. 258-259) mean?
2. When Beowulf gives his “credentials” to the watchman (ll. 260 & foll.), what information does he give?
3. “A soldier should know the difference between deeds and words, and keep that knowledge clear in his brain.” (ll. 288-290) What is the watchman saying?
4. Why does Beowulf say he’s come to Denmark?
5. What are “mail shirts?” How do we know?
6. How does the watchman remind us of Herot’s importance?
7. How do we know the watchman is a Christian?
8. Look for the following words in the text, and then write down a meaning based on the context:

• mounted
• tar
• gable

Chapter 5

1. How do we know weapons were important in this society?
2. Who is “the Geats’ proud prince?”
3. What does "wait on your word" (l. 364) mean?
4. What does “armor nobly worked” (l. 367) mean?

Themes (big ideas) in Beowulf

leaders
relationship with their followers
what makes a leader?

heroes
What makes a hero?
heroic code

Christianity v. paganism

identity (fame)
how it's earned

wealth


Parts of "Beowulf" are didactic - meant to teach the listener

BEOWULF!

EPIC POEM
•FICTION (not real)

•main character is a hero
•travels great distances to prove his strength in impossible challenges
•supernatural demons and beasts
•Possibly created by scops (Old English poets), in the oral tradition
•Oral tradition = word of mouth, not written down

•Possibly accompanied by harp

WHEN?
•Written down sometime between the 8th and the early 11th centuries
•(Between 900 and 1200 years old!)

•Known only from a single manuscript

WHERE?
•written in England
•Story events happen in what's now Denmark and Sweden (Geatland = Sweden)
•between late 5th and early 7th centuries A.D.

ANGLO-SAXON LITERATURE
•literature written in Anglo-Saxon (Old English)

•mid-5th century to 1066 (the Norman Conquest)

•Old English was the vernacular language

Ordinary people spoke Old English; educated people spoke Latin

"Lunchtime at RMS" rough draft due Monday 2/9!

What I will be looking for in this essay:

• Clear organization, and a smooth trip for the reader
• Your special attitude!
• Strong opening paragraph and closing paragraph
• Vivid description and interesting word choice (not “nice”)
• Correct spelling, verb tense and number, complete sentences

Organization

We discussed several ways you might organize your description of RMS lunchtime.

• The senses
• Paragraph 2: What I see during lunchtime
• Paragraph 3: What I hear during lunchtime
• Paragraph 4: What I smell during lunchtime

• Chronological
• Paragraph 2: Early in the lunch period
• Paragraph 2 Early in the period
• Paragraph 4 End of the period

• Place:
• Paragraph 2: The Beanery
• Paragraph 3: The Cafeteria
• Paragraph 4: The Yard

There might be more!

YOUR special attitude

This is the fun part! What is YOUR statement about lunchtime at RMS? Here are some examples of a “special attitude” toward this topic:

• If you listen to your senses, even lunchtime is amazing.
  RMS lunchtime is a sensory hell
  There’s a weird kind of beauty during lunchtime at RMS.
• Students act like farm animals at feeding time.
• Strange things happen when 450 people get fed at the same time.

Listen to your own thoughts, and take some time with this part. Each one of you is amazingly sassy, creatively strange or wonderfully twisted in some unique way. Your attitude is your VOICE as a writer, and I want to hear it in your writing! Otherwise, I won’t have fun reading it! And you won’t get an A! Hahahahaha!


Your opening paragraph

• Starts the reader on a smooth trip
• Gets the reader’s attention. (Your special attitude is one good way to do this.)
• Tells the reader what you’re going to do, and how your essay will be organized ·
• Gives the reader an idea of your special attitude toward the topic
• Goes from general to specific. Example:

They say dogs are man’s best friends, but I’m not so sure. Some dogs seem to make it their mission in life to prove that statement false. Take my Siberian Husky, for example…

Topic sentences keep the trip smooth, from paragraph to paragraph (transition)

• Keep your main idea going through all the paragraphs.
• Keep the reader focused on your topic and your attitude, but don’t make it dull!

(Examples of dullness:

• Paragraph 2: “What I see when I have lunch is…
• Paragraph 3: “What I taste when I have lunch is…
• Paragraph 4: “What I smell when I have lunch is…”

Yawn.

Here’s a better way:

• Paragraph 2: “First, my eyes are offended by…
• Paragraph 3: “My taste buds are the next to suffer.
• Paragraph 4: “My nose knows not to breathe too deeply…”

What the closing paragraph does

• restates your special attitude
• sends reader back to her/his world
• ends with a pop!

PS: If you're not having fun, you're not doing it right!!!

Finding theme by looking at characters

(homework for Friday, 2/6/09)

DIRECTIONS:

Please read "The Bear at the Door" (below), and then write 1/2 page in your notebook to answer the question:

"What is the theme of this story (the message the author wants us to get)?"

Explain how the characters (their actions, words and interactions with each other) help to get the author's message to the reader.

Questions to think about:

• What is important to the parents?
  Do the parents seem normal?
  What is important to Cindy?
  Does THIS bear seem scary?
  Voices don’t actually have “sharp edges.” Can the “sharp edges” in the bear’s voice actually hurt Cindy?
  What choice does Cindy make at the end?
  What is Cindy’s reaction to something new (the bear)?
  If she had made the opposite choice, what would have happened?
  Why does she make that choice?

HINTS:

• 1. Forget everything you know about bears.
• 2. The theme of this story is about parents and children.

The Bear at the Door

"Are those child safe scissors ?"

"What are child safe scissors ?"

"You know, scissors that are..."

"Too blunt to be of any use ?"

They stand in very close range to one another: husband and wife; father and mother, pro and con. They are locked in each other's gazes and differences and disbeliefs.

Cindy stands beneath them like a vacationer at a mildly interesting tourist attraction of Statues Engaged in Child Rearing Differences. Her stuffed rabbit is a dirty souvenir from a previous visit.

"After you made me put three sets of training wheels on her bike, I really thought you'd let up a little. You know, trust that her world had finally been made completely safe. But you've actually been getting worse. Worse. Aren't you worried about my safety ?"

"What are you talking about ?" she snarls, her arms akimbo.

"The safety of my sanity."

As they bicker through a litany of child safety issues, Cindy wanders out of the kitchen and into the living room. She opens the giant front door of the house to an overweight black bear.

"So can I come in to play or what ?" he whispers in a low growl, as though his throat were full of stones.

"I'm sorry Mr Bear... I'm sorry Mr Bear..."

"Are you afraid of me ?" he whisper growls.

"I'm afraid of the rocks in your throat. I'm not allowed to bring outside things inside. Anyways I'm not supposed to touch rocks. They have sharp edges. Your voice has sharp edges."

"Okay well... do you have any cookies you could get me from the kitchen ?"

And she closes the door on her one possible friend.

Her parents continue to bicker in the fluorescently lit kitchen.

Character and theme are often connected

The "deeper meaning" of a fiction work is often closely related to the struggles and conflicts of characters in the work.

Here's how to figure out a character, and find out what the author is trying to tell you:

• Be focused: What details does the author describe? Not describe? Just because something could possibly happen, that doesn't mean it's the most sensible interpretation!
• Notice character actions and reactions (contrast them with other characters’ actions and reactions);
• Infer character motivations; What are the possible reasons a character acts the way he/she does?
• Understand context: Has the character said or done other things that help you make sense of his (or her) actions?
• Observe changes in a character by the end of the story;
• Ask yourself: "By telling the reader about the struggles of this character (or these characters), what is the author trying to tell me about people in general?"