Out of all three required summer reading books I read this summer, I enjoyed Grendel the most because of the thoughts he had and the progression of his “evil side”.  Grendel was also my favorite character, because out of all the characters I read about, Grendel was the only one I sympathized with. The Picture of Dorian Gray had the most “action”; therefore, it was my favorite plot.  The Screwtape Letters and Grendel had a less traditional plot and instead focused more on the development of a character or the development of evil.  In my opinion, Grendel had the best setting and atmosphere because of the eerie and whimsical nature of the book.  The portrait of Dorian Gray that changed the more evil Dorian became was the most developed and obvious symbol that illustrated the horrible effects of sin.  I found all of the books fascinating because in all of my readings at Woodward, none of them have really had the purpose of displaying evil.  I am not saying all of them have had happy endings, but I believe the ideas of a tragedy are different than the ideas of a book that is “evil”.  However, I did not care for The Screwtape Letters, because I never got into C.S. Lewis’ style and language.  Other than some of the profound language in The Screwtape Letters, the thing that confused me the most was the relevance of the dragon in Grendel.  The dragon was the only character that I did not understand fully.  When it comes to being “emotionally involved” with a book, I related to Grendel’s character the most.  His confusion about his identity, the uncertainty of why he does certain things and his struggle to understand his place in the world is relatable to my own life in ways.  I can sympathize with the struggle to find who you are as a person and where you belong in the cycle of things.