Grendel blog (Day later due to computer problems)

Grendel by John Gardner never ceases to amaze me. Chapters 6-7 really highlight the influence of people around you on how you act day to day. First the dragon changes his thought processes. In Chapter 6 we see the quote, "I felt a strange, unearthly joy. It was as if I'd made some incredible discovery...Wrecker of kings."(79-80). After his conversation with the dragon it is as if he is tranformed. Due to the fact that when he emerges from his mom he is looking for guidance and gains it in this serpentile creature he is almost cursed from the beginning. By gaining cynical knowledge of the world around him Grendel can now go forth believeing that he knows himself. A charm is placed on him which acts as a trance forever putting him at the will of this evil being; therefore turning his nature from good to bad. In the beginning we see him as only killing for food and eatin a few man to mock their community, but after consulting the Dragon he believes his actions are what stirs up the community and ultimatly bring them together. Having this type of hubris foreshadows his enevitable downfall. In chapter 6 unferth preaches about the overall ideals of a true hero. The fact that Grendel destroys him is a direct result of the dragons power over him. Unferth is a brave, daring, loyal, person who's ultimatly willing to die for a cause greater than himself, which in this case is his community. With the slaughter of Unferth Grendel is enacting a self- fulfilling prophecy. Born from cain he actually is killing his own blood. He lives among these people technicall he is their brother , but he has now become the "wrecker of kings" becoming what the world wants him to be. Even when Unferth says, "I'll kill myself"....grendel responds with "up to you". Now he becomes just as conniving as the dragon. He lives by the principle that nothing really matters and everything dies at some point in time. Chapter 7 Grendel has enough strength to enact his own laws. He says, "There is no limit to desire but desires needs". Even though he gains confidence through the dragons guidance, he still falls victim to the captivation of the queen. She is able to move him as much as the shaper did, if not more. The queen acts as a christ-like character displaying the qualities of true innner heroism. She gives herself over to the enemy in order to save her community, this is the ultimate sacrifice. Also, she tells a depressed Unferth that the sins he committed against his brother are in the past which shows forgiveness. When she enters a room all the glory is placed on her and not simply because she is beautiful. She even brings the two warring states together as they eat. At first it was an awkward dinner because they were calling on Beowolf to rescue them from Grendel. The queen highlights how they must work together to defend their lives and forms a communion among the men. Looking at balance in this chapter she also acts as the leveling aspect to their world. Grendel defiles her to show that even she is not purre. This contradiction helps keep both societies at ease, because in the underworld Grendel knows that has power over the people just as they do over him. This novel helped show the other side of the great story of Beowolf. It makes the reader evaluate their concept of good and evil. Grendel can not be considered purely evil because he is only acting from the guidance he is given and his natural instinct.

Grendel analysis for chpt. 1

My class and I have begun reading "Grendel" by John Gardner. I really enjoy it better then "Beowulf", I feel as though it is more passionate rather than historical. Grendel’s character is portrayed as the outcast even in his own environment. It struck me as odd that even his mother looks at him with puzzlement and even fear most times. She is the most animalistic part of his life; moreover as he tries to develop as a person and discover who he is, I believe his mother and society keep dragging him back into reality. He describes his mom as being fat, old, sick at heart and a long suffering style when usually you love your mom for simply bring you into the world. Grendel resents his mom for acting out the animal instincts in him that he’s trying to repress. I believe these trials and inner turmoil leads to his frustrations with man and the world as a whole. He sees his environment constantly changing due to man and their constant fighting over seemingly pointless ideas. The true struggle is with himself and God for creating him this is seen in, “Him to I hate (6)”. Also, he is constantly yelling to himself at the sky and the shrubbery presented to him in his surroundings. It is reasonable to acknowledge his screams as from genuine contempt, but on the other hand he does appear to be yelling pointlessly to hear himself. John Gardner presents these conflicting personalities to highlight the struggle between following what society presents as your path or following your dreams. Although Grendel is seen as a ruthless monster killing needlessly he is simply following his destiny. The lack of guidance from his mom leads to his search of self-worth, “Why are we here…Don’t ask (11)”. I believe that if his mom explained his creation instead of allowing men to sing about how evil he is, he would not harbor this great hostility towards them. The fact that he belittles himself shows how he despises his childhood because he was so naïve. Chapter 2 explains that in his childhood he would explore, but what he saw was not pleasant. I saw the allusion of Adam and eve as he delved deep into the world he gained knowledge of their hatred towards him and that triggered the anger. The fact that he gets trapped in the tree shows that the knowledge he gained on this day was forever trapped in him and he was never truly able to remember. He is surrounded by men who act as the true animals killing themselves over “justice and honor”. These ideas flooding his mind lead to chaos and he acts out, this cycle is what makes him stand out as a person. I actually respect Grendel because he is simply acting as himself while struggling to find himself at the same time. 

DH timed writing blog

I would like to blog about the last timed writing I did on the play Dolls House by Henrik Ibsen. It was successfully written and surprisingly earned a high grade. I found the grade deserving and learned a lot from my teachers’ comments. She stated concerns about my connections, transitions, tense of verbs, and support.

First, I need to work on connections because I would draw in characters relevant to my quote, but I realize now that I got off topic several times. Having read the play thoroughly it was hard not to draw in facts from other areas of the play, but I need to work on my focus. Due to the fact that this time I had a strong thesis I was able to control my argument and lead it to the quotes that expressed my interpretation of Ibsen’s theme “the entrapment of woman and the need for individual freedom is exemplified through the symbolism of doors”.

Next, this also shows my trouble with support for my claim. In a few areas she noted where I had the quote, but needed more support. The main contributor to the absence of a conclusion and the lack of support is time. Focusing on the essay I would lose track of time and have to make up for it by leaving support out. I think this is a simple mistake that overtime will get more natural because I would have done over six timed writings by the end of the year. I truly believe you get with a lot of practice.

Then, my teacher circled my errors in the verb tense criteria. I tend to write in present tense because I am currently doing the writing rather than past tense forgetting that I have read the book already and need to reflect on it. It is hard to relate the time relationships among my ideas. Also the passive tense is very common and I tend to move from tense to tense when writing during this rush. I have to work on the style of my writing just as Ibsen did. By shaping it up my teacher will be able to understand my personality and voice; it also shows how I view my audience. My writing shows my goal whether it is to entertain, impress, or persuade, so it is vital that I enhance me style.

Lastly, I falter in transitions. This time not all my transitions lacked originality and didn't blend, but I still struggle on how to make it more engrossing for the reader. I didn't use the standard first, second, third way, but tried to direct it back to the play; however, it often sounded too broad and redundant. I need to focus on the texts and not say what should have happened, but only what did happen.

In conclusion, I can only get better at writing and I appreciate the instructions and support of my teacher as I strive to do so. The time frame is the only hindrance to my full potential, but with her guidance I believe I will be better prepared for the AP Exam and further classes in life.

Ch 8 analysis blog

All The Kings Men Ch. 8 Blog

As I was finishing up the novel “All the Kings Men”, I saw several important quotes that helped tie the novel up as a whole.  The first quote I would like to discuss is, “I had often envied people. People I had seen driving along straight furrow across a black field in April, or Adam Stanton. I had, at moments, envied the people who seemed to have knowledge” is found on 471. This quote is used to show how Jack thinks. As a reader we see that Jack is not simply a lazy man, but instead he is a jealous man. It is not the tangible things he envies, but the facts that others close to him or that he works for actually have goals they wish to attain. Even Anne his life-long love sees his lack of true pure ambition. Though the Work of Willie has been to win over the ignorant country people at least he had determination and built one good thing, the Willie Stark Hospital. The fact that he envies people who know their purpose in life shows that he truly wishes he had one as so this explains his need for a Great Sleep. Knowledge is power is repeated as well that explains the desperation that we as a people feel towards needing to be all knowing. The world is seen as a place where man cannot truly be blamed for their wrong doings because they make it up as they go along; therefore, “If there was a debt, it was, perhaps due to me, from me…My only crime was being a man and living in the world of men, and you don’t have to do special penance for that. That crime and the penance, in that case, coincide perfectly. They are identical.” (500). This shows that Jack’s character, like so many people in today’s society, will not acknowledge the fact that they are wrong in committing any crime; moreover, believing the world has done crimes against them in how it functions day to day that it is inevitable that man become corrupt. We as a people owe ourselves a lot because we allow society to dictate how we operate and have turned us against one another. That is the true crime. This novel warns against the ideals of collectivism and how easily even the purest of characters such as Adam can turn into something evil. When we establish these two ideas of good and bad this novel forces us to then readjust the definitions we may have gathered in the past. Due to the fact that everyone in the novel is connected somehow the evil that one man does affects al the other characters. By the ignorant townspeople praising Willie as a god he becomes conceited and evil, he poisoned his colleagues and Jack, Jacks change from innocence to corrupt repels Anne. Anne falls for Willie he seems to be everything Jack isn’t and this affair is what angers Adam to kill him. All are affected by politics consciously and unconsciously and that is the downfall of this town. 

Significant Quotes in ATKM

Significant Quotes In ATKM

The chapter I would love to discuss is chapter 7. The topic knowledge vs. ignorance is demonstrated in several quotes throughout this novel. It is apparent that Jack is knowledgeable, but wants to be in this sea of ignorance, “They say the drowning man relives his life as he drowns. Well, I was not drowning in water, but brass days and black velvet nights. It took me seventy-eight hours to drown. For my body to sink down to the very bottom of West and lie in the motionless ooze of History, naked on a hotel bed in Long Beach, California (Warren 408).” This is significant because it shows that not only does he escape from reality to through sleep, but also wants to go through water. The drowning and arises acts as a rebirth of a new person. He goes west after becoming knowledgeable of Anne’s’ discretions and is reared “motionless”. It is a state of lifelessness and this connects to 226 where life is described as motion toward knowledge. The fact that Jack only wakes up in order to have the chance to go asleep shows, the non-motion or ignorance he wishes to live his life through. I do  not  understand  why he does not stop living in this lie. He in fact is very knowing of the evil and wrong doings that his boss commits. This could be what is leading to his “black velvet nights”. I believe he knows it’s his fault why Anne was driven to Willie and wants to drown away in regret. This novel constantly makes you fight with if the characters innate characteristics are what is leading to their downfall or if the relationships they maintain are the reasons they fail in attempts to have secure relations.

 The theme that humans are made to be a part of collectivism in order to succeed is presented. Jacks satirical character is a good example, “So maybe she was up in the room trying to discover what her new self was, for when you get in love you are made all over again. The person who loves you has picked you out of a great mass of uncreated clay…and the poor lumpish clay which is you wants to find out what it has been made into…” (423-24).This is significant because it shows how everyone as a whole has to be created by someone else. When you are apart the world grinds, which shows that it does not even make sense to you when you are alone. This can be seen as dependencies not even truly love. I believe that is why Anne attaches herself to the boss. She desperately wants to be attached to a man that does good for the sick not Jack a man with no aspirations. It is almost more of a fantasy and ignorant statement that Jack uses here. This chapter explained that Jack wants to be loved, but his innate ways repulse even Anne. I now can understand Jacks character and can pity him. Similar to Willie I believe he wants to do good, but something is in him prevents this.

ap lit hairball rough draft blog

A.P. Lit Rough Draft Blog

For my rough draft I wrote about the short story “Hairball”. I was instantly attracted to this one in particular because it was written by a strong feminist. Honestly I was confident in which quotes to use because they were the strongest in capturing the essence of “Hairball”. To me it was used to show how symbolism portrays warnings to individuals. I thought my thesis was strong enough, but after reading the comments I can see where I got off topic due to the vagueness of it. Having a stronger thesis would have made it easier to form more logical topic sentences and form connections back to the bigger picture, the “so-what.” It’s hard to make transitions between the paragraphs because I do not want to be repetitive, but simply achieve clarity. The transitions taught to me in my past were the basic ones “first, second, third, in conclusion..”. In order to change my outlook on this I need to research better ways of blending and unifying my ideas. If I had a strong grasp of the basic grammatical structures then that would to a more thorough development of my writing. I do have a lot of corrections to make, so I can’t wait to sit down with you and discuss some concerns.

As I read the comments on my rough draft I simply nodded my head. I feel as though I am constantly in the 5- range because I lack a stronger thesis. I agree that I have insightful observations, but I cannot seem to be consistent in evaluating them. The fact that I start off with a vague thesis throws me off for the direction of my essay. To make it strong it needs to be an effective one that answers the “so what”, evokes argument, and leads to the organization of my paper. I do not understand how to make this thesis more specific, that it what I need help on the most. The next aspect that I learned I could get help in is the unification of my paper. I find it difficult to blend the quotes properly. When I attempted this it was seen as awkward, so I realize that it is a weak area for me. In order for it to blend properly the quote has to fit “naturally” into the paragraph. Lastly, I struggled with rudimentary spelling errors and grammatical infractions. It did not seem to be slowing me down as I sat down to prepare this essay, but I would have thought some of these errors would have been caught by a peer-facilitator. For this very reason I do not particularly like them. I need to focus on the paper itself through striving to avoid passive voice, the use of slang, and watch for the use of “I”. Overall my writing is somewhat of a skeleton, but I understand and will strive to achieve a more clear and in depth analytically developed essay for the final draft.

knowledge vs ignorance blog

In the novel “All The Kings Men” by Robert Penn Warren, he uses the contrast between knowledge and ignorance to highlight the inner turmoil of the main characters Jack and Willie.

Ironically knowledge is seen as a bad thing to have. Jack is often in the shadows not wanting to be a part of politics like Dumonde says he is. He even advises Willie on how to win over the ignorant townspeople, “they don’t believe in God, so it’s up to you to give ‘em something to stir ‘em up and make ‘em feel alive again. Just for half and hour. That’s what they come for. Tell ‘em anything. But for sweet Jesus sake don’t try to improve their minds” (108). It is ironic that in order to run smoothly over the country townspeople the leader must withhold knowledge from them. Looking at why they don’t respond to the facts, shows that they need a sense of connection to the leader rather than simply spewing facts. It should be of interest that Willie takes the initiative to find out how to correctly help people of all classes, but Jacks wisdom allows him to see through to the core of the individuals. Having everyone generalized as needing to feel alive through the lies told to them presents this contrast of whether knowledge is then good or evil. The fact that Willie becomes reminiscent shows that though seen as ignorant, by being used by Saddie and others, he is truly intellectual and knows how to win an election. Politicians should be informing the public through taking the knowledge of the the government and simplifying it for everyone, but instead he has to focus on simply winning an election. Also, with the knowledge that he has been used he then uses everyone in his sight, even black mailing a judge. Knowledge in this novel leads to hurt therefore making it a bad thing.

With knowledge of life comes a greater understanding of the world around you. The fact that life is seen as a symbol of death is alarming. Jack’s character having his life constantly interrupted by men coming and leaving has molded him into the sarcastic character that he is. Earlier he says the townspeople don’t believe in God but here he is almost preaching, “For life is motion toward knowledge. If god is complete knowledge then he is complete Non-Motion, which is Non-Life, which is Death. Therefore, if there is such as God of Fullness of Being, we would worship Death, the Father” (226). Knowledge is supposed to give life purpose and even bring excitement to the dullest of matters. Having death worshipped is unusual because people strive to thank God for life and fear death. It’s a paradox of faith based religion as it incorporates the amalgamation of knowledge. Faith is the opposite of knowledge because one doesn’t need hard paper evidence; they simply need a supreme ignoramus lord over all. This is the character of Willie. Ignorance is needed to thrive in this community in order to function which is the reason for both Jack and Willies downfall.