The Realityof Monsters Project PDF

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Summary

project making associations between the monsters of beowulf and fear....

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The Reality of Monsters Background From our modern perspective, the monsters of Beowulf don’t exactly seem terrifying. Through the ages, our worries about Grendel-type monsters have lessened because we know more about science and the world beyond our own towns, but society still creates cautionary tales about supernatural interferences, typically based on common fears or lessons we should learn. The word monster comes from the Latin monstrum, which translates as an unusual occurrence that is taken as a sign of something being wrong with the natural order of life. Consider the real-life incidents to which that term could apply. Monster stories appear in all forms, not just ones that detail crazy creatures like Grendel or The Blob. Recent theories suggest that the surge of giant monsters appearing in movies after World War II signaled the fear of nuclear weapons. Additionally, tales that include werewolves or teens with supernatural abilities (as seen in Thriller or Carrie) connect with the self-consciousness that every adolescent has about changing physically and gaining social acceptance. Task After considering the information above and thinking about the Beowulf monsters, in this assignment you will be determining the needs that monsters have filled in the past and what fears or ideas they could address today. After answering several questions in writing, you will create a monster that draws on concerns of today’s world or universal life experiences.

General Monster Questions 1. Recall the three main monsters in Beowulf. In a symbolic sense, what real fears or threats could the monsters have collectively represented? Think of the variety of troubles and fears the Anglo-Saxons might have faced in their daily lives nearly 1,000 years ago. Grendel represents envy towards man. He kills out of anger and destroys everyone in his way. He could also represent a fear of sleep or the dark, as he attacks and slaughters exclusively when everyone’s asleep. Grendels mother represents the desire for revenge. She strikes back when her son is killed, leading to her death. The dragon represents greed. The dragon is only pushed into action when a thief steals a goblet from him, and Beowulf strives to kill the beast and claim his gold, leading to his death. 2. Provide one direct text from Beowulf for each of the monsters that shows what makes it so fearsome. Monster Quotation “So mankind’s enemy continued his crimes, Killing as often as he could, coming alone, bloodthirsty, and terrible. Grendel

Grendel’s mother

Line(s) __79-81____ 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. Line(s)_500 -503_____ It’s breath came first, a steaming cloud pouring from the stone, then the earth itself shook.

The dragon (extra credit)

Line(s) __651-653____

3. Describe at least three “monsters” we see today in film, television shows and literature. Consider “traditional” monsters/creatures (like Grendel), but also people who threaten the well-being of society. Monster’s name Goetia

Name of film/show/book Fate grand order( completely unrelated to character, but heres the bond portrait from the games Beowulf character, figured you’d like it. https://fategrandorder.fandom.com/wiki/Final_Battle )

William afton

Five nights at freddys

Dio

Jojos bizarre adventure

Monster’s physical appearance Vaguely humanoid with long horns resembling branches in autumn

No cannon appearance, but is known to be British. Later appears as springtrap, a tattered yellow bunny animatronic with Williams remains inside. Human, with scar going around his neck. Sharp fangs in mouth

Monster’s notable actions Briefly Destroyed all of humanity by creating singularities in the most important periods of human history. Murdered at least 5 children at Freddy fazbears pizza after luring them into the backroom with the springtrap suit.

Became a vampire, murdered both his father and stepfather, burned a dog alive in a a furnace turned a women into a vampire then made her eat her own baby, and various other assorted acts of rape and murder.

4. What modern fears or threats do you think each of the monsters you listed in #3 represent? Create 2-3 specific hypotheses. 5. Goetia represents the fear of dying, as his actions throughout the story are brought about by watching humans dying from war, disease, and old age over thousands of years. William represents the fear of loss, as he commits his crimes in order to find out how the human soul works in order to revive his dead children. Dio represents a fear of weakness as he was abused during the early years of his childhood, and because f that rejected his humanity and all possible chances of happiness in order to obtain more and more power.

Design-A-Monster Questions 1. You are going to design your own monster that represents modern fears. Explain the fears/threats that you want this monster to address and why you decided on them. Make clever and intelligent observations of society; do not feel like you must come up with something ridiculous and extreme. Sometimes the scariest monsters are the ones that live comfortably among us… (5-6 sentences) The fear I want my monster to represent is the fear of growing up. The reason for this is that it’s always been one my biggest fears, especially now that I’m almost 18. My life has always been very comfortable and easy, so the idea that all these big changes are coming so quickly is frankly terrifying to me. The fear doesn’t just apply to me

however. As throughout history people have desired a way to avoid death, it has taken shape in various mythological items. The most notable of these are the fountain of youth and the sorcerers stone. 2. Describe your monster’s appearance and any unusual/supernatural abilities it has (4-5 sentences) The monster appears as an old, withered man with missing teeth. His eyes are covered by on old cloak he wears. He stalks his victims by walking slowly behind them. he always knows where they are , which makes up for him not moving very fast. His power is the ability to age a person to death by touching them. 3. Write the story of your monster. Explain how it came into existence and what is has been doing here in our society. (Possible questions to consider: Did it morph out of another form? Does it have mostly human characteristics or is it unrecognizable to us? Did it come from another place or time? What is its lifestyle and how is it affecting people?) This should be at least two paragraphs with specific details. My monster came in to existence when an man who desired eternal life made a deal with the devil in exchange for eternal life. The devil granted this by turning him into creature that fed of the lifespans of others. It targets those who either flaunt or waste their youth. Examples of this are those who mock the elderly, those who do nothing with their lives, or those who wish to grow older. It appears in old folktales of (insert European country here). Since it only goes after one victim at a time and doesn’t leave much of a trace of its victims ( I imagine the death ageing process to be somewhat similar to picking the wrong holy grail in Indiana jones) it goes largely unnoticed, with most victims being chalked up to nothing more then missing persons cases.

4. Give your monster a name and explain why you picked it. (Does its name blend in with society, or does its name set it apart?) 2-3 sentences. The name I choose is senescent. It is The shortened version of the Latin word senescentem, which means growing old, which references the monsters ability to age its victims. senescentem

Part II Include a detailed image/picture of your monster. You may use online images or sketch one of your own /take a picture and include it on a separate document. Most important, explain why you chose this image. What about its appearance

connects to ‘monster’ like qualities in your opinion? (2-3 sentences)

I choose this picture because it fit most with the description I gave of the monsters apperence. Plus the walking stick really adds to the old aspect of the monster ....