Throughout the novel Grendel by John Gardner more than one philosophy is brought to Grendel’s consideration. Confused and lonely, Grendel’s inner conflict is not understanding what the meaning of life is. Grendel does not know whether he is supposed to believe the Shaper and priest’s philosophy of vision and purpose or to believe the dragon’s philosophy that there is no meaning to life.
Early on in chapter two as the bull mindlessly attacks Grendel, he initially expresses skepticism and believes the world is meaningless. Grendel explains “I understood that the world was nothing: a mechanical chaos of casual, brute enmity on which we stupidly impose our hopes and fears. I understood that, finally and absolutely, I alone exist” (p.21-22). Later on, as Grendel encounters the Shaper, dragon, and priest his thoughts and feelings towards each philosophy change.
Grendel first knows of the Shaper in chapter three. The Shaper is persuasive and alleviates the stories he tells, giving the people an illusion of reality. Grendel states that the Shaper speaks of a world split between darkness and light “He told of an ancient world feud between two brothers which split all the world between darkness and light. And I, Grendel, was in the dark side….I believed him” (p.51).
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Like the Shaper, the priest speaks of life having purpose and tell Grendel about “The King of Gods” (p.131). Ork says the King of Gods is “the ultimate limitation” and “ultimate rationality” (p.131). The priest then starts shaking violently and explains that reality can change and all possibilities limit options for change "O the ultimate evil in the temporal world is deeper than any specific evil, such as hatred or suffering, or death! The ultimate evil is that Time is perpetual perishing, and being actual involves elimination" (p.132). Grendel then spares the priests life after contemplating killing him before his speech about the King of
“I wanted it, yes! Even if I must be the outcast,” (55). This is after Grendel has listened to the Shaper’s story about Cain and Abel. Grendel learns that he is the cursed descendant of Cain and is forever destined to be a monster. At first, he didn’t want to believe that is was true but after a while, he gladly accepted the role thus creating his own meaning. “I was Grendel, Ruiner of Meadhalls, Wrecker of Kings!” (80). This is when Grendel is experiencing his newfound invincibility to the humans and their weapons and he is tormenting them. After he visits the dragon in Chapter 5, Grendel has a renewed sense of confidence of who he is - which is a monster. In Chapter 6, he continues to terrorize the Danes and pursuing his monstrous desires. Grendel is acting upon his role as the monster because after speaking to the dragon, he realizes that nothing can stop
Particularly in chapter 3, Grendel listens as a blind old man, the Shaper, tells the tale of Danish history to Hrothgar. Though what is told is largely fictitious, Grendel cannot help but to feel strangely moved by the brilliance of the Shaper’s story. “Thus I fled, ridiculous hairy creature torn apart by poetry—crawling, whimpering, streaming tears, across the world like a two-headed beast, like mixed-up lamb and kid at the tail of a baffled, indifferent ewe—and I gnashed my teeth and clutched the sides of my head as if to heal the split, but I couldn’t.” (Grendel, John Gardner, pg.44) In this moment, Grendel’s mind is split between what he understands to be true and the truth that is desired. The world is callous and careless, blunt and belligerent; this he knows. However, with the artistic style and formation of the Shaper’s words, he is brought to tears and is captivated by his spiritual and emotional yearnings. Grendel is also overwhelmed with disgust and shame for himself and his vile
In John Gardner’s Grendel, the Shaper is an important contributing character that carries the plot in a historical sense. During the first encounter between the monster and the humans, Grendel hears of the stories and tales the Shaper is singing about in Hrothgar’s mead-hall. Throughout the story the Shaper tells about Danish history and the creation of man’s existence and Grendel is fascinated by this. After listening to the Shaper’s stories, Grendel starts to realize that what he is saying is not true, “I too crept away, my mind aswim in ringing phrases, magnificent, golden, and all of them, incredibly, lies,” and starts to question what is true and what is not (Gardner 43). The Shaper’s eloquent tales had a large effect on Grendel, “He told of an ancient feud between two brothers which split all the world between darkness and light. And I, Grendel, was the dark side...I believed him! Such was the power of the Shaper's harp!” (Gardner 52). Gardner’s writing of Grendel sheds light on a whole new side of Grendel, as opposed to the monstrous being in Beowulf; so much so that we can see a divide in G...
He doesn’t believe that he has done anything wrong, therefore he doesn’t believe that he is a bad person. In the novel Grendel, Grendel states that, “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 whole universe blink by blink… (Gardner, 22)”. This internal thought from Grendel at the beginning of his story shows his belief that he holds the power to choose his future and that he creates his own reality. He truly does believe that despite his killing nature and that he is not technically human, he can still live among them and rise above his original reputation. In his encounter with the dragon in chapter 5, Grendel is told that, "My knowledge of the future does not cause the future. It merely sees it” (Gardner 63). What the dragon says in this instance sticks with Grendel in the sense that even though he is drawing away from his existentialist views, he still knows that he controls himself. Him accepting this strikes as somewhat half existentialism and half nihilism due to the character arc taking place. In addition to the evidence of existentialism in the novel itself, there is also many instances within literary criticism that suggest Grendel’s
It bears mentioning that Grendel was strongly influenced by the idea of nihilism, which means that he believed that nothing has meaning and everything in life was an accident. “Nevertheless, it was
Authors often have to choose between concentrating on either plot or social commentary when writing their novels; in John Gardener's Grendel, the plot becomes is a secondary consideration. Grendel's exploits provide the reader with a clear understanding of the strong opinions the author carries and can be seen clearly as a narrative supporting nihilism in its many forms. The reader easily perceives the blatant religious subtext in the guise of corrupt priests and the foolish faithful. The notion of the old being wise is unacceptable to Gardener along with any notion of hero idolization. Within his novel, Gardner expresses his views concerning religion, wisdom and nature.
One thing that influences perception of reality that is initially explored in Grendel are words. This is demonstrated when Grendel secretly listens to the poem sung by the shaper, who is a blind court bard who sings poems with the harp, and sees how the people are
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
Ork, is the second character to maintain and adhere to a philosophical idea, notably metaphysics. Grendel finds Ork greatly puzzling, while fascinating. Grendel first encounters Ork when Grendel goes hunting. Grendel mentions that he has eaten priests, but they sit in the stomach like duck eggs. Thus, this tells the readers that Grendel has experience with Priests, although most of them have ended up dead. Additionally, it is important to note the location of their meeting. Grendel is already sitting in the center of the ring of gods at midnight while Ork upon hearing a strange sound arrives at the right of gods to investigate. When Grendel realizes someone is coming, Grendel decides to play with the person and pipes that he is “The Destroyer”. In response, Ork realizes he might be witnessing and talking to a God stammers “O blessed, blessed lord!”. Thus it becomes evident that Ork is an older priest, and knows the various gods. When Grendel asks Ork to tell him about the King of the Gods, Ork stammers but then illustrates the concept of metaphysics. The idea that “No reason can be given for the nature of God, because that nature is the ground of rationality”(131). This signifies that the nature of God does not have a reason to act the way he does as questioning the way of God is simply questioning the existence of the individual. This would work similarly with Grendel as Grendel is a monster, thus perceived to be a supernatural being. Questioning the work of Grendel would be akin to questioning the way of God, however it does not work in favor of Grendel as God is a true supernatural being, one that exists solely due to the pure belief of the people. Grendel, does exist. People see Grendel and Grendel sees them in the kingdom of Hrothgar. However, outside Hrothgar, the idea would work similarly for Grendel and God. Additionally, Ork continues that “The King of Gods is the actual entity in
Depicted is his first emergence from the cave and the dreamlike state he is in when venturing out into the wilderness, “I lived those years, as do all young things, in a spell”(pg. 16). This childish state he is in brings out complacency and apathy in addition to building his self image and relies heavily on feelings and tends to be more sensitive. Grendel endures several situations where he feel hurt, endangered and calls for his mother to help and assist him but no help comes. Being forced to find his own way causes Grendel to generate some understanding of worldly views, “I understood that the world was nothing: a mechanical chaos, brute enmity on which we stupidly impose our hopes and fears. I understood that, finally and absolutely, I alone exist”(pg. 22). This epiphany is brought on by the second zodiac Taurus represented by the bull who comes to protect the calf Grendel is hunting. Taurus and Grendel are related on the basis of feeling and self security, faith. Again the feeling of self centeredness and reliance is exemplified when Grendel confronts men for the first time. Exception is that his mother does come to his aid on this occasion and when it slides over to the cave his thoughts come to fruition , “ ...the meaningless objectness of the world….the world is a pointless accident...I exist nothing else” (pg. 28). Like a Taurus he is decisive and resolute in regards to
Someone once said, “stories can conquer fear. They can make the heart bigger.” In Grendel by John Gardner, the dragon represents immortal monsterhood and its lawlessness. The Shaper represents the mortality and noble pursuits of human culture. The Shaper and the dragon act as philosophically opposing forces in Grendel’s mind as he discovers how to define himself in relation to the rest of the world and explores the monumental power of stories.
In Grendel, nearly all of the characters are driven to shape the world to their ideas. Hrothgar spends his life crafting a government. Grendel's mother is described as loving her son "not for myself, my holy specialness, but for my son-ness, my displacement of air as visible proof of her power (138)." Both Grendel and the Shaper constantly seek the ability to reshape reality with words. While they have differing motives, all of these acts of creation give power and significance to the creator. As Baby Grendel desperately convinces himself, it is the act of observing and commenting on what is outside that makes one real: "I understood that, finally ...
Part of the development of a human being involves acquiring the ability to classify good and evil as well as distinguishing right from wrong. It has become an inherent trait that is invariably used in our everyday lives. In John Gardner’s novel, Grendel, the main character, Grendel, seeks to find the meaning of life. Through his journey, a depiction of the forces of good and evil is revealed. Aside from being a novel about the search for the meaning of life, Grendel also suggest society’s good and evil have a meaningful and imbalanced relationship where good prevails evil yet facing evil is still critical.
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.
Grendel is exposed as a protagonist and a monster in this story. Grendel has had a non going feud with the danes for over the years until now when something has gradually changed. The science of behavior and mind, embracing all aspects of conscious and unconscious experience as well as thought. Grendel all he wants is to be accepted and fit in but given that the danes see him as a monster all they want to do is kill him. Which spikes some conflict between grendel and the danes. Since the danes have their own version of the shaper to fill their heads with lies that causes grendel to have to find a solution to so them the truth. The dragon from my point of view is grendel’s version of the shaper to him who fills his head with tricks and confusion.