Beowulf as a Hero Lesson

Beowulf as a Hero

Lesson 1 Journal Entry # 1 of

Journal Exercise 1.3A: What makes a hero?

A hero is a person who has courage even though he or she also has fear. It is a mistake to assume that heroes are not afraid. They experience the same range of emotions as everyone else, but they keep on going despite fear, not because they have no fear. One contemporary hero is the Dalai Lama. He has led his people through their exile with grace and determination, despite immense challenges. His very life has been threatened by the oppressive government that wants to squash his nation, but he has been resilient in the face of these threats. He confronts evil with peace and stands up for his fellow Tibetans. For many years now he has been fighting what many consider a losing battle, but he keeps fighting nonetheless.

Lesson 1 Journal Entry # 2 of

Journal Exercise 1.3B: The Epic Hero

Is on a quest

Beowulf is after all the golden treasure promised by the old king Beowulf accepted the gold for After Beowulf kills the monster's mother, he accepts more golden treasure from the Danes and sails home with his men.

Has superior or superhuman strength, intellect and/or courage

The Danes live in fear of Grendel, yet Beowulf was anxious to meet him in battle.

Beowulf is also incredibly powerful, besting Grendel with his bare hands.

Demonstrates bravery through his actions,

Killing the monster that plagued Hrothgar's kingdom.

Reflects the values and culture of the society in which he lives, and Beowulf is a braggart and extremely proud of his actions, a trait valued by his people.

Beowulf is also loyal -- the main reason he traveled across the sea to help King Hrothgar of the Danes was because Hrothgar had saved the life of Beowulf's father years earlier.

Lesson 1 Journal Entry # 3 of 16

Journal Exercise 1.3C: Responding to Beowulf

Images are words that help us see something and often hear it

The first time Grendel is introduced in Beowulf, he is described as "living in darkness" and is said later on to be living in hell on earth. Grendel is an embodiment of evil. He is a monster that relished "savage war" and is described as having "plundering claws." The description of Grendel's lair, where his body was eventually deposited, is of pure darkness.

List three ways that Gardener's depiction of Grendel in the excerpt of Grendel

Grendel is portrayed in mainly physical terms in the original work, but Gardner delves into his psychology and potrays him as being more human. Grendel is isolated and lonely and lives with his mother, who is in her old age and doesn't provide any real company for him. He is the only creature of his kind and has no one who understands him. He wants to be understood, however. His long life becomes a kind of curse because of his sadness. This depiction does evoke sympathy -- it's good to remember there are always two sides to every story and that those we see as evil have their own stories, too.

The Connection "Life in 999: A Grim Struggle" describes daily life in late Anglo-Saxon

Life in 999 moved much slower than life today, and the characters in Beowulf seem to have an endless amount of free time to fight battles and go on their quests, without the many distractions of the fast-moving life that we have today. Forests are mysterious places, and the mysteries of life have not yet been explained. The feudal lords described in the Time article are definitely remiscient of the characters in Beowulf, and the nobility is described as spending their free time fighting battles, a definite parallel to our story.

Lesson 1 Journal Entry # 4 of 16

Journal Exercise: 1.4A: Kennings

Light-of-battle = sword

Fighting-gear/Battle-gear = body armour

Battle-sweat = blood

Sky-candle = sun

Sword-hate = a feud

Modern Kennings: land line, rug rat, boob tube, couch potato, tramp stamp

The Epic of Gilgamesh

Lesson 1 Journal Entry # 5 of 16

Journal Exercise 1.5A: Epic Conventions and Epic Heroes

The story of Gilgamesh is one of the prototypes of the epic poem and fits all of the characteristics of the genre extremely well, the hero Gilgamesh and his best friend Enkidu go on several dangerous quests and incur the wrath of the gods. They defeat monstrous enemies like Humbaba and the Bull of Heaven, which was out to punish Gilgamesh for rejecting Ishtar. Even Enkidu's existence is part of the epic story, as he was created by the gods to distract Gilgamesh from one of his heroic missions, helping the citizens of Uruk. The poem is in narrative form, also a requirement of the epic, and the scale is vast and grand -- Gilgamesh and Enkidu travel far and wide on their adventures.

Lesson 1 Journal Entry # 6 of 16

Journal Exercise 1.5B: Responding to Gilgamesh

In the epic, Gilgamesh and Enkidu eventually become great friends, but it wasn't mean to be that way. Enkidu is a wild man who was raised by animals and is ignorant of all of the rules of human society, until he is with Shamhat. (Enkidu, . . . your mother is a gazelle/and . . . your father who created you, a wild ass./[You were] raised by creatures with tails,/and by the animals of the wilderness, with all its breadth. -- Tablet VIII ) Gilgamesh, by contrast, is from the city and was Bred and raised to be a warrior king. Gilgamesh also desires immortality because of the tragic loss of Enkidu.

Heroic Achilles

Lesson 1 Journal Entry # 7 of 16

Journal Exercise 1.6A: Defining Honor

What do the concepts of honor and personal excellence mean to you?

Honor and personal excellence are the ideal to strive for on everyday life. Good relationships are built on treating other people honorably and striving for personal excellence means never being disappointed in your efforts, regardless of outcome.

How can an ideal of honor make society a better place? Could it also harm society?...

Honor is having integrity in your own actions. Personal excellence is living up to your own best expectations. If one's personal honor is taken too seriously, it can be extremely damaging when that honor is infringed upon. People have been known to do terrible things to other people because they have felt the need to defend their reputation or honor.

Do you agree with Homer? I'd also like you to write down what you think society's

Once you accept the definition of honor as the way in which society views you positively, then it is worth defending, as Homer says. I do agree that it is more honorable to stand up for what you believe in and fight, and possibly die, than to turn away from what you believe in and let others do the fighting for you.

Lesson 1 Journal Entry # 8 of 16

Journal Exercise 1.6B: Responding to Literature

Answer the following questions in your journal. Your answers should be written in paragraph form.

Was Hector doomed by fate? List three different examples of, to, or discussion of fate in the story, and explain what effect they had on the outcome for the character to which they refer.

1. Achilles seems to defy fate in the story, as he is able to destroy Troy before it was fates to be so.

2. Hector's fate is to die at the hands of Achilles, and he is indeed doomed to do so. He accepted his fate and did not beg Achilles to spare his life when the time of his defeat came.

3. Zeus cannot bear to decide the fate of Hector and lets the other gods do it -- Athena reminds Zeus that no decision needs to be made; Hector's fate is sealed.

List three examples of hubris, or extreme pride, you see in the story or you hear about happening before the story begins.

1. Achilles believing he is invincible, only to be hobbled by the shot to his namesake tendon.

2. Agamemnon's hubris was that he thought he could change by his own actions. He did not accept limits to his power and the people of Troy suffered greatly in his pursuit of it.

3. Hector's hubris, described by Priam, is that he will think that all the marks and scars of battle will be viewed as marks of glory.

Achilles and Hector are rival warriors, but are they both heroes? Discuss your opinion

Both Achilles and Hector fit the traditional role of hero. Achilles is given a choice of whether or not to fight in the war and become a great hero or stay home and die at an old age. He choose to fight in the war, and although he wants to help his people, he is also extremely selfish.

Hector, however, is definitely the more heroic of the two characters. He faces his fear and his own cowardice and shows many human flaws. Those with issues to overcome are always more heroic. Hector also becomes a hero when, after at first running from Achilles, he eventually stands up to him and dies a heroic death.

The Iliad is primarily a war epic. In your opinion, is the Iliad condemnation of the it could easily be argued that the Illiad glorifies war, as much of the poem is spent portraying the warriors as brave and courageous, even as they go on killing rampages. Warriors are describes as "masters of the battle cry" and "warlike" in glowing epithets. When Achilles originally refused to fight, he is roundly condemned for it by all of the other Greek characters. Even the weapons of war, such as Achilles impenetrable shield, are glorified. But homer is more complicated than simple -- war also brings death, which he describes in great detail. Hector's death is perhaps the most graphic of all, and this depiction of the fallen hero can easily be read as a condemnation of war.

The Legend of Arthur

Lesson 1 Journal Entry # 9 of 16

Journal Exercise 1.7A: Honor and Loyalty

I believe that Arthur is extremely honorable. He acts with honesty and integrity and is loyal to those who are also loyal to him. He enforces the rules of chivalry for the knights of the round table. He is an active military hero -- he doesn't just send his soldiers out to do fighting for him, and when he dies, his death is as honorable as he is.

Write a brief paragraph explaining the importance or unimportance of loyalty in being honorable.

Loyalty is extremely important in being an honorable person. Being honorable means that you live your life to the highest standards of integrity, and being loyal to your friends definitely falls into that category. Being disloyal would likely mean doing things that are not honorable: lying, treating others badly, committing betrayal. it's difficult to imagine honor without loyalty.

Lesson 1 Journal Entry # 10 of 16

Journal Exercise 1.7B: Combining Sentences

[I do not have access to the text or know what the practice activity is.]

Complete the Practice Activity on page 202 of your text. After completing this activity, read over your Essay Assessment or another journal activity you've completed.

Identify three passages that could be improved by combining two or more sentences with coordinating or subordinating conjunctions. Below the practice activity in your journal, write the original passages and the revised sentences you've created.

Be sure to indicate which journal or writing assignment they came from.

The Canterbury Tales

Lesson 1 Journal Entry # 11 of 16

Journal Exercise 1.9A: Irony in the Canterbury Tales

Three ironic characters:

The Prioress: The prioress has redefined her own role in the world. She imitates the behavior of the women at the royal court, and she adds to her religious garb with a courtly love motto, Love conquers all," hardly appropriate for a woman of the church. She is realistic but not religious.

The Monk: The narrator portrays the Monk with a vivid image of his bridle jingling "as loud and clear as a chapel bell." The irony here is that the monk should be at the chapel itself, not on his horse. He lives like an aristocrat, not a monk, and he partakes in the sport of the upper class; hunting.

The Friar: Like the monk, the Friar is very bad at doing his original job. He disdains the very people who need his help, and he gives out penance with the intention of scamming people out of their money. He is lecherous and greedy -- hardly what a friar should be!

Lesson 1 Journal Entry # 12 of 16

Journal Exercise 1.9B: What Women Want

Why do women get married? They are perfectly capable of living life on their own, making a good living, and even having children, all without a husband. But there are tings that come with marriage that you cannot get as a single woman, besides the tax breaks. Lifelong commitment, a cohesive family unit, companionship, and the legal standing to deal with a spouse's medical and financial needs. Security is certainly an issue for most people who get married, not just women.

Lesson 1 Journal Entry # 13 of 16

Journal Exercise1.9C: The Wife of Bath

What opinions does the Wife of Bath express in her tale?

The wife believes that women cannot be discreet or keep a secret. She retells the story of Midas as proof of this opinion. She also prays that all women obtain husbands who are meek, young and fresh in bed, and that the women outline their husbands.

What do all her opinions -- and her tale itself-tell you about her character? You may want to look at your reading notes to answer this question.

The Wife of bath is a complicated woman, and she wants to be recognized for her inner beauty and vigor. She would like men to know what women truly want so that she can be happy again. The Wife is idealistic -- she believes people can change.