The All Pervading Darkness

When I was a kid, there was a door that linked our living room to the hallway that branched off to the bedrooms. At night when I needed to take a leak, I would always glance at the crack between that door and the wall, just to check if there wasn't anything lurking in that gap. I guess I wasn't really scared of the dark, but of the possibility that something was hiding within, waiting for me to be off my guard. After taking my leak, I would walk briskly back to my room and it was all I could do to keep myself from slamming the door. I was afraid that whatever was lurking there would be following me back to my room. Sometimes I would even feel a presence behind me and I would basically run back to my room and cry myself back to sleep. That door became the bane of my existence as night fell. Every night before I went to bed I looked around the corner of the door just to check, despite the fact it kept me awake during the night.

Grendel Argument Essay Final Reflection

Throughout the creation of this paper, I learned the importance of audience and how, with an audience in mind, it can influence the tone and the connections you make within the paper. With audience, I learned more about using specific phrases or words and putting them into context specific for the audience. With my audience, I have also discovered how the variations of Grendel, whether in the poem, movie, novel or comic, can be related to some kind of hero or villain portrayed in the movies that we see today. For example, within my essay, I linked the portrayals of Grendel in the poem, movie and comic to that of Loki in the Norse myth. Loki is just a simple prankster in the myth and similarly, Grendel is only a simple monster that exists for Beowulf to defeat him. In addition, Grendel's hatred for hypocrisy can be related to the ideology of the Joker from The Dark Knight. In addition, I have learned more on MLA formatting and citing my sources, particularly manually inputting my sources. It's still hard to remember all the MLA formatting, but I think I better understand it, which helps me remember it more. With this argument essay, I have learned more about writing towards a particular audience, connections and MLA format.

Grendel Argumentative Essay Check In

So far in the first draft of my argumentative essay, I've been focusing on concise writing, but enough that my point is still conveyed to the reader. I have heeded the advice Dr. Clark, my instructor, has given me and I have tried to change the way I color-coded my essay in order to separate claims, counterclaims, background and unnecessary sentences. I think my essay is well put together so far, but I still think it could be a bit shorter, and closer to the two page limit (I'm a bit over 2 pages), but I'm not entirely sure what I can shorten or take out. I think I can make some of the longer claims and counterclaims shorter by using shorter words or something like that, but I don't think it will be enough. I think I may have to completely go over the entire essay and rewrite the longer portions into shorter and concise sentences. There may be some more problems, things that I didn't notice, with my first draft, but it's a draft, so I still have room and time to improve it.

Grendel Adaptations

From the film Beowulf directed by Robert Zemeckis, Grendel is portrayed quite similarly to the one found in the epic poem. One of the things that the film accurately captures of Grendel from the poem is the characterization of the ugly brute. The Grendel in the film is indeed ugly, with a lopsided mouth, little eyes, long limbs and ridiculously huge. In addition, his inhuman strength is also shown, as he rips apart Hrothgar's thanes like dolls and throws them across the meadhall as if they were tennis balls. In the poem, there isn't really much about Grendel's appearance besides the description of the arm, and the director seemed to have re-imagined what Grendel looks like. However, in the novel Grendel by John Gardner, there is a more detailed description of Grendel as hairy and ugly (judging from the reactions of the Danes). It seems almost as if Grendel in the film is a walking corpse, with a body pockmarked with holes. It also seems like the Grendel's body is a mass of tendons and muscles, and not covered by skin, giving the impression of a walking corpse. In addition, Grendel's bloodlust and rage is also captured with the unearthly screaming as he enters the meadhall. He proceeds to rip apart the thanes as they try to bring him down, completely demolishing them. This is a big part of Grendel's personality shown in the epic poem as a bloodthirsty monster that hates men and tries to destroy mankind at every turn. Just as a side note, Grendel doesn't end up eating anyone in this part of the film, but may have eaten later. The film clip has basically embodied the character of Grendel, in the sense that Grendel is bloodthirsty, strong and ugly. However, the one thing that the film fails to include is the fact that Grendel is impervious to any sort of weapon that the Danes use against him.

The comic strip from Beowulf: Dragon Slayer Issue #1 portrays the appearance of Grendel as an ugly brute as well, with long canines and sharp claws. Similarly to the film clip from Beowulf directed by Robert Zemeckis, Grendel has claws instead of fingers. In addition, in the comic strip, Grendel is able to lift two men like they were pillows and throw them around like he was having a pillow fight with himself. Similarly in the film, Grendel is able to throw around full grown men as well. Thus, the comic strip also accurately captures the strength and ugliness within the poem. In addition, the comic strip also shows the big part of Grendel's character, which is a bloodthirsty monster who wants to kill mankind. While it is only comic violence and no blood or gory bits are shown, it could be inferred that Grendel has at some time killed the thanes of Hrothgar in his raids in his rough treatment of them. Thus, the comic strip also, like the film, embodies Grendel's basic character as a bloodthirsty monster that is strong and ugly. However, the comic strip is completely missing the part that Grendel is impervious to weapons, and while it may show it later, the comic strip, in so far, fails to show the almost invincible nature of Grendel. An interesting thing is that in the comic strip, Grendel is capable of thinking as he schemes and complains of the Danes. This is also shown in the novel Grendel by John Gardner. The Grendel portrayed in the novel is capable of cognitive thinking, as well as speech. However, the language that Grendel speaks is not exactly the same as the language of the Danes, but it is similar enough that the Danes, particularly Unferth, one of Hrothgar's thanes, can understand him. Technically, this is not a failure to embody Grendel, but since the poem does not show that Grendel is able of thinking, it could be considered a "failure". So far, throughout the comic strip, the character of Grendel has been portrayed relatively accurately, only leaving out some of the details.

Nihilistic Dragon

The dragon within Grendel by John Gardner is depicted as a nihilistic creature, and it almost imposes it's views on poor Grendel. Throughout the chapter in which the dragon is speaking, it is evident that the dragon is an existential nihilist. In a part of his conversation with Grendel, the dragon says that the "essence of life" is discovered within the "frustrations of the established order", and that the universe resists any attempts of "complete conformity" (67). This is an example of nihilism, particularly the part about the universe refusing conformity, but it is also an example of cosmic nihilism*. When the dragon says that the "essence of life" is found within the "frustrations of the established order", it may be interpreted that life itself is inside the frustrations of a chaotic system. With that in mind, it is possible to conclude that the dragon thinks that nature, or life, is basically indifferent, and may be hostile to humans. With this hostility, the essence of life emerges. Grendel is a prime example: since he is not human, one can assume he is with natural forces. These natural forces, or Grendel, come to destroy the established order of humans, causing an adverse effect of blossoming culture. The dragon confirms this by saying that Grendel is the "brute existent" that the Danes "learn to define themselves." (73). Grendel, and the rest of the forces of nature, are the ones drive mankind "to poetry, science, [and] religion" (73). This is an example of cosmic nihilism in the dragon.

Since nihilism is the philosophy that everything eventually turns out to become meaningless, there is no point to pin meaning to any thing within the universe. This is why the dragon claims that the universe resists the attempts of conformity to human interpretations. For example, the Shaper is someone who helps the Danes pin a meaning on to things that are happening around them, like Grendel attacking Heorot. The Shaper sings in his song that essentially, Grendel is a part of "the terrible race God cursed" (51). The dragon states that the Shaper's words as "illusion" (62), meaning that they are just a facade that provided the people with a structural framework for them to live by, familiarize themselves with, and make it become a part of their culture. In the Beowulf epic poem, the Germanic warrior culture of the Danes, Geats and Swedes are always referenced, and some of these values appear within Grendel. A prime example is Unferth's argument against Grendel about the meaning of the word heroism, and how a hero is one who "sees values beyond what's possible" and that is the true "nature of a hero", and that makes "the whole struggle of humanity worthwhile"(89). At this time, Grendel does not agree with Unferth's definition, and the dragon more so. The dragon, due to his extensive knowledge of the past, present and future, considers the history of man just a "swirl in the stream of time" (70), let alone the values that they held dear to them. Due to his supposed huge cache of knowledge, almost everything becomes inconsequential and insignificant to him, which is why he is also a moral nihilist as well as an epistemological nihilist**. As a moral nihilist, the dragon rejects the values and morals that man holds dear, because they are inconsequential. These values essentially become meaningless in the dragon's wide scope of past, present and future, and thus mean nothing to him. As an epistemological nihilist, the dragon denies the truths and meanings that the humans pin to specific phenomena because of the same reason: in his wide scope of past, present and future, the history of man and his values, truths and meanings are only a "temporary gathering of bits" and just a "few random dust specks" (70), merely "a ripple in Time's stream" (71). Thus, the dragon disregards the values, truths and meanings of mankind as trivial in his vast view of time.

Just as a side note, this reminds me a lot of Joker from The Dark Knight film. The Joker believed in the philosophy of a life without rules was the best one, and it relates to nihilism. As stated before, nihilism is the philosophy that everything is meaningless, and so there is no point in trying to place limitations, or force things to conform to you because it will essentially turn out to become a wasted effort. This is similar to Joker's ideals because he thinks that rules will only get in his way when he wants to do something, so without rules, he won't be limited. Nihilists have the same view, but differing results, meaning that they also think that rules and limitations are pointless, but not because they want to achieve something, but the fact that nihilistic philosophy states that rules and limitations are pointless. So, in a sense, Joker is a nihilist, and I think he is most likely a moral nihilist, and possibly an epistemological nihilist.

Anyway, back to the dragon. Since the dragon fulfils the requirements of a moral nihilist, epistemological nihilist and cosmic nihilist, the dragon can be considered as an existential nihilist.

I used an essay as well as a SparkNotes report to help me compile this analysis of the nihilism of the dragon as portrayed in Grendel by John Gardner.

*Cosmic nihilism is also similar to, and may also be known as, the philosophy of Cosmicism
**Epistemological nihilism is also similar to, and may also be known as, philosophical skepticism

Grendel and Irony

In the first three chapters of the novel Grendel by John Gardner, the reader is able to notice that some things about Grendel's character, from the epic poem Beowulf, are reiterated and reinforced in the novel. However, there are some things about Grendel that are new, surprising and unexpected. For example, the fact that Grendel is a sentient and intelligent being is extremely unexpected because in Beowulf, Grendel is shown as a savage monster that lives only for the hunt for humans, the satisfied feeling of being well-fed, and the salty taste of human blood. The fact that Grendel is a sentient and intelligent being is also part of an ironic situation in the story. An event that is ironic is when it does not turn out to your expectations, but on the contrary, turn out to become the opposite of your expectations. In the case of Grendel, when he gets stuck in the tree and met humans for the first time, it is ironic that even though Grendel and Hrothgar (and his entourage) are sentient and intelligent entities, they don't realize that they are similar until much later, and only Grendel makes the connection. The confrontation ends with all hell breaking loose as Hrothgar hurls a battle axe at Grendel, while Grendel's mother comes charging down the mountain. You would expect Grendel to realize immediately that Hrothgar and his entourage are also capable of thinking, much like how he is, but he doesn't realise until they start attacking him. He realises with a sudden jolt that mankind wasn't a "dull mechanical bull" but were "thinking creatures, pattern makers, [and] the most dangerous things [he'd] ever met." (27). As Hrothgar's thanes attack Grendel, he shouts "'You're all crazy,' [he] bellowed, 'you're all insane!'" (27). This is ironic because Grendel doesn't realise that he is basically the same as the humans in all but appearance only. You would expect Grendel to understand this when he hears them talking, but he doesn't until it's too late. Eventually, Grendel comes to the conclusion that humans are the monsters, while the humans are coming to the conclusion that Grendel is the monster.