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Post by elizabethmeyer on Jul 5, 2013 5:43:44 GMT
Chapters 7 through the beginning of chapter 10 are all part of an abrupt change in style. Whether that change is Gardner's or Grendel's is unclear. The change might be a change in Gardner's writing style from straightforward, full paragraphs and an almost chronological plot to all-over-the-place formatting, extremely odd metaphors (the one about the torus), script-like sections of dialogue and asides in parentheses. Or the change might be Gardner transforming Grendel's mental state from the lonely monster that constantly watches the humans and terrorizes them frequently just because that's what the dragon said his role was, to the crazy loner who knows that he's crazy but doesn't care to do anything about it because he has so much fun wreaking havoc among the humans. Chapters 7 through some of 10 include many different types of Grendel's narration: parenthetical asides, repetition, rhyming, listing, scripted narration, and, through much of Chapter 8, a poem-like format that contains no meter or rhyme. What is the effect of this abrupt change in style in the middle of novel? Is the effect positive (ie: does it help in telling the story) or is it negative (ie: does it distract from the story or not add anything)?
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Post by Lacey Doby on Jul 5, 2013 18:13:28 GMT
I think the mere fact that it is a clear and obvious change with an unclear reasoning behind it is distracting to the story a bit, but it also adds a whole new level to the book. It gives the reader something new to ponder. The book is split in half by the dragon chapter; the first half illustrating Grendel as a mortal beast of some kind who just happens to be living a very long life, watching wars rise and fall and not really intervening with the lives of men, and the second half has him taking a much more detailed look at the people of Hrothgar and starting to interact with them in a way that makes him take an active part in their history. I personally was confused by the change at first, I thought it was him delving deeper into insanity, but it's significance is revealed when it is compared to the first part of the book. The switch definitely adds to the story because it shows how the dragon effected Grendel's mind and behavior. Also, and this is just a theory, I think by adding poems and script-like things, Gardner is trying to hint that Grendel is becoming more human since art like poetry and plays are part of what sets the human race apart.
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Kasey
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Post by Kasey on Jul 17, 2013 3:11:05 GMT
It just wasn't in those chapter though (although yes, there is an obvious change there too). Throughout the novel, modern language and terms ("I'll kick him in the balls!") are littered into a storyline that reminds me of children's books. He'll switch this and use time-accurate words (Meadhall). In trying to keep the story period-accurate, Gardner uses these complicated names that I literally pronounce as Herrrrodfsdhfjhdfg, and as accurate as that may (or may not) be, I often find it hard to always follow whose-who, since all their names start with Hr. Maybe it's because I never read fantasy as a child, but I tend to find a lot of the story confusing, and the switching between modern and older style breaks my flow and makes it even more complex.
As if I wasn't exactly confused enough, then there were those chapters. A lot of the poetry and thoughts are definitely beautifully written or interesting, but I still find them odd, confusing, or just out-of-place.
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alice
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Post by alice on Jul 19, 2013 20:40:31 GMT
Ug okay I was actually going to comment on that as well, but the change really threw me off. When the changes first came about (pg 92) I had to go back and check if this was in fact the first time it showed up because it seemed odd to make such a change almost halfway through the book. Now, true this change could be representative in a change within Grendel at this point in the novel because he was going through a lot of stuff (the dragon, a human coming into his cave and challenging him). So elements of the change I did appreciate (i.e. his song/poem thing) but I was frustrated by the 3rd person narration in short sentences. This part reminded me of Kesey's "Sometimes A Great Notion" which switches narrator constantly. This similar situation made me fear that all the narration I had gotten used to was going to change or already had and I didn't notice it. The introduction of "scenes" on page 112 may be suggesting Grendel's fall from ultimate power and his slow assimilation with the mortals/those who are vulnerable to simple "accidents".
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Post by juliamoreland on Aug 12, 2013 18:29:39 GMT
The changing style definitely threw me, but when I looked back I realized I enjoyed the change. I think that the style reflects a change within Grendel, his transition to power and understanding the amount of control he possesses. The third person snippets reinforced my belief that Grendel is losing it, maybe it’s just me, but I find those creepy. It reminds me of some insane murderer who talks about his actions in third person while giggling to himself, but Grendel’s sanity is a different matter.
The point where this change in style really hit me was when Gardner writes, “The monster laughs. Time-Space cross-section: Wealtheow. Cut A” (94). This combines all new elements, third person, cutbacks, and different narration. I think Gardner’s choice to use all new elements at once is a bold one, and he does run the risk of losing some of his readers. From previous comments I can see that he definitely lost a couple on this transition, but I thought it was rather creative. The style change accelerates Grendel’s state of insanity, and it seemed to bring the story to life. No longer is the novel a narrative about this sad beast, but suddenly we are in his mind. We are bouncing from thought to thought and absorbing the crazy that thrives within Grendel’s brain. For me, this switch up suddenly painted the full picture of Grendel.
I do enjoy narration changes, but I can understand how the abrupt or seemingly out of place changes could be dislikable. For me, none of the elements were frustrating, just intriguing. A slightly different take on Alice’s view of the scenes on page 112 is that the original Grendel the story began with is no longer watching the village. Instead, a new crazed Grendel is watching the village and plotting his destruction. Gardner perhaps wanted to show this change in character with great narration separation.
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Post by billfeng on Aug 17, 2013 1:59:28 GMT
I have a hunch that John Gardner was trying to imitate the epic poem style of the Medieval era.
Here's a passage from the actual epic:
... versus a soliloquy directly after the style change
Maybe he's changed the style to better fit that of an epic poem to show that the novel is nearing the beginning of the Beowulf timeline?
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