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Explanation of human behaviour
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Evil. It’s a concept that has baffled philosophers, religious figures, and the common man alike for thousands of years. In this millennium, people may exemplify evil as terrorism, genocide, or, perhaps, placing an empty milk carton back in the refrigerator. However, many remain conflicted about the exact definition of evil, as the dispute over the character Grendel, from the John Gardner novel, makes evident. To conclude that Grendel is not evil, readers must first operate under the assumption that the beast is unequivocally and thoroughly evil. Having done so, readers will notice the fallacies within this thought process. By asserting that Grendel is evil, readers blatantly disregard the ambiguity with which humanity defines its actions, as …show more content…
In Chapter 8, Grendel exclaims, “I’m a machine. Like all of you. Blood-lust and rage are my character,” (Gardner 123). This profound statement establishes a connection between Grendel and the ambiguous “you,” the reader. The monster, though he confesses to his wrongdoing, asserts that readers are no better than he. Countless bible verses reiterate this concept: “For all have sinned,” (Romans 3:23) “[Humans] are all. .impure with sin,” (Isaiah 64:6). Gardner’s reminder to readers of mankind’s predisposition to sin earns pity for the monster. He expands on these sympathies by describing the nature of Grendel’s lonely existence. “But there was one thing worse,” Grendel states after discovering the dragon’s charm, “no weapon could cut me,” (Gardner 75). In this moment, nihilism overcomes Grendel; if fighting poses no danger, it has no purpose, and neither does he. Any reader who has had an experience which challenged his or her values cannot help but feel empathetic towards the purposeless creature. Perhaps more piteous, however, is the suggestion that Grendel has no choice in being “the dark side. . the terrible race God cursed,” (Gardner 51). The dragon condemns Grendel as “the brute existent by which [humans] learn to define themselves,” telling him that it is worthless to better his character (Gardner 72). It is not until after …show more content…
Many may contend that the novel’s main character, Grendel, is guilty of evil by virtue of his vile actions. However, Gardner’s description of Grendel’s resistance to evil impulses and capability of human emotions suggest that Grendel is simply responding to his environment. Furthermore, Gardner deftly accrues readers’ sympathies towards Grendel, making it difficult for the empathetic reader to condemn the monster ex officio. By forging connections between humanity and his protagonist, Gardner indicates that readers are equally as guilty of sin as Grendel. Through this implication, he insinuates that humans are unqualified to judge Grendel’s actions, and, perhaps, each other. After all, if Grendel can be called evil, can the same not be said of all of mankind? The novel’s ultimate truth seems to harken back to Tupac Shakur’s assertion that, “Only God can judge me,” (Tupac
...n very human feelings of resentment and jealousy. Grendel was an unstable and saddened figure because of his outcast status. Though Grendel had many animal attributes and a grotesque, monstrous appearance, he seemed to be guided by vaguely human emotions and impulses. He truthfully showed more of an interior life than one might expect. Exiled to the swamplands outside the boundaries of human society, Grendel’s depiction as an outcast is a symbol of the jealousy and hate that seeks to destroy others' happiness and can ultimately cripple a civilization. This take on the outcast archetype ultimately exposes the Anglo Saxon people’s weaknesses, their doubts and anxieties towards the traditional values that bounded nearly every aspect of their life.
Good vs. Evil in John Gardner's Grendel? & nbsp; John Gardner's novel Grendel gives the reader a new perspective on the classic "good vs. Evil" plot. From the start of the book the reader can tell that there is something very unique about the narrator. It is evident that the narrator is a very observant being that can express himself in a very poetic manner. The story is one the reader has most likely seen before, the battle between the glorious thanes and the "evil" beast. In this case, however, the "beast" is the eyes and ears of the. reader. This, of course, forces the reader to analyze situations in the book in the same way that Grendel does. By using this viewpoint, author allows his readers to see the other side of the coin. Therefore, Throughout the course of the novel the reader is able to understand how important to Grendel in defining the human. & nbsp; Grendel's first encounter with the human beings that he literally defines is not a pleasant one. After accidentally trapping himself in a tree he is discovered by a group of thanes out on patrol. Grendel expresses absolutely no hostile intentions towards these "ridiculous" (ch. 2). pp.24) creatures that "moved by clicks." (ch.2, pp.24) The thanes do not understand what Grendel is and are very uneasy about the whole situation.
Most authors, occasionally uses their characters to guide their personal views they want to emphasize to their audience. In the novel, Grendel written by John Gardner, Gardner uses Grendel as an agent to portray his perspective of the evil and corrupt world of humans and their place in the universe. Gardner not only uses Grendel as a vehicle, but also uses the Dragon as another source to express his opinions of people in the world. Gardner can be considered as an isolated human being, who is kept away from the affection of others; Grendel and Gardner can be closely related due to the fact that Gardner is embodied as Grendel in a more dimensional aspect. They both seem to contain repugnant thoughts towards the world they are “forced” to live in. The Dragon supports Gardner’s statement by going against the Shaper’s stories, by telling Grendel that life seems to possess no meaning and every story the Shaper tells is to alter the people’s attitudes. While Grendel is conversing with the Dragon, the Dragon mocks the Shaper, “[He] provides an illusion of reality- puts together all their facts with gluey whine of connectedness. [...] But he spins it all together with harp runs and hoots, and they think what they think is alive, think Heaven loves them” (Pg. 65). This proves that humans are weak-minded and are easily persuaded into faulty stories; this puts humans into a low ranking scale of morality. Through Grendel’s observation of Hrothgar’s kingdom, is also considered a source of perspective. Grendel witnesses Wealtheow being used as a balance of harmony between the two rivaling families, the Danes and the Helmings. As Grendel spies on them he thinks to himself, “But she was beautiful and she surrendered herself with the dignity of a s...
Grendel, as a character, has a much more complex identity than just a monster and a human. Some, such as Ruud, classify him as a mixture of three different characteristics, but alone, they tend to conflict with each other. By making the connection that Grendel represents immorality, the previous idea makes more sense, while simultaneously incorporating more aspects of the character into the analysis. In either case, Grendel represents much more than meets the eye, and provides a fascinating insight into
John Gardner takes the English epic Beowulf and successfully changes the entire structure and style with his novel Grendel. In Gardner’s rendition, Grendel deviates from a pure monster with only a simple mind of evil, moving towards a being who is conscious of himself, his actions, and its consequential effects on the environment around him. Gardner consistently alludes to Nietzschean schools of thought, referencing concepts such as the role of God, His death, and existentialism itself. Grendel’s largely varying lines of thought not only incite his bizarre behavior, but also breeds catastrophe as a result.
Grendel is born a neutral being, perhaps even good, but nevertheless, without hate. The transition which he undergoes to become evil is due to misunderstandings between himself and humans and also meeting with a dragon who is questionably evil. As a young “monster”, Grendel knew nothing other than the cave he lived in and his mother who could not speak any distinguishable language. He was a playful creature who seemed to be like a “bla...
Out of the nearly seven billion people living in the world, not one can truly be classified as purely good or evil. Rather, people are a combination of both good and evil. The understanding of what it means to be good or evil is often flawed in today’s society. Good can best be defined as the ability to put others before one’s self. On the contrary, evil is a trait that is defined as having no mercy and lacking the ability to see another person's perspective. In Grendel, written by John Gardner, the main character named Grendel has been in battle for twelve years with King Hrothgar and his mead hall. Grendel can best be described in the novel as a sort of monster who has a tendency to become quite violent toward humans. Despite Grendel’s violence,
Although, authors usually portray monsters as two dimensional and stereotypical killers with no conscious and having no human traits that is not how gardner portrayed grendal in his telling of grendel. Gardner gives depth to grendel telling his side of the story through emotion and description giving him human characteristics to make him seem more human like. Gardner’s portrayal of Grendel is quite the opposite of the epic poem, where the poem leaves grendel to be remembered as only a psychotic
The human struggle, because of its adept nature, too often involves a thirst for a sense of belonging and a comprehensive understanding of the genuine purpose of life. In his novel Grendel, John Gardner ponders on and expresses various perspectives on this issue. Gardner implements this through the character of Grendel, who is withdrawn from any semblance of an interpersonal relationship, lacks a coherent ideology, and attempts to find fulfillment and purpose. On Grendel's journey various characters try to sway his perspective and feed him their various ideologies. Of which (one of) the most pivotal and alarming was the dragon. In Grendel, the dragon served as an extremist who tried to sway towards his ideology, and in quest for meaning the
Soon after he becomes a full-fledged killer, Grendel meets The dragon, a mysterious advice-giver inside his mind. He claims to know the past, present, and future and tells Grendel: “My advice to you, my violent friend, is to seek out gold and sit on it” (74). In this way Grendel is being offered a glimpse at a more positive way of living. One of the consequences of letting nihilism control his life is that he is backed into a corner he cannot easily escape. However, by choosing to abandon the evil philosophy and be content with the world as it is, Grendel can stop his life of senseless killing. The dragon knows Grendel’s worldview, as well as the fact that Grendel will never be able to go back to innocence, so he advises him to stop following nihilism and sit on gold, or do nothing. At the very least Grendel would waste away the rest of his life without harming others, but more likely he would eventually find happiness in something and experience the positive aspects of life. Readers of Grendel can learn from the dragon’s advice and stop the evil inside of them; all it takes is satisfaction with being unable to define and understand every working of the
As a result of not receiving help when the bull was attacking him, Grendel develops a new theory: “I alone exist. All the rest, I saw, is merely what pushes me, or what I push against, blindly—as blindly as all that is not myself pushes back. I create the universe, blink by blink” (Gardner 21-22). Grendel’s questioning of his way of living marks a transformation of Grendel into a mature character who gains knowledge from his experience with the bull, concluding that the world revolves only around him. The utilization of ‘I’ portrays that his growing isolation from the absence of his mother during the bull attack is what permits him to believe that he is superior to everyone else and the only worthy creature to exist. This foreshadows his ultimate purpose in life which is to kill mankind. Grendel, as the creator of the world, holds the ultimate power to decide who will live, lacking the perspective that there is a higher force other than himself. In other words, the experience Grendel acquires from the bull attack enables him to mature and obtain insight on the truth of his
In Grendel, each character tells of his or her view on philosophy, theory, and life. Grendel is a monster who is not sure where he fits in life. “Grendel is not just searching for one philosophy; he is just searching for the best way to live in the world” (Simmers 183). He goes to extreme limits to discover his character. Grendel shows a self-centered approach to the world as he exclaims, "The world resist me and I resist the world" (Gardner 28). Nothing in the world is going right for Grendel. Grendel feels resistant to life. Therefore, if society does not need him, then he does not need the society. The Dragon also views the world negatively, as a result of his praiseworthy perception of himself. Out of all the characters in the novel, the Dragon is one of Grendel's closest companions greatly impacting Grendel. The Dragon’s destructive philosophy views the world as meaningless. The dragon shares his selfish approach of life with Grendel telling him, "My advice to you, my violent friend, is to seek out gold and sit
Grendel is the embodiment of all that is evil and dark. He is a descendant of Cain and like Cain is an outcast of society. He is doomed to roam in the shadows. He is always outside looking inside. He is an outside threat to the order of society and all that is good. His whole existence is grounded solely in the moral perversion to hate good simply because it is good.
The villain of the story, Grendel is described from both a Christian and an Anglo-Saxon point of view. From a Pagan standpoint he is a “powerful monster”(20) categorized with “forms of evil—spirits, and fiends, goblins, monsters, giants”(20). As Christianity spread people no longer believed in these make-believe monsters as much as they did the teachings of the Bible. Instead, Christian monks translate Grendel as being “conceived by a pair of those monsters born of Cain, murderous creatures banished by God, punished forever for the crime of Abel’s death”(20). Grendel bears this curse of God, serving as a reminder to Christian followers that there is a punishment for their sins.
To defeat evil we must shed the grip that it has over us. Grendels "hatred rose higher, but his power had gone. He twisted in pain, and the bleeding sinews deep in his shoulder snapped, muscle and bone split and broke" (Burton 48). Beowulf disempowered Grendel by ripping of his arm. To rid ourselves from evil we must loosen its grip over us by eliminating its power. Grendel represents Beowulfs shadow. The suppressed shadow will surface to restore the imbalance in personality, like Grendel often surfaced from the swamp. Grendel is a symbol of the suppressed and unloved shadow, and he reeks terror on Herot to make his presence known. He represents the hidden neglected part of us. "Every part of our personality that we do not love will become hostile to us"(Bly 8). By storming into the mead hall and tearing the soldiers up before consuming them he represents this suppressed personality surfacing. Grendel is motivated by jealousy and anger. He is very envious and resentful towards the innocent people of the kingdom. He vents, and projects his anger onto society to restore a balance to Beowulfs personality. Grendel represents Beowulfs shadow. He is driven and motivated by the same things as Jungs description of the shadow. First of all, he represents the reaction of our shadow when it is neglected or suppressed. Second, he is an example of pure evil, a direct descendent from the source. Lastly he represents the inherent evil that is inside all of us. The potential for evil is always trying to show itself, and a continuous battle must be fought in order to rid ourselves from it. May writes, "If evil weren't their as a potentiality, the good would not be either" (175). Life will always be full of temptations that must be fought off daily. Grendel is an example of Woolard 3 the shadow fighting against oppression. When a particular emotion or thought is suppressed it is sometimes projected onto others. Anger at oneself can be transformed into anger towards others and the denial of ones evil. The neglected shadow if not projected in anothers direction, will surface in oneself to restore the imbalance personality. Evil presents us with a daily struggle between temptations and justice. Like Beowulf, we must battle the evils of our shadow until it has been recognized and defeated. Woolard 4