Grendel and digging deeper…

This month, the book club will be reading Grendel by John Gardner.  As I do every month, I will be providing some guiding questions to help promote discussion and evaluation of the book.

Based on the classic, Beowulf, this book explorers the plight of the monster Grendel and his ultimate face-off with Beowulf.  This title appears not only as a recommended read for high school students, but also in the curriculums of many English/Communication Arts classrooms.

Having said all this, I wanted to provide our bloggers with the flip side.  Grendel is a highly challenged book and ranked #40 on the list of the top 50 most challenged books between 1990-1992. (http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~spok/most-banned.html)

Therefore, in addition to our regular postings, I am asking our book bloggers to do a little research.  Explain the difference between a challenged and a banned book.  Find out why this book has been challenged at various school or public libraries.  Share with the group your findings and sources (just the link is fine), as well as your opinion on whether the concerns are valid or not.  Please note:  you are not required to read every book.  If you choose not to read this book for personal reasons or beliefs, it is okay.  However, I recommend to be seen as credible in regards to your  opinions of the book that you should have read it in its entirety. 

Remember:  all opinions are valid and welcome on this blog.  Please remember your blogging ettiquette and consider others before posting or responding.

If you have questions, email or stop by to see me.

Guiding questions are below.

Mrs. Yellman

Grendel Guiding Questions

Remember the questions are a guide.  You are not required to answer all of them, but only to use them to generate your own opinions and evaluation of the book.

Chapter 1:

-What does Grendel’s relationship with nature reveal about his own personality?

-How does Grendel describe himself? What does this say about his self-image?

-Describe Grendel’s mother and his relationship with her.

-What does Grendel mean when he speaks of “playing cat and mouse with the universe”?

-From Grendel’s point of view, what is man?

Chapter 2:

-What does Grendel reveal about his childhood?

-How does Grendel’s first emeting with men affect him?  Why does he fear them more than he fears the bull that attacked him?

Chapter 3:

-Why does Grendel fear Hrothgar?  What does he learn about Hrothgar and his theories?

-Why is Grendel so impressed and affected by the Shaper?  Why does he fear the Shaper?

-What happens as the chapter closes?

Chapter 4:

-Why does Hrothgar build Heorot, the hall of the Hart?

-How does the story of Cain and Abel affect Grendel?

-What is the “presence” Grendel feels in the darkness?

Chapter5:

-What does the dragon tell Grendel about himself?  How is the dragon different from Grendel and men?

-What is the role of the Shaper according to the dragon?

-How does Grendel “improve” men?

-What is the dragon’s advice to Grendel and ambition?

-How is Grendel “caged in a limited mind”?

Chapter 6:

-Is the dragon’s charm a curse?

-How is Grendel transformed by his first raid on Heorot?

-Why doesn’t Grendel kill Unferth?

-Who or what is the dragon?

Chapter 7:

-What is Grendel’s law?

-What is the parallel between Wealtheow and Grendel’s mother?

-What happened to Unferth?

Chapter 8:

-What threats surround Hrothgar after Hrothulf’s arrival?

-What is Grendel’s theorum and what does it mean?

Chapter 9:

-What is Grendel’s opinion of religion?

-What is significant about Grendel’s encounter with Ork?

-What does Ork say about the nature of Evil?

Chapter 10:

-Why is Grendel frightened and infuriated by the goat?

-How does the Shaper’s death affect Grendel?

-How has Grendel’s relationship with his mother changed?

-Who is the other monster Grendel meets on the moors?

Chapter 11:

-How are Beowulf and Grendel alike?

-How does Grendel divide the world?

-What happens when Unferth challenges Beowulf about Breca?

Chapter 12:

-How and why is Grendel defeated?

-Explain Grendel’s last words: “Poor Grendel’s had an accident…so may you all.”

 

Survey

Your feedback and opinions regarding the book club are truly important to both myself and Mrs. Carney.  As a result, we are needing all book club members to complete an eight question survey regarding the online book club NKC_BookSpace.

To take the survey, please click the link below:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=RCEmhnsfBHWTuMxF7pDffg_3d_3d

Thanks for taking five minutes or so to do this, as we truly appreciate your opinions about the book club.

Mrs. Y