Belinda Yeung, 3/20/2021, PD8, Day C

Belinda Yeung
Period 8
3/18/21
Day C

Modern Mythology 2021

Write about your thoughts regarding the most current reading.

In the original poem, Beowulf, Grendel is portrayed as the monster that wreaks havoc in the Danish kingdom and acts as Beowulf’s foil and ultimately becomes another achievement in his legacy. While John Gardener’s Grendel has his own chain of thoughts and is the narrator in this refreshing shift in perspective that paints Grendel in a whole new light. Gardner’s Grendel is more relatable and asks lots of questions that we ask ourselves, especially during our adolescent years. Grendel seeks companionship, the purpose of his existence, and answers about the meaning of life. But the answers he receives aren’t clear-cut nor are they easy for him to comprehend. He is torn between two sides of the extreme, between the shaper’s existentialism and the dragon’s Nihilism.

In this version, Grendel’s enemy is not the Danes but himself. His internal conflict is deciding which worldview is right and which one to believe. It’s easier to just believe what you are told than to venture into the unknown, where the truth might not be as beautiful as the lie. The lie that the shaper created is contradictory to what Grendel sees, human corruption and brutality, but is easier to digest if everything was as simple as black and white, good and bad. Although Grendel’s train of thought seems simple, his simple acts of questioning allude to something greater that is still relevant to this day. Cynicism, the very act of being skeptical, has been the source of most of our scientific explanations and progress. Even now, we are skeptical of what we are told, always taking what we hear and see with a grain of salt, and that type of mentality is explored by Grendel.

Reflect on any new information you have learned in English class by considering how that learning influences your critical perception.

I learned about two types of worldviews, Existentialism, and Nihilism. Existentialism like Nihilism believes that the world intrinsically lacks meaning, while existentialism is the take control of your life and make it your own approach, and nihilism simply accepts this to be true and in turn, efforts are also pointless. With these worldviews in mind, my perception and understanding of the characters in Grendel make more sense as well as other pieces of literature. There is no right or wrong worldview since it’s all a matter of perspective and what you believe so this ties in with my critical perception as well. To be more open-minded, but also to research the source of the worldview. For instance, we learned about Gardner’s childhood and what was happening at his time. He watched his brother get crushed and killed in front of him as a child as well as a bunch of social and political events like the Civil Rights Movement and the Cold War. His experiences all influenced his piece Grendel and can be used to explain why he chooses to explore worldviews like existentialism and nihilism, that carry an overall negative connotation in regards to the meaning of the world and the efforts one can make.

How is what you’re learning applied to any other classes/the world around you?

From Grendel, we learned that things are always deeper than on the surface level as well as the matter of perspective that makes all the difference. This is applicable in my government class as well as in general when we discussed media bias and media framing. When considering things portrayed on social media or on the news, we need to be conscious of whether or not what we see is true or the full story. Like how Beowulf versus Grendel shows two sides of the story, in my government class, we compared two different news stations covering the same topic, yet the approach you get varies drastically. Grendel also explores various worldviews and they all are valid to a certain extent and I think it’s worth considering and incorporating into one’s overall life philosophy. The freedom and responsibility aspect of existentialism is very satisfying while the skepticism aspect of nihilism is equally important. I adopted aspects of each into my own worldview where I believe my efforts can bring my life meaning and accept that my meaning in life might not be the same as what others find important or the mainstream beliefs.