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Examples Of Nihilism In Beowulf

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Throughout the story Grendel has a hard time finding himself. Grendel travels on a journey and eventually become a nihilist. His journey to nihilism eventually was destroyed by Beowulf, however all and all he still followed the path of Existentialism. It is the believe that a person should make there own choices and find there own meaning in this world. From the fact that Grendel was unable to find meaning in this world he turned to nihilism and ultimately perished. Early in the book Grendel begins his like as an existentialist. After leaving his mother's cave, he discovered a confusing and difficult world to understand. With his new grown freedom Grendel establishes existentialism as his philosophy. Grendel is initially confused about …show more content…

In this particular part of the story existentialism is also put into play because Grendel chooses to stay in the Dragon’s lair. In the story the Dragon is presented to be the ultimate nihilist, he knows "The beginning, the present, the end. Everything You now, you see the past and the present. All time, all space. We see in one instant the passionate vision and the blowout.” (On Pages 62 and 63). The Dragon also follows the path of existentialism as a philosophy because he believes in meaningless, that all things in the universe will come to an end. Grendel leaves the Dragon's lair with a renewed confidence in himself. He now believes that the Dragon's words to be true, Grendel finds no reason to hold back on his inherently destructive desires. Grendel proceeds as a terrible monster, fulfilling all of his evil fantasies. The Dragon’s final advice to Grendel was to "seek out gold and sit on it" (Page …show more content…

Beowulf who is coming to kill Grendel from Hrothgar’s kingdom is the killer of nihilism in the book. After Grendel experiences nihilism he goes on a rampage of meaningless death and destruction, he eventually represents death and destruction. On the other had Beowulf is represented as a hero, so he mainly represents regeneration and goodness in the world. The Dragon did instal in Grendel that all things in the world are meaningless, however Beowulf with his armed fist teaches Grendel that “"where the water was rigid there will be fish" and "the world will burn green, sperm build again,” (Page170). Beowulf’s philosophy on regeneration and goodness is amplified after Beowulf destroys Grendel. Grendel has brought a lot of death to the world, because of that Beowulf promised to himself that he will kill

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As a creature who living in the world for a long time, I think the Dragon knows that no matter how Grendel try to be friendly with human, human will never accept him as a friend so

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Grendel remains in an inner conflict with his beliefs throughout the entire story. He is directed by two compelling desires in which play a role in introducing him to the divergences between good and evil. The Shaper convinces him with his meaningful music, whereas the dragon persuades him through his ideology of nihilism. Both the Shaper and the dragon play a part in influencing his views on the human society.

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Up until the end of Chapter 7, Grendel’s actions are influenced by the dragon.   He believes nothing matters, there is no good or bad, and everybody eventually dies. The people of Heort know Grendel as a monster and a killer and he lives up to his reputation.

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He is portrayed in the poem as a horrendous beast with human characteristics, but looking closer to the text, he is a human out-casted and raised to be a monster. Although Grendel is written as a monstrous villain who kills with no remorse, he is actually a complex human with a repressed anger exploding in bursts. Grendel is often described in a negative way. He is reffered to as a demon in the text “from Beowulf”

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Until , The Dragon started talking about time and space. At first Grendel tries to pay attention to him , but felt like everything The Dragon was saying was nonsense. The Dragon was getting very ferious , so he tells Grendel “ Nothing interest you but excitement , violence.. “ ( Gardner 5 ). Grendel replied to him immediately “ That’s not true ! “

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The dragon’s views about the world had finally gotten to him. After witnessing a goat mindlessly climb a mountain, and the death of the Shaper, Grendel’s final outlook on life becomes clear. “Nihil ex nihilo, I always say" (Gardner 150). This statement translates to nothing can come of nothing; it becomes clear Grendel views life as meaningless and pointless. His internal battle of philosophical beliefs came to a final halt, and never changed once he accepted nihilism.

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He asks the cosmos for someone to talk to, but of course receives no answer. Despite his aspirations to philosophical introspection, Grendel is essentially a lonely child looking for a friend. He envies both the Shaper and Hrothgar their companionship, even though he is constantly complaining about their self-deception and futility. Grendel sees the companionship of another as something higher (at least at the moment) than some abstract set of principles by which to live his life. So much for heroism.

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Grendel vs. “The monster” Grendel in the novel by John Gardner is very similar to “the monster” in Frankenstein by Mary Shelly because both Grendel and the monster feel like outsiders, they kill humans, and they both are able to learn new things. Grendel feels like an outsider because he knows he is different and he wants to know the truth of why he is what he is and why God made him that way. Grendel asks his mother “Why are we here?” which means that he is doubting his existence. Grendel kills humans in the mead hall while they are asleep.

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Moreover, Grendel’s last words indicate that something will happen to mankind as it did to himself. For instance, Grendel expresses, “there is no limit to desire but desire’s needs.” (Gardner 93). Such illustrates that Grendel can desire as much as he wants

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Grendel’s innocence when he was younger is shown throughout the beginning of the story, “ One morning I caught my foot in the crack where two trees joined. “Mama!” I was out much later than I'd meant to be” (Gardner 18). Grendel is out exploring the world and got his foot caught in a branch and is crying for his mother. Seeing this event from

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This is the beginning of Grendel falling directly into the role that the dragon said he would need to fill. Grendel’s murderous tendencies completely reflect the monstrous side of his personality and the more he kills the more he grows insane, separating from rational, humanistic thought. “I am swollen with excitement, bloodlust and joy and a strange fear that mingle in my chest like the twisting rage of a bone-fire... I am blazing, half-crazy with joy” (168). It is clear that, by the time Beowulf arrives, Grendel has embraced the fact that he is required to be evil, despite the fact that he previously claimed he would oppose that destiny.

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Argument Essay: Beowulf and Grendel Many people have read or heard of the epic poem of Beowulf, which spins a tale of Grendel, the monster, attacking the admirable Danes and their king, Hrothgar. Some may not be as aware of a book titled Grendel written by John Gardner in 1971. Gardner’s book tells a completely different account of the more familiar tale of Beowulf, from the perspective of Grendel, the monster. The narrator from Grendel portrays a more plausible, powerful story than the excerpt from Beowulf by drawing the reader in with a more emotional viewpoint from the character Grendel, making him more relatable by giving him humanlike qualities, and clarifying why certain events took place in Beowulf.

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The Green Knight and Grendel are two characters that represent the face of evil and horror. Grendel is the typical monster. He is massive and malicious. On the other hand, the Green Knight is innovative and capable of living decapitated. Both being similar in the fact that they are meant to portray the same type of character (antagonist), they are different in the way they challenge the protagonists and how they grow as characters.

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He attempts to make peace, his actions are no different than those of others, and he is experiencing resentment. Although there is no excuse for murdering others, Grendel does not kill for the fun of it. His actions are just reactions to emotions he is experiencing. Furthermore, his willingness to make peace emphasizes the remorse he feels for the crimes he has committed. This also shows that he acted impulsively because of his strong feelings of resentment.

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Beowulf vs Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon all represent a creature from hell and Beowulf is a god-like warrior who ends up slaying evil. “Like a man outlawed/for wickedness, he must await/the mighty judgement of God in majesty” (Beowulf 976 - 978). This quote talks about Grendel and his demonic soul. Beowulf points out that he is an evil creature and no creature ever to exist is powerful enough to smite God. Once Grendel dies, Grendel will be in God’s hands and Grendel will regret ever being evil or committing any evil action to anyone or anything on Earth.

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