Reading Diary Week 12: Beowulf

King Hygelac of Geatsland-  A great exposition that does a good job setting up the location and background that Beowulf will come into.
The Young Beowulf-  I like how Beowulf is developed in this section, he has great strength yet is clumsy, he has great potential yet nothing to prove himself with.  I also like the descriptive words used in this unit.  "[Beowulf  was] scornful of the earls about him and their big talk of little battles," was a great way to end.
The Wanderer's Song- That's interesting that Grendel is part man, animal, and bird.  I guess I hadn't ever really thought what it might be.  I wonder why the author describes everything as being blue, I get that Scandinavians generally are blue-eyed but he keeps describing them as such.
Beowulf's Resolve- I guess I never thought that Beowulf might be young when he fight Grendel, I always thought Beowulf was some older warrior and not just a young man.
Beowulf's Journey- I really enjoy this unit so far, it reminds me a lot of Hiawatha.
Beowulf Lands in Daneland- Guardian of the Beach is an odd position to have, does he serve almost like a lighthouse keeper or something?
Beowulf Comes to Heorot- Is Hrothgar a common name for Scandinavian characters?  I can think of several different characters that all share that name.
The Words of Unferth- It's interesting that Unferth is described as having black hair when most characters are described as blonde, I wonder if that is representative of something.
The Words of Beowulf*- I like how Beowulf is not only a hero with great strength and valor, but also wiser and smarter than those of his age.
Grendel Attacks- A very interesting section, I didn't know Grendel was capable of magic, I just assumed he was some monstrous creature that Beowulf battles.
The Battle with Grendel-  This section reminds me a lot of the Ogre of Rashoman, I was thinking about adapting this part for the storybook but I'll probably just take a couple elements from it.
A New Misfortune- I like how they set up that there is something worse than Grendel, and I am surprised that Unferth is incapable of defeating Grendel even though he has a magic sword.
Seeking Grendel's Mother- This section reminds me of the the typical journey a hero takes to the underworld, but what unnerves me is that he can hold his breath for so long.
Beowulf Battles Grendel's Mother- This section reminded me more of Greek mythology such as Perseus fighting Medusa than something of English origin.
Beowulf's Triumph- A very good conclusion to this part of Beowulf, I liked how Unferth no longer was brooding.
The Arrival of the Dragon- A very interesting section, I never knew that Beowulf contained a dragon.  I also like how they have Beowulf age as someone who still wishes to be challenged.
Preparing for Battle- I think I might tell one of my storybook sections about this section with the dragon, I was wondering what type of monster would be good to include and I think that a dragon would round out my stories pretty well.
Battle with the Dragon- I had to look up how long an ell was and the dragon would have been around 30 feet long. 
The End of Beowulf- A fitting end to this section, everything was well paced and I was not mad that he died at the end due to not having help from the cowardly earls.  I for sure decided to tell my 3rd storybook entry over this section.