The first thing you notice is the gigantic wings that spread out from the monster's back. They looked as if they belonged to a bat, but instead sprouted from Geryon. The next thing you notice is the arms. Huge, muscled arms that have knotted hair up and down them from years of disregarding hygiene. Although this is terrible, the worst may be what is attached to the ends of these disgusting arms. Claws like that of a hawk and sharp as swords lay at the end of each arm waiting to swoop down and grab anything Geryon's heart desires.
The body. Geryon posseses all the features mentioned before and then some. His body is like that of a great dragon. Scales that glimmer in the glow of the boiling crimson. Glimmer because they are covered in a thin sheer coat of slime or some substance equal to it. As if this did not make the beast hideous enough, there is one thing that makes him scarier than all. His face is that of a man. Not just any man. His face is that of an honest man making him seem harmless except for the monster's body he was attached to.
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| Dante and Virgil riding the monster Geryon (Wikipedia Commons). |
Virgil talked me on to Geryon's back as he turned to the beast asking for him to travel slowly so as to not throw his passengers off. We took off slowly from the edge and descended deeper into hell as Geryon flew in slow, wide circles. Part of me wished the beast would hurry and get us to our destination. The other part of me knew if he used just a tiny bit of his strength we may no longer be attached to his back.
As I turned to look behind me, I noticed something I had not before. His tail. It looked like a giant scorpion's tail had been attached to this beast and it swung wildly in the air as he continued his path to the bottom. I could no longer take the thought of what was now occurring. I grabbed with all my might onto Virgil's back and vowed to never let go until this journey was over.
As I had my eyes closed for the rest of the trip, I was suprised when we finally reached our destination. When I saw where we had landed, however, I greatly wished I had just kept my eyes closed for the rest of eternity.
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Author's Note: This story came from the stories The Old Man of Crete and Geryon and Descending on Geryon's Back found in Dante's Divine Comedy translated by Tony Kline with illustrations by Gustave Dore (2002). I was really intrigued by the monster Geryon when I did my reading for the week. In the original story, Geryon transports Virgil, the guide, and Dante down to the eighth circle of Hell called the Malebolge, or "evil trenches". I did not change the story really as it was just a short bit of the story. I just felt like I could really tell a story about how scared and miserable Dante was riding on such a monstrous creature's back down to an even scarier place. I got a majority of the description of Geryon from the first story I listed and then the actual journey on his back came from the second story listed.
Will, the picture you used for your story was sooo creepy. It was also very fitting but I was scared (just a little). Your rendition of the classic tale was excellent! I really liked all the detail and thought you put into carefully describing the creature. I think I would have been able to imagine it without the help of the illustration with your description alone. Great job!
ReplyDeleteHi Will! I really enjoyed getting to read this story. I really enjoyed seeing that this story was based off of the masterpiece that is the Divine Comedy. I thought you did a great job of humorously illustrating how weird it must have been to ride on a creature like Geryon; he is such an interesting amalgamation of different things. His face being that of a man is still the most peculiar thing about him to me.
ReplyDeleteWill, I liked how you started the story. Right off the bat I knew that this story was going to be either insane or creepy. I thought you used great details to describe the setting and the creature of the Geryon. I really enjoyed how you wrote your action. It flowed well and made the pacing great. Also, like Sara said, the picture you used was creepy and fit the story well. Overall, great job!
ReplyDeleteI loved your interpretation of Dante’s fears. I think they are all spot on with how he must of felt. I read the original for my reading diary this week, so it was very nice to read a spin off of it. Especially since your added so much more to how Dante must of felt. I am someone who likes a lot of insight to what I am reading, yours defiantly added to the original.
ReplyDeleteI thought your storytelling post did a really good job of visual descriptions. The adjectives and visuals you used really helped to convey the misery and fear of the individual in the story. I think the image you decided to utilize was also a really good decision! The image fit seamlessly into your story and really helped to amplify the image you were creating.
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