David Gao, Period 1, 4/28/22

 David Gao, period 1, 4/28/22, 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?

Our readings of Anne Rice’s novel Interview with the Vampire, and John Gardener’s Grendel allowed me an exploration into themes of existentialism and purpose which every human being has most likely experienced. I very much enjoyed the books that we read not only because of the themes in the story but also because of the interesting characters and story. While IWTV was a fun novel and felt more fantastical than Grendel, Grendel felt like a real deep dive into the human psyche that I appreciated. Grendel, being more of a slow burn, contains chapters where very few things happen. In fact, in most of the chapters I remember, Grendel does essentially the same things: he either kills, ponders, or watches. I found his monotonous way of life similar in structure to a human’s way of life, as we simply exist and do things that are expected of us as we go from place to place simply thinking and doing and not really living. I would say that the novel was almost less enjoyable because it was so relatable, with characters like the dragon and the shaper representing ways of thought that one might subscribe to in real life. I sometimes find myself happy and pleasant, and happy to be alive, lost in the whims of oh wondrous life, but the words of the dragon will always loom over you; a small voice in your head telling you death is unavoidable and that nothing matters in the end.   

The only encounters with philosophy I previously had was through the trolley experiment and the television series The Good Place. And in that show they touch a bit on the philosophy of life and death but most of the philosophy present is instead about being good and based on Emmanuel Kant’s teachings. So Grendel was sort of my real encounter with the philosophy of life and purpose. It gave me deep insight into the struggles of life and the questions of philosophy that usually provide no answer. And even though philosophy is confusing and usually only leads to more questions I really appreciate any text that is able to talk about characters in such a human way. To elaborate more on The Good Place it features a cast of characters that at the end are essentially immortal and because of that immortality they are able to experience everything and yet they are still left unsatisfied because nothing will end. Things will simply go on forever and ever without anything more happening. And in that vein is where the philosophical thoughts on life come in as the characters realize they’ve lived a much longer than long life and have experienced everything they’ve always wanted to experience so in the end the end has to come. And even though it’s scary every character leaves and deals with the end in their own way. Through the discussions we have had in class and the things I’ve learned I’ve come to appreciate that show more and the design of human life more as well.

The information that I’ve learned in this class has helped me see the world in a different lense. At times I was very lost in life and very scared of what was to come next. But the novels allowed me to see those fears in action and embrace them instead of fearing them. I realized that nihilism, existentialism, nothingness, does not matter to me right now. If I’ll die then at least I’ll have gone out swingin, doing my best, and living the best that I could, so I never want to be like Grendel or Louis because they were so stuck on purpose and self that they could not change their way of thinking. Louis struggled so much with change even though he had decades of time to go through the motions and adapt and yet he could not, and Grendel was so tripped up in his mechanical way of life and thinking that he let what the dragon said to him control his life. I certainly won’t always be able to stay strong and continue headfirst into life but it’s certainly provided me with a new perspective on life and what to make of it.