2/27/20 Sara Wu Period 8

February 27, 2020

Sara Wu Pd 8

Aim: How are philosophies of religion and government constructed by the characters in Grendel?

DN: Is Red Horse an anarchist? What is the purpose of explaining this to a prince? Argue: is this true or false?

Stanley started the discussion by saying that Red Horse is definitely an anarchist because he believes the government is violent and therefore wrong. The prince is young, so he is easily influenced by those around him. Since he is the prince, he has a chance of securing the throne, a place of great authority. In this case, Red Horse is acting as a puppeteer to make the prince possibly do what he wants in the future. Joshua adds on, saying Red Horse believes that all forms of government are evil. However, he doesn’t agree with this viewpoint. Though giving too much power to one person could make them become evil, giving people a little power, like the system we have today, can prevent the government from becoming evil.

Consider Tolstoy’s perspective on government compared up to Red Horse and the Priest. Are government and religion synonymous? Are they ubiquitous? Are they necessary?

Alan states that government and religion are synonymous because a lot of laws have something to do with morality and morality is a huge part of religion. There isn’t a way to separate government and religion. Both government and religion bring purpose and structure to people so they are very much necessary. To counter this point, Ruby brings up the point that not everyone is religious. Many people are atheists so does that mean they don’t have a moral code? Religion does have a lot of morality but she believes humans are born with a sense of morality. Morality also stems from one's environment and parents. 

Josh makes a great point about whether or not we had a religion when we first learned how to make a fire. Ultimately, we ended up with a question. Just where does morality come from???

Fear not because next week’s class with Mr. Spellacy is all about the moral philosophy. Please come to class prepared!

Ms. Fusaro then presented us with her thought bubbles of insanity:

• Ork? Orc - Like Lord of the Rings?
• The “Great Destroyer”!?
• Black Sun with Spiders
• Ork’s a priest… how about his friends? What does this remind you of?
• Wings
• Snow
• 
  

Snow is a symbol of innocence and purity, as well as the end of something. In movies and books, the black sun is well... bad. These two things can be linked back to the events of Ragnarok. Before Ragnarok, there was a snowstorm which was a warning for what was about to come down and during Ragnarok, Fenrir devoured the sun. Winter can be seen as an omen for the end of Grendel's life by the hands of Beowulf.

Ryan ties Ork and the other priests with the Book of Job. Like Job’s friends, the priests were doubtful of Ork and his God. They think that he has gone senile. In this case, however, maybe Ork has truly talked to the Great Destroyer. Grendel impersonated this god and afterward, he was unable to fall towards hell, to the dragon. Grendel wasn't a god initially but he has impersonated god.

Reflection:

Today's discussion revolved around the idea that Grendel is a part of the Great Destroyer. As shown in both Ragnarok and Noah's Arc, god is both a creator and a destroyer. I learned that Grendel's existence gives humans a purpose but in being the enemy of humans, he in turn also gives himself purpose by being a part of the Great Destroyer. His existence brings the hero, aka Beowulf, to make an appearance and purge the world of sin.