Does one ever feel as if the world has no meaning or real existence? If so, that person has a nihilistic attitude. Nihilism is the belief that the world is meaningless, everything is an unplanned accident, and essentially that nothing matters. Nihilists believe that there is no purpose to the world and that there are no real morals. On the other hand, one with a confident, hopeful, and positive attitude is an optimistic person. In the novel Grendel, by John Gardner, the dragon displays a nihilistic attitude after seeing the world with nihilistic qualities, unlike the protagonist Beowulf, from the poem Beowulf, who has an optimistic outlook on the world. Throughout the novel Grendel, by John Gardner, the dragon displays many signs of a nihilistic
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The text states, “ ‘I had a fixed purpose when I put to sea. As I sat in the boat with my band of men, I meant to perform to the uttermost what your people wanted or perish in the attempt, in the fiend’s clutches. And I shall fulfil that purpose, prove myself with a proud deed… When it comes to fighting, I count myself as dangerous any day as Grendel’ ” (Beowulf 43-47). Clearly, Beowulf exhibits the characteristics of an optimistic person when he says this. First of all, Beowulf Beowulf believes in himself leading up to his fight against Grendel. Believing in oneself is a key sign of an optimistic person because they trust themselves, know their own abilities, and can use that to think of positives outcomes, like Beowulf did before his encounter with Grendel. This scene also shows that Beowulf is an optimistic person because he uses positive self-talk and positive envisions before his fight. This makes him optimistic because he is has a feeling and vision of confidence for the future, therefore a positive way of thinking. On the other hand, if Beowulf was pessimistic, which is the opposite of optimistic, he would be doubting himself and questioning whether he should have come to Herot to save Hrothgar and his people. Clearly, this is not the case, as Beowulf believes in himself, displaying confidence and positive envisioning, which are both signs of optimism. The text describes Beowulf before his fight with the dragon, “Yet the prince of the rings was too proud to line up with a large army against the sky-plague. He had scant regard for the dragon as a threat, no dread at all of its courage or strength, for he had kept going often in the past, through perils and ordeals of every sort, after he had purged Hrothgar’s hall, triumphed in Heorot and beaten Grendel. He out grappled the monster and his evil kin” (Beowulf 159). This shows that Beowulf is an optimistic character because
The text states, “ ‘I had a fixed purpose when I put to sea. As I sat in the boat with my band of men, I meant to perform to the uttermost what your people wanted or perish in the attempt, in the fiend’s clutches. And I shall fulfil that purpose, prove myself with a proud deed… When it comes to fighting, I count myself as dangerous any day as Grendel’ ” (Beowulf 43-47). Clearly, Beowulf exhibits the characteristics of an optimistic person when he says this. First of all, Beowulf Beowulf believes in himself leading up to his fight against Grendel. Believing in oneself is a key sign of an optimistic person because they trust themselves, know their own abilities, and can use that to think of positives outcomes, like Beowulf did before his encounter with Grendel. This scene also shows that Beowulf is an optimistic person because he uses positive self-talk and positive envisions before his fight. This makes him optimistic because he is has a feeling and vision of confidence for the future, therefore a positive way of thinking. On the other hand, if Beowulf was pessimistic, which is the opposite of optimistic, he would be doubting himself and questioning whether he should have come to Herot to save Hrothgar and his people. Clearly, this is not the case, as Beowulf believes in himself, displaying confidence and positive envisioning, which are both signs of optimism. The text describes Beowulf before his fight with the dragon, “Yet the prince of the rings was too proud to line up with a large army against the sky-plague. He had scant regard for the dragon as a threat, no dread at all of its courage or strength, for he had kept going often in the past, through perils and ordeals of every sort, after he had purged Hrothgar’s hall, triumphed in Heorot and beaten Grendel. He out grappled the monster and his evil kin” (Beowulf 159). This shows that Beowulf is an optimistic character because