Jayden Huang, Period 7, 2/17/22

 Jayden Huang, Period 7, 2/17/22

Write about your thoughts regarding any of the fiction or nonfiction covered in class.

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

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

Recently we’ve covered Chapter 8 of Grendel by John Gardner, specifically how it addresses the issues of power and authority. I found this chapter interesting and a little confusing to read. It veers from recounting Grendel’s spiel of thought and instead recounts events and speeches from Hrothulf. There’s dialogue and poetry weaved together in an overall commentary on the idea of the state. It felt like a break from the rest of the story and it brought up ideas to reflect upon. 

I was intrigued by Red Horse’s idea that all revolution is pointless as it replaces one oppressive government with another that declares its rule to be better than previous. This pattern is especially evident in the case of redlining. Assigning investment scores to districts was advertised as making it easier to get a loan for a mortgage, making housing cheaper and more readily available. However, this locked those in lesser-rated districts to where they were in social standing. They couldn’t get loans and as such these communities were trapped in a cycle. No investment meant no growth, and no growth encouraged future lack of investment. The cycle seemed to break with a “revolution” in the form of gentrification. But no matter how many high-rise condos were promised, life did not improve for the people in these communities. Rent soared, driving them away yet again to under-invested communities. 

I agree with Red Horse’s sentiment, that true justice can never be achieved. I see a parallel between this and the idea that life is meaningless because we’ll all die anyway. Where I truly agree with Red Horse is when he says “‘If you want me to help you destroy a government, I'm here to serve. But as for Universal Justice–’". Life is meaningless and revolution is pointless, but that doesn’t mean we should lie down and accept that. Pushing for change in your government is like putting/finding meaning in your life to escape the idea that nothing matters. It seems to me that Red Horse is to Hrothulf as the dragon is to Grendel. They both preach the pointlessness of their respective conflicts and how the best we can do is to continue anyway. 

All this philosophical talk makes me reflect inwards onto my own philosophy, how do I see life?  At the end of the day we’re just specks in the timeline of the universe so it seems that my life has little meaning. But there isn’t anything that has a significant impact on the universe, besides the big bang. If I look at things from the perspective of the universe, nothing matters. But the only perspective I have is my own, and in the grand scheme of my life the most important thing is to have enjoyed it. To me, this doesn’t mean being constantly happy all the time. As much as I hate a bad day, I can’t know a good day without one. It is the sum of all the good times that to me, makes life meaningful and worthwhile.