GRENDEL AND 20TH CENTURY PHILOSOPHY

Essential Question #1:“How does society’s

misconception of individuals create monsters?”

Essential Questions #2“How does Post-modern literature

reflect the culture, history, and philosophy of our time?”

20th Century Philosophies Post-modernism: 1950’s- present.

Movement in art and literature that experiments with nontraditional forms of expression.

I. Existentialism II. Nihilism III. Solipsism

John Gardner

AS AN AUTHOR AS A MAN

Born in 1933 Father was a minister Killed his brother Grotesque, mercurial

characters…

Grendel Assignment Read chapter one of Grendel and begin to form

your own interpretation of this modern-day masterpiece. Use the questions below a basis for your interpretation (i.e. food for thought). Read each page, and for each page, record your thoughts using the “post it” notes. Eventually, you will use your notes in order to write an analysis paper that incorporate literary criticism. Once you have completed Chapter One, please select a partner (preferably one who has also completed the assignment) in order to compare/contrast interpretations.

Grendel Assignment Continued

1. What do you know directly (and what can you infer) about Grendel after reading only the first paragraph.

2. Why would John Gardner choose to retell Beowulf from the monster’s point of view? What is to be gained from such a shift?

Symbolism Symbol: a sign, word, phrase, image,

or other object that stands for or represents something else.

Conventional symbolism is often based on elements of nature.

Archetype: universal symbol or pattern that can be traced across time, cultures, and trends.

Assignment for Chapter 2: Read and annotate Chapter 2, looking

specifically for symbols and archetypes in light of the following questions:

What is the significance of the symbol for Chapter 2.

In light of the archetypes we’ve discussed, what archetypal patterns do you note? How do they enhance the meaning of the text? (write one paragraph).

Compare/contrast thoughts w/neighbor.

H.W.:

Bring in a list of the Greek Zodiac signs.