Beowulf, Greedy or Not?

I think Beowulf was not being selfish or greedy. Yes he wanted the fame that came with a victory over Grendel, but the fate of the people of Herot was resting on his shoulders. He deserved the fame he received after conquering Grendel. He is a naturally boastful person who actually deserved the fame he received. Celebrities that do anything they can to get their faces on a magazine are greedy for fame. Beowulf fought the most feared monster in the land and earned his fame while saving the lives of countless others. He risked his life battling the monster as he says," My life was almost lost, fighting for it,"(75, 1655). The "it" he was fighting for was not only the safety of Herot, but also his fame and reputation, and he earned it.

The Best Cover?

The best cover is definitely the second one. When I look at it I see Ben crouched, ready to attack. It shows the fear that they had about Ben, how he was dangerous, poised in a position to attack. "Ben going silently up to him in a low crouch, hands held out in front of him," is how I picture Ben(71). That is what I see when I look at this cover. Ben is crouched in the middle and ready to strike. His own parents were afraid of him because he was so dangerous and aggressive. this cover shows that the best. It can also be seen as the face of a monster. Many people, including his parents, thought Ben was a monster. "He's like a troll, or a goblin or something," is how his own mother described him(49). Obviously if his mother views him as a troll, others would view him as a monster. This is why the second cover fits The Fifth Child the best.

Reaction to Christopher Schildt

Christopher Schildt made a good point when he said, "There's a bit of the creature in all of us"(Whitty). he was saying that Mary Shelley knew the feelings of loss, and pain, and being excluded. so did everyone else in the world. We have all at one time or another felt like the monster when he said, "I am alone and miserable: man will not associate with me,"(Shelley 133). Shelly was not trying to condem science, but was instead trying to show the effects of being ostracized by society. The monster being cut off from humans caused to react badly towards situations that involved them. If we cut people off and don't pay attention to them, it could cause them to react in a bad way.

Frankenstein

Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, is considered one of the first and most exciting horror stories of all time. It has however not met my expectations. The scene when life is given to the creature created by Victor is one of the most famous scenes. It would be expected that this would be a scene full of excitement and fear. Instead, Mary Shelley simply says, "I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open"(43). This could have been the most exciting scene ever because nothing like this had been done before but instead, it was a barely exciting section of the story. Mary Shelly was a very talented writer but the novel Frankenstein has disappointed me.