Hansel Short Story

Reading that, the audience clearly can tell that Beowulf is no average person, and that he is experienced with wisdom. With Beowulf portrayed as a polished individual the reader comes to respect Beowulf’s actions and words much more. Grendel, however, is portrayed as an immature child. His childishness is noted through his actions, but is even more obvious through his words. When Grendel’s foot gets caught in a trap, his words confirm his pupilage: “Owp!” I yelled. “Mama! Waa!” (Gardner 18). It sounds like something a five year old would say. The tone makes it blatantly obvious how immature Grendel really is. Grendel depends on his mother rescue to continue surviving. The tone illustrates the immense difference between the mature Beowulf, leader of the Geats, and the immature Grendel, an aimless creature. As a result of the varying tone sophistication, each novel demands a different level of seriousness from the audience.

“[Grendel’s] mother had sallied forth on a savage journey,/ grief-racked and ravenous, desperate for revenge” (Beowulf, 1276-1278). Her desire to avenge her son is carried out, but it ultimately leads to her death. Beowulf’s desire to garner fame and respect overpowers all of the raw emotion and anger felt by Grendel’s mother. She serves the purpose of showing the purest form of revenge, and how its blindness can lead to one’s demise.

When men come upon Grendel in the forest, they are bewildered as to what he could be. Their communication with one another helps to develop a brief understanding as to what he is,

When Grendel's mother arrives to torment the Danes, seeking vengeance for her son’s death, Beowulf’s fight with Grendel's mother

He is overcome by the Sharper’s song and approaches them with the body trying to show a good gesture. However when he approaches them, he describes it as a sudden attack. He mentions that his approach with the dead body would provoke them by saying that there are other interpretations, but his version is the truth. Grendel says, “ I staggered out into the open and up toward the hall with my burden, groaning out, ‘Mercy! Peace!’ The harper broke off, the people screamed. (They have their own versions, but this is the truth)” (51-52). His opinionated and partial version of the truth is another cause for concern, to the reader, of Grendel’s reliability as a narrator. Furthermore, Grendel interjects his opinions about the meaning of life, humans, and nature throughout the story. This is clear evidence from Gardner that Grendel’s reliability, as a narrator, is questionable. Grendel’s use of stream of consciousness in his narration introduces additional flaws, which further degrades the reader’s trust in the

Grendel’s first impression was to ask his mother about the meaning of life and what was his part in it. After Grendel’s first encounter with man, he immediately told his mother what had happened. “I tried to tell her all that happened, all that I had come to understand: the meaningless

A. Grendel is impatient with the music and celebration of Hrothgar’s men; his home is a hell on earth; he was born in slime; his parents are the children of Cain, who were exiled by God; he is family to “a thousand forms of evil,” who angrily fight against God.

Like a puppy nipping, playfully growling preparing to battle with wolves." [Page 16] In his early years, Grendel shares the naivete of all things youthful, unchained by the perceptions and limitations the mature mind places on reality in its attempt to instill order to a disorganized world. He has, at this point in his life, no rational concept of reality as a whole, he sees it in vague shadow-shapes and imaginary cohorts. In this condition he finds a certain playful joy. While it is an admittedly childish state of mind, he is quite happy at play, as are most children. When the change and growth comes, it brings him down from the ignorant bliss he feels in his immaturity.

The story “A Sorrowful Women” by Gail Godwin describes a woman that seems to be exhausted of her family and life. Unlike the first story, this is about a married couple who already have a child. The narrator does not give names to the characters and he/she engages on a third person role to tell the story. This story carries a depressing, sad and dark mood. The wife, one night tells her husband if he could “put the boy to bed and read him the story about the monkey who ate too many bananas(39)” since she was already tired of doing all the work at home. The husband thought she just needed a break, and he assume that there’s nothing wrong with the idea of taking care of the child, therefore he happily agreed to take care of the kid. Since that evening the husband noticed that his

Hans took Liesel into his home; he showed her compassion and grace from the minute she stepped out of the car. He realized that she was nervous and scared about moving, he was the only one that tried to sit down and help her. “‘Leave her alone.’ Hans Hubermann entered the fray. His gentle voice made its way in, as if slipping through a crowd. ‘Leave her to me.’” (33) Hans recognized that Liesel was having a hard time with moving, he wanted to help. Hans channeled his guilt into acceptance for a girl that was broken and just needed a home. He accepted her as one of his own and helped her through a time of need. Hans felt the need to return the favor the Erik had given him by helping others out.

While comparing the two poems, "Gretel in Darkness" by Louise Gluck and "Hansel and Gretel" by Anne Sexton with the original Brothers Grimm tale "Hansel and Gretel", different perspectives, point of views and messages are shown.

However, when their mother came through the door and told them of a hungry family, the 4 women did not hesitate in giving away their luscious breakfast to those in need. The children delivered the food to the family and “a poor, bare, miserable room it was, with broken windows, no fire, ragged bedclothes, a sick mother, wailing baby, and a group of pale, hungry children cuddled under one old quilt, trying to keep warm”(24). The sisters realize what a harsh environment they live in, and because the setting is so pessimistic, they try to share the little wealth they have so that everyone may live long full lives. The setting in which they live, houses many people who have even less wealth than their own family. However, because of this dreadful place, they try and make sure that their community, or their family, is taken care of, even at the expense of their luxuries.

After losing her mother and her brother, Liesel’s life and identity is changed drastically many times. It is through books that she discovers and becomes comfortable with this change. When she first meets Hans and Rosa Hubermann, her new foster parents, she does not wish to speak with them or get to know them. However, once Hans discovers Liesel with the book she stole when her brother was buried, The Gravedigger’s Manual, they bond over Hans teaching Liesel to read. Liesle describes the first time her and Hans have a lesson in the middle of the night: “She had done this at school, in the kindergarten class, but this time was better. … It was nice to watch Papa’s hand as he wrote the words and slowly constructed the primitive sketches” (Zusak

Our first character, Grendel, is an exceptionally diverse character. It is implied that in both book and poem, Grendel is a blood-thirsty monster. All Grendel does is go through

There are many conventions that are present in the story Hansel and Gretel, by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, that make it of the fairytale genre. There are good and evil characters, problems present and an overall Good vs Evil storyline. On the fourth page it says: “When the moon appeared… they could not find any crumbs, for the many thousands of birds…had pecked them up.” This is an example of a problem. Hansel had put crumbs on the ground to find their way back because he knew that his parents would not come back to collect them and take them back home. When they woke up the crumbs were gone because the birds had eaten them. Now Hansel and Gretel could not find their way home, back to their family. This is one of the conventions that are included