“Every existing thing is born without reason, prolongs itself out of weakness, and dies by chance” (Sartre). These grim words are spoken by Jean-Paul Sartre, a French philosopher, who was a major figure in the study of existentialism. This term describes the philosophy that one is born without a purpose and the individual has to find purpose in their own lives by themselves. Much like Sartre, John Gardner’s protagonist from the novel Grendel is an existentialist that evolves into a beast with cynical, nihilistic, and sarcastic points of view. He has faced different truths and turmoil that have caused him to have this outlook on life. Because of the many events in his life, he has developed these blunt and mostly negative perspectives of the
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Nihilism is the ideology that there is no purpose in life and that rules are pointless and social and belief systems are unnecessary distractions. When he was younger, he became trapped in an oak tree and is attacked by a bull for no reason at all; through this, he comes to see that the world is an irrational, chaotic place. This makes it easier to believe in life’s lack of true substance when he goes to hear the dragon’s perspective of life. He illustrates that there is no purpose in life because everybody will die and be forgotten and that the humans are dumb for trying to put meaning into things. The dragon explains, “...the Shaper saves them. Provides an illusion of reality-puts together all their facts with a gluey whine of connectedness. Mere tripe, believe me” (Gardner 65). The dragon’s words prompt Grendel to believe that the humans’ perspectives on life’s meaning are completely made up; they are just exaggerated lies played by the Shaper. The dragon claims to be all-knowing and teaches Grendel life’s true hopelessness as contradicted by the Shapers words of heroism and honor. This gives him the impression that life is meaningless and provides him with a nihilistic …show more content…
Grendel was born without a purpose, which he searches for throughout his life-span; He dies by chance by the hands of Beowulf and believes life is such a pointless waste of time. Despite Grendel tries to fill the void of his life by playing the role of the murderous brute, all he really needs in life is purpose and guidance. Being withheld of this, he turns into the sarcastic, nihilistic, cynical creature he is. Much like Grendel, we are all faced with his problems; everybody traverses life met with turmoil and trouble, whether it be social conditions, finding purpose in life, being accepted, and dealing with pain. Through Grendel, we can examine ourselves and see human nature in a different perspective and learn what to do when faced with life’s inevitable
Nihilism is the ideology that there is no purpose in life and that rules are pointless and social and belief systems are unnecessary distractions. When he was younger, he became trapped in an oak tree and is attacked by a bull for no reason at all; through this, he comes to see that the world is an irrational, chaotic place. This makes it easier to believe in life’s lack of true substance when he goes to hear the dragon’s perspective of life. He illustrates that there is no purpose in life because everybody will die and be forgotten and that the humans are dumb for trying to put meaning into things. The dragon explains, “...the Shaper saves them. Provides an illusion of reality-puts together all their facts with a gluey whine of connectedness. Mere tripe, believe me” (Gardner 65). The dragon’s words prompt Grendel to believe that the humans’ perspectives on life’s meaning are completely made up; they are just exaggerated lies played by the Shaper. The dragon claims to be all-knowing and teaches Grendel life’s true hopelessness as contradicted by the Shapers words of heroism and honor. This gives him the impression that life is meaningless and provides him with a nihilistic …show more content…
Grendel was born without a purpose, which he searches for throughout his life-span; He dies by chance by the hands of Beowulf and believes life is such a pointless waste of time. Despite Grendel tries to fill the void of his life by playing the role of the murderous brute, all he really needs in life is purpose and guidance. Being withheld of this, he turns into the sarcastic, nihilistic, cynical creature he is. Much like Grendel, we are all faced with his problems; everybody traverses life met with turmoil and trouble, whether it be social conditions, finding purpose in life, being accepted, and dealing with pain. Through Grendel, we can examine ourselves and see human nature in a different perspective and learn what to do when faced with life’s inevitable