Ema Qoku, Period 6, 3/10/23

 The most interesting piece of fiction I’ve ever read was Grendel by John Gardner.

Gardner tackles the backstory of the well known antagonist of Beowulf, a Norse story of a curse

that leads to attacks of a monster on a Viking clan. He forces us to question what makes a

monster, and if some monsters are justified. Viewing the spiral into insanity after drowning in

tedium and being told life has no purpose makes the reader uncomfortable as they question

their morals, pitying this giant monster who loses his mind like his mother. Grendel tackles

societal issues of being marked as “other” and bad influences ruining your life. Being able to

dive beyond the surface and understand deeper meanings and secrets of the book encourages

different viewpoints, proving the book as a piece of literary excellence.

I have learned about many new concepts during my time in period 6 Mythology, opening

my mind to completely new worlds. What I used to consider “critical thinking,” the underlining of

words in a text and pulling out examples of figurative language, has been transformed. I

become one of the greats when I step foot into room 336, my mind flooding with thoughts that

Aristotle and Socrates WISHED they could come across. Grendel is the piece of literature that

single-handedly forced me to take on new perspectives and analyze symbols to their core. An

animal is not simply placed in a book, for it has meaning. The rose is red but what does that

further indicate? Is there meaning to life or is everything a mere coincidence? How do the

people we briefly encounter change the courses of our lives? Is a fish really a fish or is it the

savior of the land?

The most important lesson I’ve learned while reading this book, however, is the definition

of a monster. The boogie man is a monster, yes, but would you believe me if I told you an

innocent, tall, lean young man walking towards you at the train station was a monster as well? A

monster is something we label as “other.” So yes, while the young man has no malicious intent,

we are taught to view him as a monster. What has forced society to lean towards this horrific

path? Racist, sexist, homophobic remarks are thrown around so often that someone like your

classmate is painted as the monster. The color of your skin, your social status, the way you

dress, it all isolates you. Who do you approach on the first day of school to ask to be your group

mate? The girl that dresses “weirdly” or the one that looks just like you? John Gardner forces

society to recognize its faults. To recognize the flaws we pass down generations. We feel pity for

Grendel. A young monster brought into this life with hopes of befriending humans becomes the

exact thing they paint him out to be: a ugly monster terrorizing the town. All because he looked

different.