East of Eden XIX -- chpt18:To Bury Secrets

Reading Questions Chapter 18.1

Chapter 18.2

1. Didn't Grendel's Mother live at the bottom of a lake--hidden, you might say--and didn't come up until her monster son started causing all that trouble and got himself killed?  (I might be bending the facts a little there.)  And what is it about Pandora's Box?  What about the One Ring?  Endless examples there are of the trouble with burying something evil and powerful and dirty....
2. To quote Obi-Wan Kenobi, "Who's the more foolish, the fool or the fool who follows him?"

Chapter 18.3

1. What's the benefit of going through the motions?  It's not "real."
2. Why won't Lee have his bookstore, now that Adam is alone?  And why does it seem to turn out that he "didn't want it much anyway"?

Podcast #1: MONSTERS (though not for their own sake)

So here it is: my very first podcast.  I'm sure it's clumsy.  I'm sure I'll get better with the next one.  And true to form, I'm probably way wordier than I need to be.  Pass on the feedback, the thoughts, the questions. 

Enjoy.

(Man, it's weird to watch yourself like this!)

part 1

***

part 2

The Continuum of Monstrosity,
original

(Did I always look bug-eyed while teaching, or is it just the camera angle?)

In case you can't read it on the video (and I don't know how you could):

MONSTERS APPROACHING!

The MONSTER DISCUSSION cometh.  If you'd like to be prepared for the discussion, brush up on your Beowulf chops.  Check out the full text, either text or audio.

by Rockwell Kent

I NEED MONSTERS

In preparation for chapter 8 (East of Eden), an introductory "podcast" (yep, I'm going to do it!), the and discussion on the woman who began as Cathy Ames, I need your input on MONSTERS.

Classic monsters, but not by category--vampires, werewolves, zombies, Inferno, etcetera--I mean specific, individual monsters with names.  These can be from movies, they can be from books, they can be from comic books, songs, folk tales, family, whatever. 

some generic image of Grendel I found

There is one specific type of monster (though all monsters are needed!) I'm looking to focus on (the others I need for contrast's sake):

The TRICKSTER.  In Native American folklore, he's often called Coyote.  In European folklore and tales, he's often labeled Puck.  The problem I have with Puck--or pucks in general--is their general lack of deep malice.  The best example I can think of is Coyote himself, from Chabon's Summerland.  On the other end, there is Grendel, from Beowulf (from which a terribly awesome book, Grendel, was written by John Gardner).

The trickster is a liar.  A Father-of-all-Lies kind of character.  Who lies just to lie, or just to mess people up, or because it screws things up and that what he loves most.  Screwing things up. 

So, Folks, I need a LIST.  Monsters, people.  Movie fans, book fans, aficionados of horror:  Monsters.  Comment with the names of monsters.

And don't forget to sign up as follower and get your picture over there.  I'm doing a drawing soon.  That means free stuff, and as well all know:  FREE STUFF GOOD.