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On Tuesday September 16, AP Lit seniors had a personal video chat with Gareth Hinds, the author of their summer reading homework.
Mr. Hinds is an author and artist who has done several graphic novel adaptations of literary classics, including Beowulf and The Odyssey, which students just finished. Our AP Lit class teacher, Ms. Matthusen, met him at the NCTE last year and was able to successfully invite him to speak to her class via video chat.
Here are some sample questions her students have come up with:
Cynthia: What other classic novels are you planning on making adaptions of in the future? Do you think that you would eventually venture into other genres?
Ramanjot: What motivates you to bring alive all these classic novels? What gave you the idea to do so? Do you feel that you have accurately presented the original Homer poems well?
Santiago: Approximately how long does it take for you to complete a graphic novel that has so much detail in it like The Odyssey? What do you use as reference to create all of these mythical creatures and settings?
Deanna: What were the influences as you designed the characters?
Jenny: Do you think Odysseus and Beowulf are heroes?
Feng: Which hero do you admire more? Why? Why did you specifically choose The Odyssey and Beowulf to adapt over other well known ancient Greek heroic figures such as Achilles?
Raven: How were you able to sift through which parts of the story were important to the plot line, and what you would omit?
Hiroyuki: What is the hardest part about making graphic novels?
Moheeb: How did Beowulf and Odysseus impact your definition of a hero? If they did change your idea of a hero, what did you think a hero was prior to reading these books?
Amber: What would you do if you were in Odysseus's place? Would you take such a cruel revenge on the suitors? If not, what would you do?
Kevin: I noticed that you used water colors to express the story. I personally felt it added depth and a sense of realism. Why did you choose this form of painting?
Kayana: Do you truly see Odysseus as a hero in his novel, or do you see him as a man who just has heroic qualities? Do you think he could be classified as something else?
Jamila: Which book did you enjoy making more , Beowulf or The Odyssey ? Why?
Haruna: How did you decide to use a different art style for each book in Beowulf?