John Gardner's novel"Grendel"

Categories: Novel

Thesis Statement:

In John Gardner's novel, Grendel's representation of social groups is very eminent to the readers than the characters themselves. The portrayal of good versus evil is humans are good and evil belongs to the monster. Gardner also uses the act of heroism to mock the idea of the human's good acts. Gardner uses the acts of philosophy, the point of view depicts from the Monster view and the acts of heroism to show the good versus evil plots in Grendel.

Key point 1:

Gardner uses philosophy to show the acts of evil that Grendel or Monsters of the night are less than humans.

EX 1: Solipsism

Solipsism is the idea of alone self. I am the only one that exists. 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. 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.

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I create the whole universe, blink by blink. An ugly god pitifully dying in a tree! (Gardner,22). Grendel has this belief of nothingness in the world since his mother doesn't reciprocate his idea of love, all he feels is he is alone.

EX 2: Nihilism

Nihilism is the belief that all-purpose to life is nothing. They sense that, of course, from time to time; they have an uneasy feeling that all they live by is nonsense.

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They have dim apprehensions that such propositions as 'God does not exist' are somewhat dubious at least in comparison with statements like 'All carnivorous cows eat meat.' That's where the Shaper saves them. Provides an illusion of reality" (Gardner,65). The dragon is an extreme character that shows nihilism at the best. The dragon lives in a cave exempted from the people of Danes and yet still overlook the mead-hall and look at the people living their lives. He sees them being loyalists and having a purpose to reproduce and plenish. Their world is corrupted and yet brain-washed.

Skepticism

Skepticism is the belief to doubt something. Grendel seeing Wealtheow for the first time and confuses with all this emotion whirling in. He sees her as a beautiful creature and become sad with the thoughts because he has never felt this way before.

EX 3: Old Testament

The old testaments are the first part of the bible. The old testaments depict God's promises.  The harp turned solemn. 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, he said in effect. The terrible race God cursed." (Gardner,51)The quote above is a toy of Cain and Abel. Cain was the farmer and Abel was the flicker. They were told to bring sacrifices to God, but God favored Abel more and Cain killed him. In the quote above, Grendel is a descendant of Cain

Key point 2:

Gardner uses a monster to tell the story and distinguishes the good versus evil. For the good side, we can see there is a struggle back and forth to tell

EX 1: New Testament

The New Testaments is the second part of the bible and talks about the teachings of Jesus and the promises of God in the old testament coming to life.The queen smiled. Impossibly, like roses blooming in the heart of December, she said, "That's past." And it was. The demon was

Exorcized. Gardner, 104). The quote has to do with the New Testaments. The quote says that when the queen smiled, she drove evil away in a good way. In the Bible, Jesus healed people in the same way.

EX 2: How he sees humans' reactions to each other.

Then once, around midnight, I came to a hall in ruins. The cows in their pens lay burbling blood through their nostrils, with javelin holes in their necks. None had been eaten. The watchdogs lay like dark wet stones, with their heads cut off, teeth bared. The fallen hall was a square of flames and acrid smoke, and the people inside (none of them had been eaten either) were burned black, small like dwarfs turned dark and crisp. (Gardner,33)

EX 3: The dragon curse could be seen as either one.

I discovered that the dragon had put a charm on me: no weapon could cut me. I could walk up to the mead-hall whenever I pleased, and they were powerless. My heart became darker because of that. Though I scorned them, sometimes hated them, there had been something between myself and men when we could fight. Now, invulnerable, I was as solitary as one live tree in a vast landscape of coal." (Gardner,66-67).

Key point 3:

Gardner uses the act of heroism to show that you either have it or you do not. In this book, we get to see Grendel's views on the word heroism through his interactions.

EX 1: Grendel coming in thinking he is about to save the animals from despair.

Then once, around midnight, I came to a hall in ruins. The cows in their pens lay burbling blood through their nostrils, with javelin holes in their necks. None had been eaten. The watchdogs lay like dark wet stones, with their heads cut off, teeth bared. The fallen hall was a square of flames and acrid smoke, and the people inside (none of them had been eaten either) were burned black, small like dwarfs turned dark and crisp. (Gardner,33)

EX 2: Shaper acts of him acting good.

It will be sung, he whispered, then paused again to get wind. It will be sung year on year and age on the age that Unferth went down through the burning lake he paused to pant and gave his life in battle with the world-rim monster. He let his cheek fall to the floor and lay panting for a long time, saying nothing. It dawned on me that he was waiting for me to kill him. I did nothing. I sat down and put my elbows on my knees and my chin on my fists and merely watched. (Gardner, 86).

EX 3: Grendel makes his death happens.

It was an accident, I bellow back. I will cling to what is true. Blind, mindless, mechanical. Mere logic of chance.(Gardner,173).

Updated: Apr 19, 2023
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John Gardner's novel"Grendel". (2019, Dec 18). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/outline-form-written-task-2ib-language-literature-hl-note-ib-example-essay

John Gardner's novel"Grendel" essay
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