Have a great holiday!

Lord of the Flies

We have been reading through chapter 1 in class and working on the following worksheet:

Lord of the Flies
Chapter 1-20pts

1. (8) What might the boys be thinking considering the prospect of “No Grownups!” -note the exclamation point. Explain

2. (9) What are Piggy’s (fat boy) weaknesses? Strengths?

3. (11) What is most important to Piggy? Why?

4. (13) What was Ralph’s father? Why is this significant?

5. (13/14) Comment on the fact that they swim. What is their attitude or demeanor? Should it be this way? Should this be what they are doing? Explain.

6. (16) What is the conch for? What does it symbolize?

7. (17) What does it say about the characters that they derive enjoyment from the fart noises made with the shell?

8. (19) What does the laughter signify?

9. (21) Why does Ralph betray Piggy? Is it a betrayal?

10. (22) Why does Jack think he should be chief?

11. (24/25) What is the significance of each reference to Piggy’s glasses on these pages?

12. (31) What does Jack fail to do? Why? What is so important about “next time”?

LOTF

Today we began taking background notes on Lord of the Flies. I have uploaded the powerpoint.

Lord of the Flies-Intro

Today we began the following intro assignment for LOTF:

Lord of the Flies
Introductory group assignment
Due 12/14

Due to circumstances beyond your control, the civilized world as we know it has come to an end. You are a few of the survivors, which equal 0.1% of the current population of Earth. You must figure out how to survive. Food stores are running out and you have no electrical power. How will you rebuild?

Your group must come up with rules for running the show. You are in charge. You must decide all of the following:
• Laws
• Ethics (Moral philosophy)
• Punishments
• Hierarchy (Who is in charge? What titles will leaders have?)
• Define acceptable behavior
• Proper social norms
• Rituals/Religion
• Names for everything
• Acquisition of basic survival needs
• Defense
• Logo (symbol representing your society)

You must then develop a presentation clearly depicting your society. Your goal is not necessarily to create the ideal society for everyone, but the society you would like.

You will also give a printout of your rules to another group. When you receive another group’s rules you must examine it for weaknesses. When each group has completed their presentation, you will have an opportunity to expose the weaknesses through questions and hypothetical scenarios. The more weaknesses you expose, the more points you will earn.

Essay

Pd 2-Students were given the following essay schedule:

Essay Schedule

Due Date: Tuesday 12/13

Class periods devoted to essay: 12/5-12/8 *12/6-12/9 for pds 8 & 9

You are responsible for completing the following tasks during the 4 day period we work on this assignment in class:

• Thesis statement
• Outline-including examples/quotes
• Rough draft
• Begin typing final (Thursday will be a lab day)

Sample Outline

Thesis Statement-full sentence

I.
a. present (example 1)
b. support (quote/paraphrase)
c. explain (tie to thesis)


Be sure to accurately cite each quote. You must use both the book and the film. For the book you will use the title because there is no known author; for the movie you will use the director, Mctiernan.


*I will be providing individual assistance as needed. I will deduct points for a lack of productivity.


Pds 8 & 9 finished the film and will begin the essay tomorrow.

We are currently viewing the film The 13th Warrior. Students will begin working on the following assignment next week in class:

Beowulf and The13th Warrior
50pts

The 13th Warrior is the screenplay for the book Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton. This book is based off the remaining fragments of an actual report written in the 10th century by Ahmad Ibn Fadlan of his adventures with a company of Norsemen. Director John McTiernan effectively uses the elements of an epic and weaves in connections to Beowulf. You are to make note of these connections and take notes as we view this film. If you miss a day, please be responsible to either schedule a time with me, or rent it out on your own. Yes, you will be writing a paper, focusing on one of the following:

• The traits of the epic hero-compare/contrast the book to the movie
• The blending of paganism and a new, foreign religion (Christianity in Beowulf; Islam in The 13th Warrior)

You must include specific references to both the poem and the film, citing your sources appropriately. Cite the line number(s) for Beowulf, and the director’s last name for The 13th Warrior (McTiernan). Be sure to have at least three textual references for the epic poem, and at least one for the film. It is not necessary to use any other outside sources. You are to analyze the works and use mature insight.

Keep in mind the following “rules” of a formal paper:
• Third person point of view (no I, no you)
• Present verb tense
• 12 point font, double-spaced


Check out these characters’ names from the film – sound familiar?

Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan (Antonio Banderas) Buliwyf Herger (joyous)
Edgtho (silent) Roneth Ragnar (sullen) Helfdane (fat)
Rethel (archer) Hatlaf (boy) Halga (wise) Skeld (superstitious)
Weath (musician) Hyglak (quarrelsome)
King Hrothgar, Queen Weilew, Wigliff (king’s son), Olga

Beowulf

I have been out ill for the past 2 days but left the following work for my students:

Pd 2

Monday-
Read chapter 40 and pgs 116-117 and respond to the following:

What will happen as a result of Beowulf’s death? What does this say about him as a hero?

What decision is made about the treasure? Do you agree with this? How are the values of different cultures mixed in this instance?

Tuesday-Students viewed an animated short film of Beowulf and compared it to the graphic novel.

Pds 8 & 9.
Monday
Beowulf
Chapters 31-35

Chapter 31
How long has it been since Beowulf killed Grendel’s mother? What is the change in setting?

Chapter 32
What awakens the dragon? What is the man’s motivation for what he does when he finds the dragon?

Chapter 33
What does the dragon destroy that is sacred to Beowulf? What does the dragon’s anger represent?

Chapter 34
What realization does Beowulf have?

Chapter 35
What are the similarities and differences between the way Beowulf prepares for this battle and the way he prepared for the previous battles? What 2 things fail him in this battle?


Tuesday-
Beowulf dies after battling the dragon.
• What does Beowulf need while fighting the dragon, that he has not needed before?
• How will Beowulf’s death impact the Geats?
Use specific quotes to support your responses.

Beowulf

Pd 2-we discussed the expectations of sequels. We then began reading Beowulf chapters 18-20. Students were given the following questions:

Beowulf
Chapters 18-20

As you read, respond to the following in complete sentences.

Chapter 18
List and explain several examples of Anglo-Saxon values in this chapter. Write down the specific lines that exemplify this.

Chapter 19
Who is Beowulf’s next opponent? Explain how Christian values relate to this new villain. What does she take with her? (2 things)

Chapter 20
List the descriptive words used to describe the villain and her home. (at least 5)
Explain how this relates to descriptions of Grendel.


Pds 8 & 9 received their open-ended responses, and began reading Beowulf chapters 7-9. They were given the following questions:

Beowulf
Chapters 7-9
20pts

Read chapters 7-9 and respond to the following in complete sentences.

In these chapters Unferth challenges Beowulf. What are his arguments against Beowulf? Do you see any validity in them? How does Beowulf put him in his place? Who would you side with if this were a modern argument and why?

Beowulf

Students voted on their favorite projects. They will be posted soon. We have begun reading Beowulf and will be working on open-ended questions frequently.

Beowulf

Today we began taking notes on the historical background of the epic Beowulf.

I have included the powerpoint on this blog.

Audacity

Students are working on the following project in class:

Macbeth
Audacity Project
20pts

Using Audacity, you and your group must complete a dramatic reading of one of the speeches/scenes from Macbeth. Your grade will be based on how well your reading conveys the tone of the scene. This includes tone of voice and background effects. You must also include appropriate background music. Each member of the group must speak. You have total creative control.


Essays are due Friday for pds 2 & 9 and are due Thursday for pd 8.

Macbeth Essay

Pd 2-Worked on their essay in class for the last time. Essays are due (typed) on Wednesday of next week.

Pds 8 & 9-worked on outlines and rough drafts. Both classes will have 1 more class period to work on it. Essays will be due (typed) on Thursday of next week.

Pd 2-continued working on the essay

Pd 8-began outlining the essay

Pd 9-finished the film


During my absence (Friday and Monday) I left 2 HSPA tasks for the students to complete. I will be able to gauge their strengths and weaknesses regarding the reading comprehension section.

Pd 2-Continued working on rough draft

Pd 8-finished the film and were introduced to the thesis statement

Pd 9-finished reading the play and began the graphic novel.

Pd 2 is working on the essay assignment while pds 8 & 9 are finishing up the play.


Essay-100pts Choose ONE of the following:
1. The three witches told Macbeth his fate. Did the events in Macbeth’s life occur because of the witches’ prophecy or because of the choices he made? Is it a bit of both? What caused Macbeth to fall: Fate or Free Will?

2. How does Macbeth apply to us today? Well, first of all, the play is a good story. It talks about ambition, murders, spirits, witches, and other entertaining subjects. But the reason Macbeth is still loved today is that its themes are still applicable to us. Many people can identify with Macbeth. Analyze the play’s relevance to us using a modern story, movie, or a historic figure as a comparison. You must fully explore how the themes/characters apply.

3. Evaluate Macbeth: was he a good or bad person? Support your answer. This is an in-depth analysis of one of the most complex characters ever written.

4. Evaluate Lady Macbeth: was she completely evil? Support your answer. This is an in-depth analysis of one of the most complex characters ever written.

5. Some believe that Lady Macbeth acted as a man (according to what she thought a man was). Support or refute this statement with examples.

6. Describe and evaluate the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Use specific examples. How does their relationship impact the story?

7. Blood plays a role in the play. Find three examples where blood is mentioned and analyze them. Why is blood such and important motif?

8. Explain the line "Fair is foul, and foul is fair" that the witches chant. What role does paradox play in Macbeth?

Pd 2-Finished the film. I also introduced the "general to specific" method of writing an introductory paragraph.

Pd 8-We read Act V, scenes 1-4.

Pd 9-We read Act IV, scene 3.

Macbeth

Pd 2-Began viewing the final act of the film.

Pd 8-Read Act IV in the graphic novel and began viewing the film.

Pd 9-Read Act IV scene 2 and most of scene 3.

Macbeth

Pd 2-Finished reading the play

Pd 8-Finished reading Act IV

Pd 9-We read Act IV scene 1.

Macbeth

Pd 2-We viewed Act IV and read Act V scenes 1-2

Pd 8-We finished viewing Act III and read Act IV scene 1

Pd 9-We read Act III in the graphic novel and began viewing the film.

Macbeth

Pd 2-Finished reading act IV

Pd 8-We read Act III in the graphic novel and began the film.

Pd 9-We finished reading Act III.

Macbeth

Pd 2-finished reading Act IV scenes 1-2

Pd 8-finished reading Act III

Pd 9-we read Act III, scenes 1-3 and completed the worksheet.

Pd 2-Today we viewed Act III of the film.

Pd 8-Today we finished reading Act III, scene 3 and completed the worksheet.

Pd 9-Today we continued with the film and began reading Act III, scene 1 while working on the worksheet.

Macbeth

Pd 2-Today we read Act III scenes 4-6

Pd 8-Today we finished viewing Act II of the film and began reading Act III.
Students began working on the following handout:

Macbeth
Act III
Scenes 1-3

Use the book and respond to each of the following in complete sentences.

Scene 1
Pg 81
Provide a line that shows Banquo’s suspicion of Macbeth.

Pg 91
Provide a line that explains that Macbeth wants Fleance dead.

Scene 2
Pg 95
Explain the line “Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck, till thou applaud the deed”

Scene 3
Pg 97
Explain the line “we have lost best half of our affair”

Pd 9-Today we finished reading Act II, read the graphic novel version, and began viewing the film. Students also have to complete the following assignment for homework:

Macbeth hallucinates and sees a gory dagger leading him to Duncan’s bedchamber.
• Why does Macbeth believe he is seeing the dagger?
• Will this be Macbeth’s final hallucination? Why or why not?
Use the text to provide support.

Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.
Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible
To feeling as to sight? or art thou but
A dagger of the mind, a false creation,
Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?
I see thee yet, in form as palpable
As this which now I draw.
Thou marshall'st me the way that I was going;
And such an instrument I was to use.
Mine eyes are made the fools o' the other senses,
Or else worth all the rest; I see thee still,
And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood,
Which was not so before. There's no such thing:
It is the bloody business which informs
Thus to mine eyes. Now o'er the one halfworld
Nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse
The curtain'd sleep; witchcraft celebrates
Pale Hecate's offerings, and wither'd murder,
Alarum'd by his sentinel, the wolf,
Whose howl's his watch, thus with his stealthy pace.
With Tarquin's ravishing strides, towards his design
Moves like a ghost. Thou sure and firm-set earth,
Hear not my steps, which way they walk, for fear
Thy very stones prate of my whereabout,
And take the present horror from the time,
Which now suits with it. Whiles I threat, he lives:
Words to the heat of deeds too cold breath gives.
[A bell rings]
I go, and it is done; the bell invites me.
Hear it not, Duncan; for it is a knell
That summons thee to heaven or to hell.

Pd 2-Read Act III scenes 1-3 and completed the following handout:

Macbeth
Act III
Scenes 1-3

Use the book and respond to each of the following in complete sentences.

Scene 1
Pg 81
Provide a line that shows Banquo’s suspicion of Macbeth.

Pg 91
Provide a line that explains that Macbeth wants Fleance dead.

Scene 2
Pg 95
Explain the line “Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck, till thou applaud the deed”

Scene 3
Pg 97
Explain the line “we have lost best half of our affair”


Pd 8-Read Act II in the graphic novel and viewed the film.

Pd 9-Read Act II scene 3 and began working on the following handout:

Macbeth
Act II
Scenes 3 & 4

Use the book to answer the following questions:

Pg 65
Lines 61-69
Explain what Lennox is telling Macbeth. What is the significance?

pg 67
Provide an example of irony.

Pgs 69-71
Lines 127-137
What is Macbeth’s excuse for killing the servants? What is his real reason?

Pg 75
Provide a line explaining why Malcolm and Donalbain are suspects in their father’s murder.

Pd 2-Read Act II in the graphic novel and viewed the film.

Pd 8-Read Act II scenes 3 & 4 and completed the following handout:
Macbeth
Act II
Scenes 3 & 4

Use the book to answer the following questions:

Pg 65
Lines 61-69
Explain what Lennox is telling Macbeth. What is the significance?

pg 67
Provide an example of irony.

Pgs 69-71
Lines 127-137
What is Macbeth’s excuse for killing the servants? What is his real reason?

Pg 75
Provide a line explaining why Malcolm and Donalbain are suspects in their father’s murder.


Pd 9-I returned their open-ended responses and required them to revise for full credit.

Macbeth thinks about what the witches have told him.

• How is he responding emotionally to what he has learned?
• Do you think he will leave it to “chance”?

Use the passage to provide support for your responses



This supernatural soliciting
Cannot be ill, cannot be good: if ill,
Why hath it given me earnest of success,
Commencing in a truth? I am thane of Cawdor:
If good, why do I yield to that suggestion
Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair
And make my seated heart knock at my ribs,
Against the use of nature? Present fears
Are less than horrible imaginings:
My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical,
Shakes so my single state of man that function
Is smother'd in surmise, and nothing is
But what is not.

If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me,
Without my stir.

Macbeth

Pd 2-Today we read finished Act II and completed the following worksheet:

Macbeth
Act II
Scenes 3 & 4

Use the book to answer the following questions:

Pg 65
Lines 61-69
Explain what Lennox is telling Macbeth. What is the significance?

pg 67
Provide an example of irony.

Pgs 69-71
Lines 127-137
What is Macbeth’s excuse for killing the servants? What is his real reason?

Pg 75
Provide a line explaining why Malcolm and Donalbain are suspects in their father’s murder.

Pd 8-We read Act II scenes 1-2 from the graphic novel. Students were given the following worksheet for HW:

Macbeth hallucinates and sees a gory dagger leading him to Duncan’s bedchamber.
• Why does Macbeth believe he is seeing the dagger?
• Will this be Macbeth’s final hallucination? Why or why not?
Use the text to provide support.

Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.
Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible
To feeling as to sight? or art thou but
A dagger of the mind, a false creation,
Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?
I see thee yet, in form as palpable
As this which now I draw.
Thou marshall'st me the way that I was going;
And such an instrument I was to use.
Mine eyes are made the fools o' the other senses,
Or else worth all the rest; I see thee still,
And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood,
Which was not so before. There's no such thing:
It is the bloody business which informs
Thus to mine eyes. Now o'er the one halfworld
Nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse
The curtain'd sleep; witchcraft celebrates
Pale Hecate's offerings, and wither'd murder,
Alarum'd by his sentinel, the wolf,
Whose howl's his watch, thus with his stealthy pace.
With Tarquin's ravishing strides, towards his design
Moves like a ghost. Thou sure and firm-set earth,
Hear not my steps, which way they walk, for fear
Thy very stones prate of my whereabout,
And take the present horror from the time,
Which now suits with it. Whiles I threat, he lives:
Words to the heat of deeds too cold breath gives.
[A bell rings]
I go, and it is done; the bell invites me.
Hear it not, Duncan; for it is a knell
That summons thee to heaven or to hell.

Pd 9-Did not meet due to the pep rally.

Macbeth

Today we read Act II, scenes 1-2 and completed the handout from yesterday. Also, students are receiving their open-ended responses and are being given an opportunity to revise for full credit. A second open-ended task will follow.

Macbeth

Students received the following handout which will be completed in class tomorrow:

Macbeth
Act II
scenes 1-2
20pts

Use the book to answer the following questions in complete sentences.

Pgs 51-53
Why does Macbeth have the vision of the dagger? What does it represent? Provide a line supporting your response.



Pg 59
Compare Macbeth’s response to the murder to Lady Macbeth’s. Do they react differently? Explain.

What does Macbeth mean when he says “Will all great Neptune’s oceans wash this blood clean from my hand…”?

What does Lady Macbeth mean when she says “a little water clears us of this deed”?

Macbeth

Today we began viewing the film version of Macbeth. We will begin reading act II tomorrow.

Macbeth Act I, scenes 6 & 7

Today we read scene 6 and most of scene 7 while completing the following assignment:

Macbeth
Act I, scene 7
20pts


This is another scene featuring interaction between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. For each of the items below you must find a line that represents it.

Lines 1-28
Macbeth contemplates the reasons why it is a terrible thing to kill Duncan.


Lines 39-49
Lady Macbeth mocks Macbeth for being afraid and weak.


Lines 53-67
-Lady Macbeth mocks her husband again.
-She explains how determined she is. (what is her example?)

Lines 69-82
Lady Macbeth reassures him that everything will go smoothly as long as he is dedicated to it.


We will finish this worksheet tomorrow.

Macbeth

Today we finished reading Act I, scene 5 and completed the handout the students received yesterday. We also looked at the graphic novel adaptation.

Macbeth Act I, scenes 4-5

Today we read through scene 4 and began working on the following assignment while reading scene 5:

Macbeth
Act I, scene 5
20pts

This is the first scene in which Lady Macbeth appears. In your notes it says that she is overly ambitious. For each of the items below you must find a line that represents it.


Lines 15-31
Lady Macbeth is worried that Macbeth lacks the ruthlessness to kill Duncan.


Lines 45-54
Lady Macbeth talks herself into being as cold and cruel as possible.


Lines 70-82
Lady Macbeth convinces Macbeth to put on a friendly exterior concealing his evil intentions.

Macbeth Open-ended question

Today we finished reading act 1, scene 3 and completed the following assignment in class:

Macbeth thinks about what the witches have told him.

• How is he responding emotionally to what he has learned?
• Do you think he will leave it to “chance”?

Use the passage to provide support for your responses



This supernatural soliciting
Cannot be ill, cannot be good: if ill,
Why hath it given me earnest of success,
Commencing in a truth? I am thane of Cawdor:
If good, why do I yield to that suggestion
Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair
And make my seated heart knock at my ribs,
Against the use of nature? Present fears
Are less than horrible imaginings:
My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical,
Shakes so my single state of man that function
Is smother'd in surmise, and nothing is
But what is not.

If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me,
Without my stir.


Students who did not finish in class are to hand it in at the beginning of class on Thursday.

Macbeth Audacity Project

Students are currently working on recreating the first scene of Macbeth using the audio remixing software, Audacity. Each class is responsible, as a group, for all creative decisions. The projects will be posted here. Visitors to this blog will be able to vote for their favorite project.

Welcome

I hope everyone had an enjoyable summer. We will begin the year with Shakespeare's Macbeth. All HW and projects will be posted here.

Have a great summer!

Enjoy your time off this summer and be safe. I hope to see all of you next year when you are seniors.

Have a great summer!

Final Draft

Final Drafts with works cited are due Wednesday 6/8.

Rough Draft

We will spend the entire week working on the rough draft which is due on Friday. Students received the following handout:

Library Days
Rough Draft
5/23-5/27

Task 3

Rough draft:

During these periods in the library you should (a) begin writing your rough draft (b) familiarize yourself with Noodletools.


1. Use your sources and outline to begin writing a rough draft. It does not have to be perfect. Use your outline as a guide. Insert quotes where necessary.

2. Use your list of sources to complete your works cited in Noodletools.

3. You should have an opening paragraph and first argument completed by the end of the period

4. Ask me questions! Let me look at your work and help you.


Remember!
• Rough draft is due Friday 5/27

Rough Draft

We will spend the entire week working on the rough draft which is due on Friday.

Research

We are in the library on 5/11-5/13 working on the research paper.
Students received the following handout:

Library Days
4-6
(List of Sources)

Task 2

List of sources:

During this period in the library you should:
(a) look through the many available sources to see which ones you will use for your paper

(b) use the paper you received to complete your list of sources

(c) ask me questions about your sources if you have doubts about them

(d) make copies, print, or sign your sources out

(e) take notes/highlight the useful information in your sources


Remember!
• List of sources is due 5/13

Frankenstein chapter 24

Students are to complete the following assignment for HW:

Chapter 24

Read the final passage from Frankenstein and respond to the following in several well-organized paragraphs:

• Write an argument both in defense of and in opposition to Frankenstein and the monster’s actions. Provide textual support.
• How would you describe the tone of the ending? Who is the hero and who is the villain of this story? Explain your responses.
• What relevance does this story hold today?


"That he should live to be an instrument of mischief disturbs me; in other respects, this hour, when I momentarily expect my release, is the only happy one which I have enjoyed for several years. The forms of the beloved dead flit before me, and I hasten to their arms. Farewell, Walton! Seek happiness in tranquility and avoid ambition, even if it be only the apparently innocent one of distinguishing yourself in science and discoveries. Yet why do I say this? I have myself been blasted in these hopes, yet another may succeed.
His voice became fainter as he spoke, and at length, exhausted by his effort, he sank into silence. About half an hour afterwards he attempted again to speak but was unable; he pressed my hand feebly, and his eyes closed for ever, while the irradiation of a gentle smile passed away from his lips.
Margaret, what comment can I make on the untimely extinction of this glorious spirit? What can I say that will enable you to understand the depth of my sorrow? All that I should express would be inadequate and feeble. My tears flow; my mind is overshadowed by a cloud of disappointment. But I journey towards England, and I may there find consolation.
I am interrupted. What do these sounds portend? It is midnight; the breeze blows fairly, and the watch on deck scarcely stir. Again there is a sound as of a human voice, but hoarser; it comes from the cabin where the remains of Frankenstein still lie. I must arise and examine. Good night, my sister.
Great God! what a scene has just taken place! I am yet dizzy with the remembrance of it. I hardly know whether I shall have the power to detail it; yet the tale which I have recorded would be incomplete without this final and wonderful catastrophe.
I entered the cabin where lay the remains of my ill-fated and able friend. Over him hung a form which I cannot find words to describe -- gigantic in stature, yet uncouth and distorted in its proportions. As he hung over the coffin, his face was concealed by long locks of ragged hair; but one vast hand was extended, in colour and apparent texture like that of a mummy. When he heard the sound of my approach, he ceased to utter exclamations of grief and horror and sprung towards the window. Never did I behold a vision so horrible as his face, of such loathsome yet appalling hideousness. I shut my eyes involuntarily and endeavored to recollect what were my duties with regard to this destroyer. I called on him to stay.
He paused, looking on me with wonder, and again turning towards the lifeless form of his creator, he seemed to forget my presence, and every feature and gesture seemed instigated by the wildest rage of some uncontrollable passion.
That is also my victim! he exclaimed. In his murder my crimes are consummated; the miserable series of my being is wound to its close! Oh, Frankenstein! Generous and self-devoted being! What does it avail that I now ask thee to pardon me? I, who irretrievably destroyed thee by destroying all thou lovedst. Alas! He is cold, he cannot answer me.
His voice seemed suffocated, and my first impulses, which had suggested to me the duty of obeying the dying request of my friend in destroying his enemy, were now suspended by a mixture of curiosity and compassion. I approached this tremendous being; I dared not again raise my eyes to his face, there was something so scaring and unearthly in his ugliness. I attempted to speak, but the words died away on my lips. The monster continued to utter wild and incoherent self-reproaches. At length I gathered resolution to address him in a pause of the tempest of his passion.
Your repentance, I said, is now superfluous. If you had listened to the voice of conscience and heeded the stings of remorse before you had urged your diabolical vengeance to this extremity, Frankenstein would yet have lived.
And do you dream? said the demon. Do you think that I was then dead to agony and remorse? He, he continued, pointing to the corpse, he suffered not in the consummation of the deed. Oh! Not the ten-thousandth portion of the anguish that was mine during the lingering detail of its execution. A frightful selfishness hurried me on, while my heart was poisoned with remorse. Think you that the groans of Clerval were music to my ears? My heart was fashioned to be susceptible of love and sympathy, and when wrenched by misery to vice and hatred, it did not endure the violence of the change without torture such as you cannot even imagine.
"After the murder of Clerval I returned to Switzerland, heart-broken and overcome. I pitied Frankenstein; my pity amounted to horror; I abhorred myself. But when I discovered that he, the author at once of my existence and of its unspeakable torments, dared to hope for happiness, that while he accumulated wretchedness and despair upon me he sought his own enjoyment in feelings and passions from the indulgence of which I was forever barred, then impotent envy and bitter indignation filled me with an insatiable thirst for vengeance. I recollected my threat and resolved that it should be accomplished. I knew that I was preparing for myself a deadly torture, but I was the slave, not the master, of an impulse which I detested yet could not disobey. Yet when she died! Nay, then I was not miserable. I had cast off all feeling, subdued all anguish, to riot in the excess of my despair. Evil thenceforth became my good. Urged thus far, I had no choice but to adapt my nature to an element which I had willingly chosen. The completion of my demoniacal design became an insatiable passion. And now it is ended; there is my last victim!
I was at first touched by the expressions of his misery; yet, when I called to mind what Frankenstein had said of his powers of eloquence and persuasion, and when I again cast my eyes on the lifeless form of my friend, indignation was rekindled within me.
Wretch! I said. It is well that you come here to whine over the desolation that you have made. You throw a torch into a pile of buildings, and when they are consumed, you sit among the ruins and lament the fall. Hypocritical fiend! If he whom you mourn still lived, still would he be the object, again would he become the prey, of your accursed vengeance. It is not pity that you feel; you lament only because the victim of your malignity as withdrawn from your power.
Oh, it is not thus -- not thus, interrupted the being. Yet such must be the impression conveyed to you by what appears to be the purport of my actions. Yet I seek not a fellow feeling in my misery. No sympathy may I ever find. When I first sought it, it was the love of virtue, the feelings of happiness and affection with which my whole being overflowed, that I wished to be participated. But now that virtue has become to me a shadow, and that happiness and affection are turned into bitter and loathing despair, in what should I seek for sympathy? I am content to suffer alone while my sufferings shall endure; when I die, I am well satisfied that abhorrence and opprobrium should load my memory. Once my fancy was soothed with dreams of virtue, of fame, and of enjoyment. Once I falsely hoped to meet with beings who, pardoning my outward form, would love me for the excellent qualities which I was capable of unfolding. I was nourished with high thoughts of honour and devotion. But now crime has degraded me beneath the meanest animal. No guilt, no mischief, no malignity, no misery, can be found comparable to mine. When I run over the frightful catalogue of my sins, I cannot believe that I am the same creature whose thoughts were once filled with sublime and transcendent visions of the beauty and the majesty of goodness. But it is even so; the fallen angel becomes a malignant devil. Yet even that enemy of God and man had friends and associates in his desolation; I am alone.
"You, who call Frankenstein your friend, seem to have a knowledge of my crimes and his misfortunes. But in the detail which he gave you of them he could not sum up the hours and months of misery which I endured wasting in impotent passions. For while I destroyed his hopes, I did not satisfy my own desires. They were forever ardent and craving; still I desired love and fellowship, and I was still spurned. Was there no injustice in this? Am I to be thought the only criminal, when all humankind sinned against me? Why do you not hate Felix, who drove his friend from his door with contumely? Why do you not execrate the rustic who sought to destroy the saviour of his child? Nay, these are virtuous and immaculate beings! I, the miserable and the abandoned, am an abortion, to be spurned at, and kicked, and trampled on. Even now my blood boils at the recollection of this injustice.
"But it is true that I am a wretch. I have murdered the lovely and the helpless; I have strangled the innocent as they slept and grasped to death his throat who never injured me or any other living thing. I have devoted my creator, the select specimen of all that is worthy of love and admiration among men, to misery; I have pursued him even to that irremediable ruin. There he lies, white and cold in death. You hate me, but your abhorrence cannot equal that with which I regard myself. I look on the hands which executed the deed; I think on the heart in which the imagination of it was conceived and long for the moment when these hands will meet my eyes, when that imagination will haunt my thoughts no more.
"Fear not that I shall be the instrument of future mischief. My work is nearly complete. Neither yours nor any man's death is needed to consummate the series of my being and accomplish that which must be done, but it requires my own. Do not think that I shall be slow to perform this sacrifice. I shall quit your vessel on the ice raft which brought me thither and shall seek the most northern extremity of the globe; I shall collect my funeral pile and consume to ashes this miserable frame, that its remains may afford no light to any curious and unhallowed wretch who would create such another as I have been. I shall die. I shall no longer feel the agonies which now consume me or be the prey of feelings unsatisfied, yet unquenched. He is dead who called me into being; and when I shall be no more, the very remembrance of us both will speedily vanish. I shall no longer see the sun or stars or feel the winds play on my cheeks. Light, feeling, and sense will pass away; and in this condition must I find my happiness. Some years ago, when the images which this world affords first opened upon me, when I felt the cheering warmth of summer and heard the rustling of the leaves and the warbling of the birds, and these were all to me, I should have wept to die; now it is my only consolation. Polluted by crimes and torn by the bitterest remorse, where can I find rest but in death?
"Farewell! I leave you, and in you the last of humankind whom these eyes will ever behold. Farewell, Frankenstein! If thou wert yet alive and yet cherished a desire of revenge against me, it would be better satiated in my life than in my destruction. But it was not so; thou didst seek my extinction, that I might not cause greater wretchedness; and if yet, in some mode unknown to me, thou hadst not ceased to think and feel, thou wouldst not desire against me a vengeance greater than that which I feel. Blasted as thou wert, my agony was still superior to thine, for the bitter sting of remorse will not cease to rankle in my wounds until death shall close them for ever.
But soon, he cried with sad and solemn enthusiasm, I shall die, and what I now feel be no longer felt. Soon these burning miseries will be extinct. I shall ascend my funeral pile triumphantly and exult in the agony of the torturing flames. The light of that conflagration will fade away; my ashes will be swept into the sea by the winds. My spirit will sleep in peace, or if it thinks, it will not surely think thus. Farewell.
He sprang from the cabin window as he said this, upon the ice raft which lay close to the vessel. He was soon borne away by the waves and lost in darkness and distance.

We are working on writing a thesis statement while looking through resources in the library. We are scheduled for the library on 5/4,5/5, & 5/6.

Research Paper

Students received the following assignment which requires a parent signature:

Literary Research Paper


Throughout the year we have read a variety of interesting works. Each work contains many different themes, ideas, and questions that can be analyzed further outside of the work. Over the next 5 weeks you will put together a research paper based on one of the works we have studied this year. We will spend several days each week devoting our time to the research and writing process. The days we spend in class will be used for the current work we are analyzing.

You are to use the time given you to research a concept from the work of your choice, formulate a thesis, gather sources to support it, and craft a thoughtful argument proving your thesis.

The paper will be broken up into several parts. The requirements are as follows:

Thesis statement 10pts Due 5/6
List of sources
(at least 4) 10pts Due 5/13
Outline 10pts Due 5/20
Rough Draft
(4-6 pages) 20pts Due 5/27

Final Draft:
Typed
Times New Roman
Font 12
Double Spaced
4-6 pages
MLA citations for all sources
All sources quoted at least once
No 1st person
100pts Due 6/8

Works Cited Page
Typed
Correct MLA format
Attached to final copy
At least 4 sources
50pts Due 6/8


Total 200pts




This grade will account for approximately ½ of your 4th marking period grade. You must follow the requirements EXACTLY. A late paper will be accepted for ½ credit, NO EXCEPTIONS! If you are absent the day the paper is due you will receive ½ credit.
Emailing your paper is NOT ACCEPTABLE.

All sources must be acceptable. NO SPARKNOTES! Scholarly articles, criticisms, and journals only.
Use your time in the library wisely. It is not social hour. If you are not working, you will be sent out. It is up to you to make the most of it. I will be available for help and/or questions. Do not come to me the week the paper is due and tell me you don’t understand what we are supposed to be doing.

Students who do not return this paper with a signature will not receive credit for any of the assignments. You will only earn credit after you have turned in this paper with a signature.

*As it is stated in the 11B course outline, found at http://hpregional.org, “Students will be required to write a scholarly, literature-based research paper.” This means you will NOT be cleared for 12th grade without completing this assignment.


If you understand these expectations, please sign where indicated.


Student____________________________________



Parent/Guardian________________________________________





Works to choose from:
• Beowulf
• Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
• Macbeth
• Lord of the Flies
• Frankenstein

Frankenstein

Today we began the following assignment which we will finish in class on Monday:

Chapter 10

Read the passage from Frankenstein and respond to the following in several well-organized paragraphs:

• Explain how the setting adds to the tone of the scene. Support your response with specific examples from the text.
• How is each character feeling towards the other? Provide specific support.
• Explain the significance of the line “I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed.”
• The monster says “Shall I not then hate them who abhor me?” Do you sympathize with him? Why?
• Does Victor owe the monster happiness? Why?

It was nearly noon when I arrived at the top of the ascent. For some time I sat upon the rock that overlooks the sea of ice. A mist covered both that and the surrounding mountains. Presently a breeze dissipated the cloud, and I descended upon the glacier. The surface is very uneven, rising like the waves of a troubled sea, descending low, and interspersed by rifts that sink deep. The field of ice is almost a league in width, but I spent nearly two hours in crossing it. The opposite mountain is a bare perpendicular rock. From the side where I now stood Montanvert was exactly opposite, at the distance of a league; and above it rose Mont Blanc, in awful majesty. I remained in a recess of the rock, gazing on this wonderful and stupendous scene. The sea, or rather the vast river of ice, wound among its dependent mountains, whose aerial summits hung over its recesses. Their icy and glittering peaks shone in the sunlight over the clouds. My heart, which was before sorrowful, now swelled with something like joy; I exclaimed,
Wandering spirits, if indeed ye wander, and do not rest in your narrow beds, allow me this faint happiness, or take me, as your companion, away from the joys of life.
As I said this I suddenly beheld the figure of a man, at some distance, advancing towards me with superhuman speed. He bounded over the crevices in the ice, among which I had walked with caution; his stature, also, as he approached, seemed to exceed that of man. I was troubled; a mist came over my eyes, and I felt a faintness seize me; but I was quickly restored by the cold gale of the mountains. I perceived, as the shape came nearer (sight tremendous and abhorred!) that it was the wretch whom I had created. I trembled with rage and horror, resolving to wait his approach and then close with him in mortal combat. He approached; his countenance bespoke bitter anguish, combined with disdain and malignity, while its unearthly ugliness rendered it almost too horrible for human eyes. But I scarcely observed this; rage and hatred had at first deprived me of utterance, and I recovered only to overwhelm him with words expressive of furious detestation and contempt.
Devil, I exclaimed, do you dare approach me? And do not you fear the fierce vengeance of my arm wreaked on your miserable head? Begone, vile insect! Or rather, stay, that I may trample you to dust! And, oh! That I could, with the extinction of your miserable existence, restore those victims whom you have so diabolically murdered!
I expected this reception, said the demon. All men hate the wretched; how, then, must I be hated, who am miserable beyond all living things! Yet you, my creator, detest and spurn me, thy creature, to whom thou art bound by ties only dissoluble by the annihilation of one of us. You purpose to kill me. How dare you sport thus with life? Do your duty towards me, and I will do mine towards you and the rest of mankind. If you will comply with my conditions, I will leave them and you at peace; but if you refuse, I will glut the maw of death, until it be satiated with the blood of your remaining friends.

Abhorred monster! Fiend that thou art! The tortures of hell are too mild a vengeance for thy crimes. Wretched devil! You reproach me with your creation; come on, then, that I may extinguish the spark which I so negligently bestowed.
My rage was without bounds; I sprang on him, impelled by all the feelings which can arm one being against the existence of another.
He easily eluded me and said, Be calm! I entreat you to hear me before you give vent to your hatred on my devoted head. Have I not suffered enough, that you seek to increase my misery? Life, although it may only be an accumulation of anguish, is dear to me, and I will defend it. Remember, thou hast made me more powerful than thyself; my height is superior to thine, my joints more supple. But I will not be tempted to set myself in opposition to thee. I am thy creature, and I will be even mild and docile to my natural lord and king if thou wilt also perform thy part, the which thou owest me. Oh, Frankenstein, be not equitable to every other and trample upon me alone, to whom thy justice, and even thy clemency and affection, is most due. Remember that I am thy creature; I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed. Everywhere I see bliss, from which I alone am irrevocably excluded. I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend. Make me happy, and I shall again be virtuous.
Begone! I will not hear you. There can be no community between you and me; we are enemies. Begone, or let us try our strength in a fight, in which one must fall.
How can I move thee? Will no entreaties cause thee to turn a favourable eye upon thy creature, who implores thy goodness and compassion? Believe me, Frankenstein, I was benevolent; my soul glowed with love and humanity; but am I not alone, miserably alone? You, my creator, abhor me; what hope can I gather from your fellow creatures, who owe me nothing? They spurn and hate me. The desert mountains and dreary glaciers are my refuge. I have wandered here many days; the caves of ice, which I only do not fear, are a dwelling to me, and the only one which man does not grudge. These bleak skies I hail, for they are kinder to me than your fellow beings. If the multitude of mankind knew of my existence, they would do as you do, and arm themselves for my destruction. Shall I not then hate them who abhor me? I will keep no terms with my enemies. I am miserable, and they shall share my wretchedness. Yet it is in your power to recompense me, and deliver them from an evil which it only remains for you to make so great, that not only you and your family, but thousands of others, shall be swallowed up in the whirlwinds of its rage. Let your compassion be moved, and do not disdain me. Listen to my tale; when you have heard that, abandon or commiserate me, as you shall judge that I deserve. But hear me. The guilty are allowed, by human laws, bloody as they are, to speak in their own defence before they are condemned. Listen to me, Frankenstein. You accuse me of murder, and yet you would, with a satisfied conscience, destroy your own creature. Oh, praise the eternal justice of man! Yet I ask you not to spare me; listen to me, and then, if you can, and if you will, destroy the work of your hands.
Why do you call to my remembrance, I rejoined, circumstances of which I shudder to reflect, that I have been the miserable origin and author? Cursed be the day, abhorred devil, in which you first saw light! Cursed (although I curse myself) be the hands that formed you! You have made me wretched beyond expression. You have left me no power to consider whether I am just to you or not. Begone! Relieve me from the sight of your detested form.
Thus I relieve thee, my creator,he said, and placed his hated hands before my eyes, which I flung from me with violence; thus I take from thee a sight which you abhor. Still thou canst listen to me and grant me thy compassion. By the virtues that I once possessed, I demand this from you. Hear my tale; it is long and strange, and the temperature of this place is not fitting to your fine sensations; come to the hut upon the mountain. The sun is yet high in the heavens; before it descends to hide itself behind your snowy precipices and illuminate another world, you will have heard my story and can decide. On you it rests whether I quit forever the neighbourhood of man and lead a harmless life, or become the scourge of your fellow creatures and the author of your own speedy ruin.
As he said this he led the way across the ice; I followed. My heart was full, and I did not answer him, but as I proceeded, I weighed the various arguments that he had used and determined at least to listen to his tale. I was partly urged by curiosity, and compassion confirmed my resolution. I had hitherto supposed him to be the murderer of my brother, and I eagerly sought a confirmation or denial of this opinion. For the first time, also, I felt what the duties of a creator towards his creature were, and that I ought to render him happy before I complained of his wickedness. These motives urged me to comply with his demand. We crossed the ice, therefore, and ascended the opposite rock. The air was cold, and the rain again began to descend; we entered the hut, the fiend with an air of exultation, I with a heavy heart and depressed spirits. But I consented to listen, and seating myself by the fire which my odious companion had lighted, he thus began his tale.

Frankenstein

Today we completed the following assignment:

Chapter 5
Read the passage from Frankenstein and respond to the following in several well-organized paragraphs:

This passage describes the birth of the creature and Victor’s response to his success.
• List at least 5 descriptions of the creature
• Explain the foreshadowing and symbolism of Victor’s dream.
• Why does Victor abandon his creation? How have the creation and Victor changed now that it has been given life?
• How does the setting add to the atmosphere? What descriptive words are used to make up the setting?
It was on a dreary night of November that I beheld the accomplishment of my toils. With an anxiety that almost amounted to agony, I collected the instruments of life around me, that I might infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing that lay at my feet. It was already one in the morning; the rain pattered dismally against the panes, and my candle was nearly burnt out, when, by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs.
How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe, or how delineate the wretch whom with such infinite pains and care I had endeavoured to form? His limbs were in proportion, and I had selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful! Great God! His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun-white sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled complexion and straight black lips.
The different accidents of life are not so changeable as the feelings of human nature. I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body. For this I had deprived myself of rest and health. I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart. Unable to endure the aspect of the being I had created, I rushed out of the room and continued a long time traversing my bedchamber, unable to compose my mind to sleep. At length lassitude succeeded to the tumult I had before endured, and I threw myself on the bed in my clothes, endeavouring to seek a few moments of forgetfulness. But it was in vain; I slept, indeed, but I was disturbed by the wildest dreams. I thought I saw Elizabeth, in the bloom of health, walking in the streets of Ingolstadt. Delighted and surprised, I embraced her, but as I imprinted the first kiss on her lips, they became livid with the hue of death; her features appeared to change, and I thought that I held the corpse of my dead mother in my arms; a shroud enveloped her form, and I saw the grave-worms crawling in the folds of the flannel. I started from my sleep with horror; a cold dew covered my forehead, my teeth chattered, and every limb became convulsed; when, by the dim and yellow light of the moon as it forced its way through the window shutters, I beheld the wretch -- the miserable monster whom I had created. He held up the curtain of the bed; and his eyes, if eyes they may be called, were fixed on me. His jaws opened, and he muttered some inarticulate sounds, while a grin wrinkled his cheeks. He might have spoken, but I did not hear; one hand was stretched out, seemingly to detain me, but I escaped and rushed downstairs. I took refuge in the courtyard belonging to the house which I inhabited, where I remained during the rest of the night, walking up and down in the greatest agitation, listening attentively, catching and fearing each sound as if it were to announce the approach of the demoniacal corpse to which I had so miserably given life.
Oh! No mortal could support the horror of that countenance. A mummy again endued with animation could not he so hideous as that wretch. I had gazed on him while unfinished; he was ugly then, but when those muscles and joints were rendered capable of motion, it became a thing such as even Dante could not have conceived.
I passed the night wretchedly. Sometimes my pulse beat so quickly and hardly that I felt the palpitation of every artery; at others, I nearly sank to the ground through languor and extreme weakness. Mingled with this horror, I felt the bitterness of disappointment; dreams that had been my food and pleasant rest for so long a space were now become a hell to me; and the change was so rapid, the overthrow so complete!
Morning, dismal and wet, at length dawned and discovered to my sleepless and aching eyes the church of Ingolstadt, its white steeple and clock, which indicated the sixth hour. The porter opened the gates of the court, which had that night been my asylum, and I issued into the streets, pacing them with quick steps, as if I sought to avoid the wretch whom I feared every turning of the street would present to my view. I did not dare return to the apartment which I inhabited, but felt impelled to hurry on, although drenched by the rain which poured from a black and comfortless sky.

Frankenstein

Students are to complete the chapter 4 assignment for Frankenstein.

Chapter 4
Read the passage from Frankenstein and respond to the following in several well-organized paragraphs:

This passage describes Victor’s secret experiments and how he views his work.
• What does Victor mean when he says “how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow”? Who is he saying this to?
• Why does Victor make a being that is of “gigantic stature”?
• How does Victor view himself in regards to his future creation? Explain the difference between father and creator.
• Describe the setting of his lab. Explain the conflict between human nature and occupation.
I see by your eagerness and the wonder and hope which your eyes express, my friend, that you expect to be informed of the secret with which I am acquainted; that cannot be; listen patiently until the end of my story, and you will easily perceive why I am reserved upon that subject. I will not lead you on, unguarded and ardent as I then was, to your destruction and infallible misery. Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow.
When I found so astonishixng a power placed within my hands, I hesitated a long time concerning the manner in which I should employ it. Although I possessed the capacity of bestowing animation, yet to prepare a frame for the reception of it, with all its intricacies of fibres, muscles, and veins, still remained a work of inconceivable difficulty and labour. I doubted at first whether I should attempt the creation of a being like myself, or one of simpler organization; but my imagination was too much exalted by my first success to permit me to doubt of my ability to give life to an animal as complex and wonderful as man. The materials at present within my command hardly appeared adequate to so arduous an undertaking, but I doubted not that I should ultimately succeed. I prepared myself for a multitude of reverses; my operations might be incessantly baffled, and at last my work be imperfect: yet, when I considered the improvement which every day takes place in science and mechanics, I was encouraged to hope my present attempts would at least lay the foundations of future success. Nor could I consider the magnitude and complexity of my plan as any argument of its impracticability. It was with these feelings that I began the creation of a human being. As the minuteness of the parts formed a great hindrance to my speed, I resolved, contrary to my first intention, to make the being of a gigantic stature, that is to say, about eight feet in height, and proportionably large. After having formed this determination and having spent some months in successfully collecting and arranging my materials, I began.
No one can conceive the variety of feelings which bore me onwards, like a hurricane, in the first enthusiasm of success. Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first break through, and pour a torrent of light into our dark world. A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me. No father could claim the gratitude of his child so completely as I should deserve theirs. Pursuing these reflections, I thought that if I could bestow animation upon lifeless matter, I might in process of time (although I now found it impossible) renew life where death had apparently devoted the body to corruption.
These thoughts supported my spirits, while I pursued my undertaking with unremitting ardour. My cheek had grown pale with study, and my person had become emaciated with confinement. Sometimes, on the very brink of certainty, I failed; yet still I clung to the hope which the next day or the next hour might realize. One secret which I alone possessed was the hope to which I had dedicated myself; and the moon gazed on my midnight labours, while, with unrelaxed and breathless eagerness, I pursued nature to her hiding places. Who shall conceive the horrors of my secret toil as I dabbled among the unhallowed damps of the grave or tortured the living animal to animate the lifeless clay? My limbs now tremble, and my eyes swim with the remembrance; but then a resistless, and almost frantic, impulse, urged me forward; I seemed to have lost all soul or sensation but for this one pursuit. It was indeed but a passing trance, that only made me feel with renewed acuteness so soon as, the unnatural stimulus ceasing to operate, I had returned to my old habits. I collected bones from charnel-houses and disturbed, with profane fingers, the tremendous secrets of the human frame. In a solitary chamber, or rather cell, at the top of the house, and separated from all the other apartments by a gallery and staircase, I kept my workshop of filthy creation; my eyeballs were starting from their sockets in attending to the details of my employment. The dissecting room and the slaughter-house furnished many of my materials; and often did my human nature turn with loathing from my occupation, whilst, still urged on by an eagerness which perpetually increased, I brought my work near to a conclusion.


Here are the assignments from Monday and Tuesday-Chapter 3
Read the passage from Frankenstein and respond to the following in several well-organized paragraphs:

This is another crucial moment in Victor’s life. He is listening to a lecture on science.
• Examine the growth of Victor’s obsession in this passage. Explain how it begins to grow. Provide textual support.
• Explain the line “The labours of men of genius, however erroneously directed, scarcely ever fail in ultimately turning to the solid advantage of mankind.” Do you agree with this? Explain using an example from your experience.
• Explain the connotation of the word “insurrection” and how it adds meaning to the passage.


The ancient teachers of this science, said he, promised impossibilities and performed nothing. The modern masters promise very little; they know that metals cannot be transmuted and that the elixir of life is a chimera. But these philosophers, whose hands seem only made to dabble in dirt, and their eyes to pore over the microscope or crucible, have indeed performed miracles. They penetrate into the recesses of nature and show how she works in her hiding-places. They ascend into the heavens; they have discovered how the blood circulates, and the nature of the air we breathe. They have acquired new and almost unlimited powers; they can command the thunders of heaven, mimic the earthquake, and even mock the invisible world with its own shadows.
Such were the professor's words -- let me say such the words of the fate -- enounced to destroy me. As he went on I felt as if my soul were grappling with a palpable enemy; one by one the various keys were touched which formed the mechanism of my being; chord after chord was sounded, and soon my mind was filled with one thought, one conception, one purpose. So much has been done, exclaimed the soul of Frankenstein -- more, far more, will I achieve; treading in the steps already marked, I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation.
I closed not my eyes that night. My internal being was in a state of insurrection and turmoil; I felt that order would hence arise, but I had no power to produce it. By degrees after the morning's dawn, sleep came. I awoke, and my yesternight's thoughts were as a dream. There only remained a resolution to return to my ancient studies and to devote myself to a science for which I believed myself to have a natural talent. On the same day I paid M. Waldman a visit. His manners in private were even more mild and attractive than in public, for there was a certain dignity in his mien during lecture which in his own house was replaced by the greatest affability and kindness. I gave him pretty nearly the same account of my former pursuits as I had given to his fellow professor. He heard with attention the little narration concerning my studies and smiled at the names of Cornelius Agrippa and Paracelsus, but without the contempt that M. Krempe had exhibited. He said that
These were men to whose indefatigable zeal modern philosophers were indebted for most of the foundations of their knowledge. They had left to us, as an easier task, to give new names and arrange in connected classifications the facts which they in a great degree had been the instruments of bringing to light. The labours of men of genius, however erroneously directed, scarcely ever fail in ultimately turning to the solid advantage of mankind.

I listened to his statement, which was delivered without any presumption or affectation, and then added that his lecture had removed my prejudices against modern chemists; I expressed myself in measured terms, with the modesty and deference due from a youth to his instructor, without letting escape (inexperience in life would have made me ashamed) any of the enthusiasm which stimulated my intended labours. I requested his advice concerning the books I ought to procure.
I am happy, said M. Waldman, to have gained a disciple; and if your application equals your ability, I have no doubt of your success. Chemistry is that branch of natural philosophy in which the greatest improvements have been and may be made; it is on that account that I have made it my peculiar study; but at the same time, I have not neglected the other branches of science. A man would make but a very sorry chemist if he attended to that department of human knowledge alone. If your wish is to become really a man of science and not merely a petty experimentalist,

I should advise you to apply to every branch of natural philosophy, including mathematics.
He then took me into his laboratory and explained to me the uses of his various machines, instructing me as to who I ought to procure and promising me the use of his own when I should have advanced far enough in the science not to derange their mechanism. He also gave me the list of books which I had requested, and I took my leave.
Thus ended a day memorable to me; it decided my future destiny.

Chapter 2
Read the passage from Frankenstein and respond to the following in several well-organized paragraphs:

Victor describes a significant event in his life.
• What revelation about science does Victor have?
• Explain Victor’s “disdain for a would be science which could never even step within the threshold of real knowledge”
• Explain the significance of electricity to Victor. Use examples from the text.
• What role does “destiny” play in this scene?
When I was about fifteen years old we had retired to our house near Belrive, when we witnessed a most violent and terrible thunderstorm. It advanced from behind the mountains of Jura, and the thunder burst at once with frightful loudness from various quarters of the heavens. I remained, while the storm lasted, watching its progress with curiosity and delight. As I stood at the door, on a sudden I beheld a stream of fire issue from an old and beautiful oak which stood about twenty yards from our house; and so soon as the dazzling light vanished, the oak had disappeared, and nothing remained but a blasted stump. When we visited it the next morning, we found the tree shattered in a singular manner. It was not splintered by the shock, but entirely reduced to thin ribbons of wood. I never beheld anything so utterly destroyed.
Before this I was not unacquainted with the more obvious laws of electricity. On this occasion a man of great research in natural philosophy was with us, and excited by this catastrophe, he entered on the explanation of a theory which he had formed on the subject of electricity and galvanism, which was at once new and astonishing to me. All that he said threw greatly into the shade Cornelius Agrippa, Albertus Magnus, and Paracelsus, the lords of my imagination; but by some fatality the overthrow of these men disinclined me to pursue my accustomed studies. It seemed to me as if nothing would or could ever be known. All that had so long engaged my attention suddenly grew despicable. By one of those caprices of the mind which we are perhaps most subject to in early youth, I at once gave up my former occupations, set down natural history and all its progeny as a deformed and abortive creation, and entertained the greatest disdain for a would be science which could never even step within the threshold of real knowledge. In this mood of mind I betook myself to the mathematics and the branches of study appertaining to that science as being built upon secure foundations, and so worthy of my consideration.
Thus strangely are our souls constructed, and by such slight ligaments are we bound to prosperity or ruin. When I look back, it seems to me as if this almost miraculous change of inclination and will was the immediate suggestion of the guardian angel of my life -- the last effort made by the spirit of preservation to avert the storm that was even then banging in the stars and ready to envelop me. Her victory was announced by an unusual tranquility and gladness of soul which followed the relinquishing of my ancient and latterly tormenting studies. It was thus that I was to be taught to associate evil with their prosecution, happiness with their disregard.
It was a strong effort of the spirit of good, but it was ineffectual. Destiny was too potent, and her immutable laws had decreed my utter and terrible destruction.

Frankenstein

Since returning from break we have read passages from chapters 2 & 3 of Frankenstein. The students wrote responses to questions based on each passage. Chapter 2 was due today, chapter 3 is due tomorrow.

Frankenstein

Students should have completed the following assignment:

Chapter 1
Read the passage from Frankenstein and respond to the following in several well-organized paragraphs:

This passage explains how Elizabeth came to live with Victor at an early age.
• Using evidence from the text, explain how Victor’s obsessive tendencies are apparent in this scene.
• Using evidence from the text, explain your take on Victor’s initial impression of Elizabeth. Is this the beginning of a healthy relationship? Why or why not?
• Explain Elizabeth’s role in the family. Use evidence from the text to support your response.
The peasant woman, perceiving that my mother fixed eyes of wonder and admiration on this lovely girl, eagerly communicated her history. She was not her child, but the daughter of a Milanese nobleman. Her mother was a German and had died on giving her birth. The infant had been placed with these good people to nurse: they were better off then. They had not been long married, and their eldest child was but just born. The father of their charge was one of those Italians nursed in the memory of the antique glory of Italy -- one among the schiavi ognor frementi, who exerted himself to obtain the liberty of his country. He became the victim of its weakness. Whether he had died or still lingered in the dungeons of Austria was not known. His property was confiscated; his child became an orphan and a beggar. She continued with her foster parents and bloomed in their rude abode, fairer than a garden rose among dark-leaved brambles.
When my father returned from Milan, he found playing with me in the hall of our villa a child fairer than pictured cherub -- a creature who seemed to shed radiance from her looks and whose form and motions were lighter than the chamois of the hills. The apparition was soon explained. With his permission my mother prevailed on her rustic guardians to yield their charge to her. They were fond of the sweet orphan. Her presence had seemed a blessing to them, but it would be unfair to her to keep her in poverty and want when Providence afforded her such powerful protection. They consulted their village priest, and the result was that Elizabeth Lavenza became the inmate of my parents' house -- my more than sister -- the beautiful and adored companion of all my occupations and my pleasures.
Everyone loved Elizabeth. The passionate and almost reverential attachment with which all regarded her became, while I shared it, my pride and my delight. On the evening previous to her being brought to my home, my mother had said playfully,
I have a pretty present for my Victor -- tomorrow he shall have it.
And when, on the morrow, she presented Elizabeth to me as her promised gift, I, with childish seriousness, interpreted her words literally and looked upon Elizabeth as mine -- mine to protect, love, and cherish. All praises bestowed on her I received as made to a possession of my own. We called each other familiarly by the name of cousin. No word, no expression could body forth the kind of relation in which she stood to me -- my more than sister, since till death she was to be mine only.

research

Students worked in groups on the issues they are reseaching. Tomorrow students will share their research with their classmates and take a quiz.

Students worked on the following assignment in class today:

1. Arthurian legend presents a mythology that contains elements of storytelling that are frequently used today. What makes something a classical work of literature is how it resonates today. Think of a modern story that contains elements of the mythology of Camelot. In several well-organized paragraphs, explain the specific elements that your choice shares with Arthurian Legend. You may use examples from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, or King Arthur.



2. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and King Arthur represent three distinct styles of storytelling. Monty Python and the Holy Grail is an example of satire.

Satire
• the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc
• a literary composition, in verse or prose, in which human folly and vice are held up to scorn, derision, or ridicule.

Think of a modern story that is an example of satire. In several well-organized paragraphs explain how your example fits the criteria of satire and how it compares to Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

King Arthur

I have sent home permission slips for the film King Arthur. We will begin the film on Thursday.

SGGK 4

Today we finished Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Students are to complete the following assignment for HW:



Sir Gawain and the Green Knight-part 4
1. Why is it said that Gawain decides to keep the girdle the lady had given him? Is such a reason truly chivalric?
2. What is Gawain’s final answer to his generous host?
3. Describe the Green Chapel, in your own words.
4. How does Gawain react to the axe’s blow?
5. What is the Green Knight’s response? Is it reasonable?
6. How does Gawain qualify his request to the Knight for a second chance? Who seems more reasonable, then?
7. What is the significance of the words Gawain uses to provoke the Knight to use his axe as promised? Do they have any relationship to the outcome?
8. Why does the Knight excuse Gawain’s enjoyment of the Knight’s wife?
9. What is Gawain’s angry response to the Knight’s story? Do you think it is warranted?
10. Examine the ideal of knighthood as presented in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. In what ways is Gawain an ideal knight, and in what ways does he fail to live up to the ideal? In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, does the poet endorse the chivalric ideal or condemn it?

SGGK 3

Today we finished part 3 of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and completed the chapter questions in class.

SGGK part III

We continued reading part 3 of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

We completed through #6 of the following assignment:

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight1. What is the first animal that the host hunts?

2. What does the lady want to do with Gawain while her husband is out hunting?

3. What do the men exchange when the host returns? Who wins?

4. What is the second animal?

5. What does the lady ask Gawain during her second visit?

6. What do the men exchange? Who wins?

7. What is the third animal?

8. What is the lady’s purpose during her third visit?

9. What gift does she give Gawain? What is the condition?


Also, I handed out instructions for accessing the wiki for the fanfiction assignment (50pts). I would like character names by tomorrow so I can create the pages. There is a link to the wiki, and here are the instructions-

Instructions for wiki access.

Go to-
http://kingarthursrealm.wikispaces.com/

Click-join (upper right corner)
Create an account
-your username should be your character name (no spaces)
-the password is up to you (don’t forget it-this project is worth 50pts)
-your email

Once you are in, navigate back to
http://kingarthursrealm.wikispaces.com/
and click Join this Wiki (on the left side)

You will then be prompted to send a message to the administrator of the wiki (me), requesting membership. Just write your name (your real name).

Once I accept you, you will be able to edit the wiki. I will create pages for all of the characters. You simply click your character’s name and then edit that page only. All edits are recorded.

We continued reading SGGK. Students are to finish the questions for part II for HW.

Pd 1 had the following assignment for hw:

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight-part 1


Sir Gawain takes the Green Knight’s challenge.

• What are Gawain’s reasons for doing this?
• Will he live up to this challenge?
• Would you live up to this challenge? Explain
Use information from the story to support your response.


Pds 4 & 7 continued reading and began working on the following assignment:

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight-Part II

1. When does Gawain leave Arthur's court?

2. What color is Gawain's armor?

3. What appears on the outside of his shield? What appears on the inside? What does the pentangle stand for? What, especially, do the fifth five mean? (In the original, the five are fraunchyse, felawschyp, clannes, cortaysye, and pité.) The author stresses that all of the fives are linked. What happens in such a structure if any one of the elements gives way?

4. What route does Gawain follow? What sorts of adventures does he encounter?

5. The "Christmas Eve" of line 734 is actually the evening of December 23. What does Gawain fear he will miss on December 24? What happens after Gawain's prayer?

6. How is Gawain received in the castle? How does the lord of the castle respond? How would you describe the lord of the castle?

7. How well does Gawain maintain his Christmas Eve fast?

8. What do the castle residents expect once they know it is Gawain? In other words, what is Gawain well-known for?

9. What two women does Gawain meet after evensong? How are they described? How does Gawain behave with the women?

10. Why does Gawain tell the lord he has to leave? What surprising news does the lord have for him? What does Gawain then decide to do?

11. What arrangements does the lord propose for Gawain and himself for the next day? How does Gawain respond?

SGGK

Today pds 4 & 7 finished part I of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and were given the following assignment to complete over the weekend:

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight-part 1


Sir Gawain takes the Green Knight’s challenge.

• What are Gawain’s reasons for doing this?
• Will he live up to this challenge?
• Would you live up to this challenge? Explain
Use information from the story to support your response.

Fanfiction assignment

Student were introduced to their story assignment for Arthurian Legend.

King Arthur

Today students began taking notes on Arthurian Legend. I have posted the PowerPoint.

Expository Essay

Today we practiced prewriting for the expository essay task on the HSPA.

Here are some samples:

Expository Writing Sample Prompts

- Friendship and companionship are important parts of many people’s lives. On the other hand, some people prefer to be “loners” who mostly keep to themselves. Using an example from literature, film, or your own experience, write an essay analyzing whether friendship is an important part of being a well-adjusted human.


- Some people believe that doing what’s best for yourself and minding your own business is the most beneficial way to go through life, while other believe that doing things for others and acting out against injustice is a superior way to live. Write an essay analyzing which of these viewpoints your prefer and use an example from literature, film, or your own experience to help show your point.


- Bill Gates stated, "I think it's fair to say that personal computers have become the most empowering tool we've ever created. They're tools of communication, they're tools of creativity, and they can be shaped by their user." Why might one argue that a machine can be life-changing? Using an example from literature, history, science, or your own experience or observation, write an essay about how a "machine"/"technology" can change your way of life.


- Many people believe that who you are is mostly based on where you come from. Others say that everyone has the freedom to become their own person, no matter their parents, family, or background. Write an expository essay in which you explain and support one of these views. Use an example from literature, history, film, and/or your own experience to support your points.

- Albert Einstein wrote, “If people are good only because they fear punishment and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed.” Some people believe that extrinsic motivation (like punishment or reward) is the most powerful way to motivate people. Others believe that intrinsic rewards (do it b/c you like it or it gives you satisfaction) are much stronger motivational forces. Write an expository essay in which you agree or disagree with Einstein. Use examples from film, literature, or your own experience to support and inform what you say.

Persuasive Essay

Yesterday and today were spent preparing for the persuasive essay task on the HSPA.

Students planned for several essays by writing T-charts. Today students wrote a sample intro and body paragraph for the following task:

HSPA Language Arts Tutorial Cluster 2: Writing to Persuade
Sample Persuasive Writing Prompt C
________________________________________
WRITING SITUATION
A frequently debated issue is whether or not violence in the media including video games, movies, songs, etc. has negative effects on young adults. Some people believe that there is a need for censorship and the elimination of many products while others believe it is unnecessary to ban potentially violent media and media products. Your school newspaper decided to devote an upcoming issue to this controversial topic.
You decide to write a letter to the editor of your school newspaper expressing your views about the effects of violence in the media.
WRITING TASK
Write a letter to the editor of your school newspaper with supporting or opposing whether violence in the media has negative effects on young adults. Support your position with reasons, examples, facts, and/or other evidence. Convince your readers to take your position seriously.

Beowulf Documentary

Students are working on the following assignment:

Beowulf Documentary-30pts

Your assignment is to film/produce/edit a documentary film chronicling the heroic exploits of Beowulf or a hero of your choice, using the Flip cameras provided by the English department. Your film should honor the hero. To complete this you must include the following elements of documentary films:

• Interviews
• Cutaways
• Chill footage
• Process footage
• Archive
• Narration

-Interviews
You must create people that can speak about the hero, his exploits, and the legacy he has left. This includes: experts, friends, strangers, subjects, girlfriends, etc. You will be these people. Questions and answers must reflect your knowledge of the text, genre, time period, and relevance of everything to modern culture.

-Cutaways
These are stand-alone shots, similar to still photography.

-Chill footage
Film your subjects doing normal things. They should pretend you are not there. For example, film someone writing or walking down the hall.

-Process footage
Film the making of your documentary. You will combine the behind-the-scenes footage with the actual documentary footage.

-Archive
These are old videos and footage of your subjects. A regular documentary uses footage that the creators did not film, however, you will film all of it. Still photos work. You will have to create some of your own archival footage of the hero.

-Narration
When interviewees are not speaking, someone must be explaining important information about the hero using voiceover narration. What important information do we need to know that was not revealed by the participants?


*You may edit your film using either Flip software or Windows MovieMaker. Your finished film should be between 3-5 minutes long.


Rubric

Beowulf HW

Students are to complete the following assignment for HW:

Beowulf dies after battling the dragon.
• What does Beowulf need while fighting the dragon, that he has not needed before?
• How will Beowulf’s death impact the Geats?
Use specific quotes to support your responses.

His name was Wiglaf, he was Wexstan’s son
And a good soldier; his family had been Swedish,
Once. Watching Beowulf, he could see
755 How his king was suffering, burning. Remembering
Everything his lord and cousin had given him,
Armor and gold and the great estates
Wexstan’s family enjoyed, Wiglaf’s
Mind was made up; he raised his yellow
760 Shield and drew his sword. . . .
And Wiglaf, his heart heavy, uttered
The kind of words his comrades deserved:
“I remember how we sat in the mead-hall, drinking
And boasting of how brave we’d be when Beowulf
765 Needed us, he who gave us these swords
And armor: All of us swore to repay him,
When the time came, kindness for kindness
—With our lives, if he needed them. He allowed us to join him,
Chose us from all his great army, thinking
770 Our boasting words had some weight, believing
Our promises, trusting our swords. He took us
For soldiers, for men. He meant to kill
This monster himself, our mighty king,
Fight this battle alone and unaided,
775 As in the days when his strength and daring dazzled
Men’s eyes. But those days are over and gone
And now our lord must lean on younger
Arms. And we must go to him, while angry
Flames burn at his flesh, help
780 Our glorious king! By almighty God,
I’d rather burn myself than see
Flames swirling around my lord.
And who are we to carry home
Our shields before we’ve slain his enemy
785 And ours, to run back to our homes with Beowulf
So hard-pressed here? I swear that nothing
He ever did deserved an end
Like this, dying miserably and alone,
Butchered by this savage beast: We swore
790 That these swords and armor were each for us all!” . . .
. . . Then Wiglaf went back, anxious
To return while Beowulf was alive, to bring him
Treasure they’d won together. He ran,
Hoping his wounded king, weak
795 And dying, had not left the world too soon.
Then he brought their treasure to Beowulf, and found
His famous king bloody, gasping
For breath. But Wiglaf sprinkled water
Over his lord, until the words
800 Deep in his breast broke through and were heard.
Beholding the treasure he spoke, haltingly:
“For this, this gold, these jewels, I thank
Our Father in Heaven, Ruler of the Earth—
For all of this, that His grace has given me,
805 Allowed me to bring to my people while breath
Still came to my lips. I sold my life
For this treasure, and I sold it well. Take
What I leave, Wiglaf, lead my people,
Help them; my time is gone. Have
810 The brave Geats build me a tomb,
When the funeral flames have burned me, and build it
Here, at the water’s edge, high
On this spit of land, so sailors can see
This tower, and remember my name, and call it
815 Beowulf’s tower, and boats in the darkness
And mist, crossing the sea, will know it.”
Then that brave king gave the golden
Necklace from around his throat to Wiglaf,
Gave him his gold-covered helmet, and his rings,
820 And his mail shirt, and ordered him to use them well:
“You’re the last of all our far-flung family.
Fate has swept our race away,
Taken warriors in their strength and led them
To the death that was waiting. And now I follow them.”
825 The old man’s mouth was silent, spoke
No more, had said as much as it could;
He would sleep in the fire, soon. His soul
Left his flesh, flew to glory.

. . . And then twelve of the bravest Geats
830 Rode their horses around the tower,
Telling their sorrow, telling stories
Of their dead king and his greatness, his glory,
Praising him for heroic deeds, for a life
As noble as his name. So should all men
835 Raise up words for their lords, warm
With love, when their shield and protector leaves
His body behind, sends his soul
On high. And so Beowulf’s followers
Rode, mourning their beloved leader,
840 Crying that no better king had ever
Lived, no prince so mild, no man
So open to his people, so deserving of praise.

Beowulf

Students received a parent consent form today for a research project I am conducting. Please read and return a copy to me by Friday of next week.

Students are to complete the following assignment for Monday:

Beowulf battles Grendel’s mother.
• What challenges does he face besides fighting Grendel’s mother?
• How might this add to or detract from his heroic image?
Use specific examples from the text as support.

. . . He leaped into the lake, would not wait for anyone’s
Answer; the heaving water covered him
Over. For hours he sank through the waves;
At last he saw the mud of the bottom.
And all at once the greedy she-wolf
575 Who’d ruled those waters for half a hundred
Years discovered him, saw that a creature
From above had come to explore the bottom
Of her wet world. She welcomed him in her claws,
Clutched at him savagely but could not harm him,
580 Tried to work her fingers through the tight
Ring-woven mail on his breast, but tore
And scratched in vain. Then she carried him, armor
And sword and all, to her home; he struggled
To free his weapon, and failed. The fight
585 Brought other monsters swimming to see
Her catch, a host of sea beasts who beat at
His mail shirt, stabbing with tusks and teeth
As they followed along. Then he realized, suddenly,
That she’d brought him into someone’s battle-hall,
590 And there the water’s heat could not hurt him,
Nor anything in the lake attack him through
The building’s high-arching roof. A brilliant
Light burned all around him, the lake
Itself like a fiery flame.
Then he saw
595 The mighty water witch, and swung his sword,
His ring-marked blade, straight at her head;
The iron sang its fierce song,
Sang Beowulf’s strength. But her guest
Discovered that no sword could slice her evil
600 Skin, that Hrunting could not hurt her, was useless
Now when he needed it. They wrestled, she ripped
And tore and clawed at him, bit holes in his helmet,
And that too failed him; for the first time in years
Of being worn to war it would earn no glory;
605 It was the last time anyone would wear it. But Beowulf
Longed only for fame, leaped back
Into battle. He tossed his sword aside,
Angry; the steel-edged blade lay where
He’d dropped it. If weapons were useless he’d use
610 His hands, the strength in his fingers. So fame
Comes to the men who mean to win it
And care about nothing else! He raised
His arms and seized her by the shoulder; anger
Doubled his strength, he threw her to the floor.
615 She fell, Grendel’s fierce mother, and the Geats’
Proud prince was ready to leap on her. But she rose
At once and repaid him with her clutching claws,
Wildly tearing at him. He was weary, that best
And strongest of soldiers; his feet stumbled
620 And in an instant she had him down, held helpless.
Squatting with her weight on his stomach, she drew
A dagger, brown with dried blood and prepared
To avenge her only son. But he was stretched
On his back, and her stabbing blade was blunted
625 By the woven mail shirt he wore on his chest.
The hammered links held; the point
Could not touch him. He’d have traveled to the bottom of the earth,
Edgetho’s son, and died there, if that shining
Woven metal had not helped—and Holy
630 God, who sent him victory, gave judgment
For truth and right, Ruler of the Heavens,
Once Beowulf was back on his feet and fighting.
13
Then he saw, hanging on the wall, a heavy
Sword, hammered by giants, strong
635 And blessed with their magic, the best of all weapons
But so massive that no ordinary man could lift
Its carved and decorated length. He drew it
From its scabbard, broke the chain on its hilt,
And then, savage, now, angry
640 And desperate, lifted it high over his head
And struck with all the strength he had left,
Caught her in the neck and cut it through,
Broke bones and all. Her body fell
To the floor, lifeless, the sword was wet
645 With her blood, and Beowulf rejoiced at the sight.
The brilliant light shone, suddenly,
As though burning in that hall, and as bright as Heaven’s
Own candle, lit in the sky. He looked
At her home, then following along the wall
650 Went walking, his hands tight on the sword,
His heart still angry. He was hunting another
Dead monster, and took his weapon with him
For final revenge against Grendel’s vicious
Attacks, his nighttime raids, over
655 And over, coming to Herot when Hrothgar’s
Men slept, killing them in their beds,
Eating some on the spot, fifteen
Or more, and running to his loathsome moor
With another such sickening meal waiting
660 In his pouch. But Beowulf repaid him for those visits,
Found him lying dead in his corner,
Armless, exactly as that fierce fighter
Had sent him out from Herot, then struck off
His head with a single swift blow. The body
665 Jerked for the last time, then lay still. . . .