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Imagery in shakespeares play
Description Literary analysis on John Gardners "Grendel"
Imagery in shakespeares play
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Humans as a species often criticize nature for its chaotic tendencies; society views itself as more sophisticated and civilized than nature. Human society has many characteristics, such as art, that set it apart from lower species, yet it still possesses many of the traits that the world naturally displays. In his novel, Grendel, John Gardner explores the relationship between humans and nature, proving that humans are often as turbulent as nature. Through Grendel’s history with humans – his interactions with and observations of them – Gardner shows how humanity is not above the instinctual behavior of nature.
Throughout the novel, Grendel repeatedly interacts with humans, leading him to formulate an opinion about them: the humans in the
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novel are no better than the rest of natural society. When Grendel first discovers the path out of his cave, he is baptized as he emerges through the snakes, leaving him open minded and neither inherently good nor bad. Shortly after, Grendel is stuck in a tree, where he encounters a bull and a group of humans.
The bull repeatedly stabs Grendel’s ankle with his horn, not bothering with precision or accuracy. After the bull, a group of humans comes along, and at first they appear more thoughtful than the bull. However, their apparent intelligence does not stop them from attacking Grendel out of fear. During the encounter, the humans are wearing helmets with horns on them, similar to the bull, thus connecting them to nature. This connection, as well as the similarities between the actions of the humans and the actions of the bull, helps to show how humans are not superior to the lawlessness of nature. As the first time Grendel meets humans, this event serves to ignite his underlying hatred of humans, which solidifies as the novel progresses. Despite initial hostilities between Grendel and the humans, their society begins to enchant Grendel with the ability to create false stories of hope, and the creature aspires to join them. Instead of the welcoming embrace of society he expects due to the stories of the shaper, he is greeted by an attack. Grendel responds by taking a soldier and biting his head off, and in this process blood sprays over him. The blood is another …show more content…
baptism, causing Grendel to be reborn as the monster the humans assume he is. His past experiences, when he considers them beside this new experience, push him to realize that the humans will never change; society merely pretends that it is superior to nature. The blood also creates a link between Grendel and the humans, which juxtaposes their respective actions: Grendel tries to forgive, but the humans still attack him. Thus, the hypocrisy of the human society stands out, both to the reader and to Grendel. The tension between Grendel and the humans shows how instinct restricts human understanding from surpassing that of nature. Failure to understand is not the only problem Grendel encounters: his observations of the humans show that they have a tendency to be worse than other species when fighting, despite maintaining an illusion of sophistication.
After Grendel first meets Hrothgar, he begins to keep an eye on the young civilization nearby. He describes how rival bands have daily fights on the snow, staining it red with blood. Yet Grendel also tends to focus on the beauty the humans can create, listing numerous items they have created. The juxtaposition of beauty and violence serves as the basis of human society in Grendel’s eyes, emphasizing the contradictory nature of humanity. Additionally, the use of Grendel’s point of view allows Gardner to show the reader how absurd it is that a species so civilized can be so violent, because he can picture human society as a whole and can compare them to himself. Through these observations, Grendel begins to picture humans as below nature in terms of order, because “no wolf was so vicious to other wolves.” He shows this view in a different way later in the novel when he begins to display the villagers as if they were in a play. The syntax – stanzas similar to lines in a play – highlights how Grendel finds humans to be entertaining as they worry about little things, while he sees the bigger picture. The switch in narrative methods also allows Gardner to display the thoughts the humans have, allowing the reader to compare the human thoughts with
Grendel’s thoughts, highlighting the irrational worries of society. Grendel’s opinion of human civilization represents a continuation of the one that began when he first met the humans and developed as he repeatedly observed the humans. In turn, Gardner uses Grendel’s observations of humans to stress how society contradicts itself by thinking it is above nature, while in reality society is often less ordered than nature. Grendel’s view of the human race enables Gardner to display the faults of human society that keep it from truly going beyond its roots in nature. The monster’s encounters with humans in the novel, as well as his objective observations of the growing society lead the reader to conclude that human society is not any better than lower forms of society. While human society may harbor the illusion of elegance, there remains an innate connection to the instincts of nature.
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
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.
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
Throughout John Gardner’s Grendel, the audience bears witness to a creature who has been ostracized by the world around him. Throughout his journey, the stories protagonist tries to live out his own life the way he wants to, despite being labeled as evil by those around him. Due to this constant criticism by his peers, he develops an inferiority complex that he desperately tries to make up for as the story progresses. Throughout his development, Grendel very rapidly moves past his existentialist beginning, through a brief phase of forced skepticism, and into a severely nihilistic point of view.
Grendel and the humans share a common language, but the humans’ disgust for, and fear of Grendel precludes any actual meaningful exchange.
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.
Grendel, surprisingly, adapts quite well to his society despite its detestation of his existence. Grendel live is a rattlesnake-guarded cave, which allows himself to detach from his society, giving him the necessary space to cope with the troublesome thoughts among his people about Grendel. Unlike Frankenstein, Grendel tries to associate with the members of his civilization but is rejected every time he tries to do so. Every night Grendel goes to Herot to listen to the Sharper’s stories because the history interests him. He is quite intrigued and appreciative of the tales he hears, but when he comes in contact with those from Herot, they do not reciprocate the appreciation of his presence in Herot. The ones he admires so much taunt and torture him to the point they try to kill him for “intruding.” As retaliation, Grendel fights back and raids Herot every night.
One of the prevalent themes John Gardner mentions in the story of Grendel is that perceptions of reality between people are different. Gardner reveals to readers throughout the novel that words, events, experiences, and beliefs forge character’s realities. In Grendel perception of reality greatly affects people’s actions, their viewpoints towards life, and decisions. For example, Grendel’s perception of reality is that the world is solely mechanical and is created with his words.
Grendel as a character is very intelligent, he is capable of rational thought at all times. Because of this, at sometimes during the story I would forget Grendel is a monster, the way he acts in his thoughts and actions I would mistake him for a human; at times I was even feeling bad for Grendel because he is a very lonely person who tries to understand all of the meaningless of the world around him. Grendel can never get to close to
"People say that what we're all seeking is a meaning for life. I don't think that's what we're really seeking. I think that what we're seeking is an experience of being alive...." Joseph Campbell made this comment on the search for meaning common to every man's life. His statement implies that what we seem bent on finding is that higher spark for which we would all be willing to live or die; we look for some key equation through which we might tie all of the experiences of our life and feel the satisfaction of action toward a goal, rather than the emptiness which sometimes consumes the activities of our existence. He states, however, that we will never find some great pure meaning behind everything, because there is none. What there is to be found, however, is the life itself. We seek to find meaning so that emptiness will not pervade our every thought, our every deed, with the coldness of reality as the unemotional eye chooses to see it. Without color, without joy, without future, reality untouched by hope is an icy thing to view; we have no desire to see it that way. We forget, however, that the higher meaning might be found in existence itself. The joy of life and the experience of living are what make up true meaning, as the swirl of atoms guided by chaotic chance in which we find our existence has no meaning outside itself.
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
While the monsters of the poem are the antagonists of the poem, the author still manages to make the reader feel traces of sympathy for them. Grendel’s human depiction, exile and misery tugs at the heart of readers and indeed shows a genuine side to the figure, while Grendel’s mother and the dragon are sympathetic mainly because they were provoked into being attacked over things they both had a deep affection for. Their actions make us question whether they are as evil as they seem.
Grendel feels like an outcast in the society he lives in causing him to have a hard time finding himself in the chaotic world. He struggles because the lack of communication between he and his mother. The lack of communication puts Grendel in a state of depression. However, Grendel comes in contact with several characters with different philosophical beliefs, which allows his to see his significance in life. Their views on life influence Grendel to see the world in a meaningful way.
...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.
...zes humanity in this scene by portraying them as the evil beings instead of Grendel who is the helpless victim of their savage assault. The men attack Grendel solely because they could not understand him and because of his appearance. Grendel makes no attempt to harm the men but to communicate with them while they are the ones that savagely tried to kill him. John Gardner portrays the men as the real monsters who mercilessly tried to kill Grendel while he was defenseless. Grendel has another revelation due to this attack in where he states. “The world resists me and I resist the world… “That’s all there is.”(Gardner, 28) Grendel makes this assertion as a means to organized the ways he perceives the world. While he once saw the world as a confusing array of frightening images, now he can separate the world into categories: those who do not resemble him and himself.