English Language Arts 12 October 20-21, 2014

Bellringer  In your NOTEBOOK, write today’s date and answer the following question. (2pt.) 1. List 2 goals you have for this class 2 nd quarter. 2. List 2 goals you have for school for 2 nd quarter.

Reading Workshop minutes  Remember: You need to be reading. Not talking, doing homework, goofing off, sleeping, distracting others, etc. You may listen to music as long as it is kept quiet and kept in your pocket.  You receive 5 pts. for being present and on-task during Reading Workshop.

Reading Response  Reading responses are going to be done differently this quarter. Follow along as I go through the packet.  On your packet, write the due date in the space provided.  Due Date: December 15 (red) 16 (white)  Remember:  You receive 5pts. alone just for completing the front page.  YOU MUST COMPLETE THE PACKET OVER ONE BOOK.  Quotes MUST be properly cited (quotation marks, author’s last name, page number)  Explanation of plot must be detailed and specific.  Explanation of how prompt must pertain to the quote written.

Quiz 8  Go to the following link and complete quiz 8 over Grendel. Even if you haven’t read chapter 8, you need to complete the quiz. goo.gl/Tmwz7H

Class Discussion-Chapter 7  This chapter is the first shift in the style of writing in how Grendel tells the story. The text suddenly features:  Italics, parentheses brackets, and bulleted lists.  The change of style parallels Grendel’s own growth as a storyteller. As he matures, his language becomes more expansive. Grendel becomes a Shaper himself.  Grendel is also becoming more aware of the power of literature and stories.  In chapter 7 Grendel now knows he is bound to his identity as a monster. “What will we call the Hrothgar-Wrecker when Hrothgar is wrecked?”  Grendel now realizes that by destroying the Danes, he will no longer have a purpose in life and will, therefore, also be destroying himself.

Class Discussion-Chapter 7  The change in writing, especially the parentheses show Grendel’s divided mental state.  Grendel has not fully accepted the dragon’s nihilistic view. He is struggling to justify the nihilism against the emotional response he feels toward Wealtheow.  Grendel is aware of his divided state and writes in parentheticals to undermine his own words. I changed my mind. It would be meaningless, killing her. As meaningless as letting her live. It would be, for me, mere pointless pleasure, an illusion of order for this one frail, foolish, flicker-flash in the long dull fall of eternity.  Earlier Grendel says killing the queen would have meaning: it would be “the ultimate act of nihilism.”

Class Discussion-Chapter 7  It would kill all the love and selflessness she inspires, but would also mean that Grendel finally chose the dragon’s beliefs which he is not quite ready to do.  Wealtheow is the opposite of the dragon (mirrors the theme of the chapter-Libra, the Scales.)  She is the only significant female in the Danish community.  Grendel sees her less as an single woman and more as what women are as a whole. She is the ideal woman.  She performs all the duties a proper queen should. She is lovely, mannerly, and brings balance to the community and never expresses her needs.  She is never shown with other females.  She creates peace and harmony among the thanes and is named a “servant of common good” to honor her duty.

Class Discussion-Chapter 7  Grendel finds this ideal woman to be just a seductive as the Danes do, but his illusion is broken when he storms the hall and exposes her sex organs.  To Grendel, who hates women, Wealtheow’s genitals are proof of the ugliness that lies within all women.  By concentrating on the terrible image, Grendel finds he can now resist Wealtheow’s temptations.

Class Discussion-Chapter 8  The arrival of Hrothulf, Hrothgar’s nephew, a new era of political consciousness begins.  Hrothulf notices the divide (economically and politically) between the peasants and the aristocrats and is determine to fix the divide.  He feels all social classes should benefit from the economy, not just the aristocrats.  To Hrothulf, the Scylding government has been built on violence and continues to be violent.  Like Grendel, Hrothulf is sad, alone, and frustrated with the state of the world around him. Both try to come up with ways to fix or explain what they see as problems in their own worlds.

Class Discussion-Chapter 8  Red Horse’s relationship with Hrothulf mirrors the dragon’s relationship with Grendel.  Both mentors share certain characteristics, such as a mocking tone and an air of superiority.  Both enjoy proving their students’ views and beliefs as stupid.  Grendel has a general feeling the world is meaningless. The dragon says yes and therefore there is no point in anything.  Hrothulf feels the government is unjust and violent. Red Horse says yes, but then again, all governments are unjust, so there’s no point in having a government.  The both oppose the systems.  Red Horse is an anarchist-a person who believes all governments are violent and are therefore inherently wrong and pointless.

Class Discussion-Chapter 8  Hrothulf is probably the one who resembles Grendel the most.  This may be why he is the only one in the story to make a speech.  Up until this point, Grendel’s story has mainly been from his own observation of humans and a record of their interactions.  In chapter 7, Grendel became more inventive with his style and form of storytelling. Now he is doing it again.  Grendel gives us a first glimpse of other characters’ inner thoughts that we didn’t know he had access to. In other chapters he just watches the characters. There is evidence that all the human dialogue in this chapter has been created by Grendel himself.

Class Discussion-Chapter 8  Hrothulf speaking to himself in the yard and in the woods are written in verse. We may infer that Grendel has shaped Hrothulf’s thoughts into verse when he wrote the chapter since it is unlikely Hrothulf actually speaks in poetry form.  Grendel supports this inference by writing the chapter like one would a play and Hrothulf, Red Horse, and Wealtheow are the characters.  This is Grendel’s way of structuring his story imaginatively, turning it into a work of art instead of a recording of history. This is making Grendel more and more like the Shaper.

Writing Workshop  Work on the your biography outline. At this point you need to be at least starting your first biography and beginning your second outline.  Remember:  I need to see your outline before you begin writing the biography.  When you have completed your first biography, come up and get an outline packet and begin your second biography outline.  All biographies should be written on the same document but their own pages.