Joseph Kang, Period 7, 3/4/2022

 Joseph Kang

Period 7

3/4/2022

Modern Mythology 2022

Literacy & Learning

• 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?

(Warning: the third paragraph may or may not be a spoiler of the anime Death Note)

In class, we have been reading about Grendel, a book written in the hypothetical perspective of Beowulf’s antagonist Grendel. Although I haven’t put too much thought into reading this book, one thing that constantly stands out to me is Grendel’s nihilism. Throughout the book, Grendel is always sulking about how everything will come to an end and harbors a destructive personality as a result of his nihilist thoughts. For example, he kills various living things, including a mountain goat and a group of playing children, because he gets angry at the purposeful and existential attitude they had. I find this very interesting about Grendel because in the way I see it, Grendel is trying to put everyone out of their misery but is under deep delusion. In other words, he is so deep into his nihilistic beliefs that he believes that no one’s life matters. He is under the impression that everything will die anyways so killing them at those moments doesn’t affect anything. This also implies that he has a god complex, which gives him the confidence to carry out his actions. 

When I think of Grendel’s nihilism, an esports pro by the alias Steel comes to mind. Around 8 years ago, he made a video saying that it is impossible for someone to pursue a career in something they are not naturally talented in. To contextualize, Steel had just finished a game where he was yelling at his teammates and mentally breaking down because his team didn’t perform. His decision to subsequently make the video was interesting because it reminded me of Grendel’s aggressive personality. Also, Steel’s rant and Grendel’s “there’s-no-point” attitude both share a theme of giving up, where Steel wants people to “give up” on whatever they aren’t talented in and Grendel wants everyone to give up looking for a purpose in life. 

Another person that comes to mind when thinking of Grendel is Light Yagami, the antihero of the anime Death Note. Light Yagami isn’t so much of a nihilist but rather a high school student ridded with a god-complex. After Light realizes what he can do with his Death Note, he gains a sense of responsibility to kill all of the criminals and “bad” people to make the world a better place. He wants to make his utopian world where there are no “bad” people and where he will be the “god”. Light has the same type of confidence that drove Grendel to kill anything in his path that arbitrarily exhibited existentialism.