Ez+Grendel




 * Grendel **

Biography: During the 1970s best-selling author John Gardner was at the center of American literature, and his sometimes controversial writings created debate on what fiction is and what it ought to be. Gardner was the best selling author of a half-dozen novels including //Nickel Mountain, Grendel, The Sunlight Dialogues and October Light// -- as well as a scholar of Medieval literature, and a teacher and critic of contemporary fiction. He died in 1982 in a motorcycle accident. **http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1691510**



Plot: The story //Grendel// dates back to the times of heros and monsters. This story was based on the book and movie Beowulf, but is retold in Grendel's point of view. Grendel was a bear-like creature who humans saw as a monster. The story was 12 chapters and each chapter was t represent the 12 year war that happened with Grendel and the humans. As a young monster, Grendel discovered a lake filled with red snakes that led him to the world of humans. Since that time he used the portal to study humans. As time passed he was furious on how humans used violence to solve all of their problems. He started killing and destroying humans and their homes.

The king of Danes, Hrothgar and where the wars took place, was said to be an all powerful man because of his weapons. Grendel thought that he may be powerful, but was still human. A blind man named Sharper twisted Grendel's heart and changed him. Sharper spoke that Hrothgar was a great king because of his actions and how he defends his kingdom. "I fled, ridiculous hairy creature torn apart by poetry—crawling, whimpering, streaming tears, across the world like a two-headed beast, like mixed-up lamb and kid at the tail of a baffled, indifferent ewe—and I gnashed my teeth and clutched the sides of my head as if to heal the split, but I couldn't" (Gardner). Because of this, Grendel went to speak to a dragon. This is not only the times of heros and monsters, but of mythical creatures as well. The dragon told Grendel that men were fake and their system of life was untrue.

Because of this Grendel became enraged and started to kill more and more men. Grendel soon finds out that he is impervious to weapons. He continued to kill and kill, but one day a man showed him that humans can be different. The man's name was Unferth and he showed Grendel what heroism was. Unferth followed Grendel all the way back to his home and was almost dead. He showed Grendel that people would die to become a hero for their peers and that if he had to die, then Grendel should kill him. Grendel again had a twisted heart. His mind was changing about how bad humans were. As Unferth fainted, Grendel picked him up and took him back to Hrothgar's village.

As the story goes on, Beowulf, a hero and warrior came to place. He came to get rid of Grendel because of all the stories he heard. Grendel heard about Beowulf's coming and was happy, but still wanted him to die. Grendel decided that he would attack Beowulf and his warriors while they were asleep, but what he didn't know was that Beowulf was ready.

To know what happened in the end of this exciting book, check out Grendel in the library. You will be amazed as how this bear-like creature lives his life in his own words.

Critism : //Grendel// was a very hard book to understand. At first, I didn't even know what the first chapter was about until I asked Mrs. Werner about the movie Beowulf. She said that if I watched the movie Beowulf or watched the movie Grendel and Beowulf, I would understand it more. After watching the movies I defintitely knew what was going on in the book. To me if you don't know Beowulf, then you can not read this story until then. The book wll be way to confusing for anyone to understand without the knownledge of Beowulf. Literary Information : Gardner, John. __Grendel__. USA: Knopf, 12 August 1971.

Ideas: I have an idea that the book //Grendel// was an on the outsanding books for college bounds because it challenges the reader. It makes the reader to continue to read forward and know how Grendel's life was like. Overall it make the reader think about what story the book is trying to tell. I would recommend this book to everyone who likes mythical and monsterious books filled with adventure. I believe that this book is outstanding because of its literacy. The way the book makes you picture the whole story is unimaginable. It is almost as if you are in the book. Just look at the picture beloe.