1) Chapter 5: Atoms to Atoms, Dust to Dust
2) In this chapter, Grendel decides to visit the all-knowing dragon in his lair. Grendel wishes to inquire about the meaning and purpose of his life and his role in society, wondering if he should cease to terrorize the men of Hrothgar’s kingdom. The dragon reveals that he is able to see the future as clearly as other creatures see the past and present. He presents Grendel with his complex philosophy of nihilism, stressing the lack of meaning not merely of individual lives, but rather of the universe as a whole, emphasizing the inevitability of the eventual destruction and reemergence of everything in existence. The dragon has dedicated his life to the accumulation and hoarding of gold and treasure; …show more content…
Upon investigation of the typical traits of a Leo individual, it is clear that all of the negative attributes describe the dragon perfectly; he is "pretentious, domineering, melodramatic, stubborn, [and] vain” (zodiac-signs-astrology.com). The dragon’s nature seems reasonable for such an all-knowing creature and his impatience and superiority complex help to underscore the complexity of that which he is attempting to teach Grendel. An extremely kind dragon would not have conveyed the notion of nihilism nearly as well, because such a personality would not allow for the condemnation of reason and meaning as man knows …show more content…
Throughout the chapter, Grendel is confused by the dragon’s speech, and the parts that he does understand seem to frighten him and provoke enthusiastic denial. Grendel claims that he does not “believe” the dragon’s summation of human existence as “[a] brief, hot fuse of events and ideas set off, accidentally, and snuffed out, accidentally…” (71). It seems that nihilism is an ideology too pessimistic and devoid of hope for Grendel, who still clings to the wish of finding his place and purpose in the world. Grendel’s refusal to accept meaninglessness is so strong that event he dragon relents a little in telling Grendel how his existence “[stimulates]” the people in the valley (72). At the beginning of the next chapter, Grendel walks away from his encounter with the dragon not with a deep understanding or adoption of nihilism, but with a more general sense of “futility [and] doom”
2) In this chapter, Grendel decides to visit the all-knowing dragon in his lair. Grendel wishes to inquire about the meaning and purpose of his life and his role in society, wondering if he should cease to terrorize the men of Hrothgar’s kingdom. The dragon reveals that he is able to see the future as clearly as other creatures see the past and present. He presents Grendel with his complex philosophy of nihilism, stressing the lack of meaning not merely of individual lives, but rather of the universe as a whole, emphasizing the inevitability of the eventual destruction and reemergence of everything in existence. The dragon has dedicated his life to the accumulation and hoarding of gold and treasure; …show more content…
Upon investigation of the typical traits of a Leo individual, it is clear that all of the negative attributes describe the dragon perfectly; he is "pretentious, domineering, melodramatic, stubborn, [and] vain” (zodiac-signs-astrology.com). The dragon’s nature seems reasonable for such an all-knowing creature and his impatience and superiority complex help to underscore the complexity of that which he is attempting to teach Grendel. An extremely kind dragon would not have conveyed the notion of nihilism nearly as well, because such a personality would not allow for the condemnation of reason and meaning as man knows …show more content…
Throughout the chapter, Grendel is confused by the dragon’s speech, and the parts that he does understand seem to frighten him and provoke enthusiastic denial. Grendel claims that he does not “believe” the dragon’s summation of human existence as “[a] brief, hot fuse of events and ideas set off, accidentally, and snuffed out, accidentally…” (71). It seems that nihilism is an ideology too pessimistic and devoid of hope for Grendel, who still clings to the wish of finding his place and purpose in the world. Grendel’s refusal to accept meaninglessness is so strong that event he dragon relents a little in telling Grendel how his existence “[stimulates]” the people in the valley (72). At the beginning of the next chapter, Grendel walks away from his encounter with the dragon not with a deep understanding or adoption of nihilism, but with a more general sense of “futility [and] doom”