Alexandra Doyle, Period 7, 2/10/21

Literacy & Learning

Write about your thoughts regarding any of the fiction or non-fiction covered in class.

Recently we covered the Norse story Beowulf, which is a black and white tale about the clear dichotomy between good and evil, a hero who is blessed by God, and his conquests against the monster Grendel and his mother. I found this story really captivating, and enjoyed reading it. It was nice to hear a tale of a valiant hero with virtually no flaws. It had a classic storybook feel, and I would definitely read it again. I even discussed it with my family over dinner one night, as my mother has wanted to read it for a while. My brother had been through this course so he remembered reading and analyzing it in this class, but my mother obviously had never taken this course and still knew of it. It was cool just to see how far Beowulf has reached. My mother’s parents are immigrants from Greece, so her having heard of it with that background was definitely shocking to me. The presence of Christian elements alone got me thinking about how much the story could have changed, with it having Norse origins. 

Reflect on any new information you have learned in English class by considering how that learning influences your critical perception.

I found it interesting how much God was mentioned in this story, and how all mentions of old Norse values and beliefs were erased because of the spread of Christianity. Now when I am reading stories from places that went through Christianization or are from this time, I can reflect on them critically in regards to the time period, and how that could have influenced the changes that might have occurred to the texts. I can also see how these texts influenced the societies they were a part of before Christianity influenced it. For example, this story itself was edited to fit the belief system at that time (a predominantly Christian one), as we discussed in class about how Beowulf was clearly a story originally from the Viking time period.  The feats that Beowulf accomplishes are seemingly impossible, and are glorified to the extreme. A central part of Viking mythology and ideals was fighting not just for glory and a possible entry into Valhalla, but also for the good of others. This also explains how the story focuses on him defeating Grendel, as the act not only grants him glory, it’s also quite selfless. He is the saving grace for the Danes people. With Christinity’s influence, the effect of the story shifts from the push and glorification of Viking ideals to further evidence for and heightened belief in God.

How is what you’re learning applied to any other classes/the world around you?

In Government, we’re learning about the Civil Rights Movement and how it affected American society. Our lessons put emphasis on the ordinary people that rose up and fought the injustice and how much they endured at that time. The ability for ordinary people to have that much impact, and change the very fabric of our society at that time reminded me of how much the story Beowulf has impacted society through the years. All it took was ordinary people sharing and repeating the story here and there, but these people allowed the story to be immortalized, and ended up having a lasting impact, with it even reaching our classroom today. Also, through ordinary people sharing this story, it had an impact at the time of the Vikings as well. Beowulf is clearly a hero with special abilities, but is still a human being. He provided a figure for the Vikings to look up to, admire, and aspire to be like. Connecting to what I stated before, the effects of this text on the Vikings before Christianity affected it was definitely a push for the cultural ideals and identities of the Norse people, such as glorifying acts of heroism and fighting with a selfless disregard of death. Even for the Christians after it was edited, the story furthered their affirmation for God and God’s abilities. However, it seemed to focus less on Beowulf specifically. In the Christian version, his feats were possible simply because he is “blessed by God” after all, especially in regards to defeating Grendel. Even with the addition of Christian elements to the story, it still had an impact through people sharing and resonating with it, making it a timeless story of heroism either way.