The modern novel Grendel is structured with a series of philosophies for every chapter. The book possesses various forms of structure, ranging from artist falsehood and themes of nihilism as well as personal death and its significance, in Grendel as well as in Beowulf and in the Anglo-Saxon period. The book skips around the various stages of Grendel’s growth and begins in spring; the first chapter is ruled by Grendel’s childhood and his early formulations of world-views. During this chapter Grendel ventures for the first time into the outer world. Some things seem odd to him, yet he is curious (like any other young creature) to endeavor and find out what the world that surrounds, or lies above him, is like. Chapter 2 was characterized by its solipsist philosophy. His infamous quote “I alone exist” is the perfect example of the philosophy implemented in this text; solipsism is the idea that one’s own mind is all that exists. Chapter three is centered on the Shaper’s philosophy which is powered by the Shaper’s words and what he makes his audience believe. The Shaper, after all, shapes history whichever way suits him, and also the shapes the opinions of the people. The fourth chapter is structured on certain theologies from the Old Testament. In this chapter Grendel spies from a tree that looks towards Herot in order to listen to the Shaper’s beautiful poetry. At that point, the Shaper decides to sing about the creation of land and the division of goodness and evil. Grendel, a descendant of Cain, then realizes that he is a child of darkness and evil. He initially does not fully comprehend the magnitude of such notice, yet he acknowledges he is a child of darkness and is willing to accept it. Grendel finds epic poems so moving that he wants to be part of them, even if he has to be the villain, as long as he is accepted into the community.
In the fifth chapter we see a lot of Alfred Whitehead’s philosophy, which is mainly portrayed by the dragon (who is really a figment of Grendel’s imagination). The dragon embodies this philosophy/approach to the natural existence of things, which is better understood in terms of process rather than things themselves (means of alteration, rather than set stabilities). He also rejects all materialism in favor of a philosophy that centers itself on concepts of life; Whitehead replaces materialism placing organisms instead of substances, and events instead of parameters of space and time. The dragon is the rational part of his thinking and the Shaper is speaking or appealing to Grendel’s emotional side which this causes a confusion to make decisions.
The sixth chapter deals with a skeptical philosophy; Grendel agrees that he does “alone exist” but makes all the other existent creatures his foes. Chapter seven revolves around the character Wealtheow (Hrothgar’s wife) and her peacemaking position. Wealtheow was given to Hrothgar in marriage to prevent the slaughter of her brother’s tribe. Her name meant server for a greater good, she is the peacemaker, and her goal is to make the community a whole. She is also a symbol of hope and unity as well as the Christian communion. From Grendel’s point of view, Wealtheow is beautiful for she represents all women living in a masculine society. Chapter eight is structures with the Machiavellian Statecraft philosophy, which is typically a term claiming that an action is cruel, manipulative or overly dictatorial. This chapter portrays the battle of the powerless against the powerful; Hrothgar is at this point an old man, constantly fearing an upraising of a possible government overthrow. Hrothulf, now an older man, wants to overthrow what he looks upon as a violent government. He believes that the only reason why the people are split into two social classes, and kept that why, is through violence. The ninth chapter worked around the hypocrisy of the four young priests. Ork, a blind old priest believes he just met “The Destroyer” or their ultimate God, which they place at the top among the other Gods they worship. He is the one who sets the limitations of human kind, though his existence is the ultimate irrationality. They believe that in order to be remembered you must die an honorary death or else perish with time.
The tenth chapter is based on the pessimistic philosophy of Nietzche. Nietzche is a nihilist in the descriptive sense that he believed that there was no longer any real substance to traditional social, political, rural and religious values. With the death of the Shaper, the essence or substance of the things he sang about, have now also died with him. The eleventh and twelfth chapters are structured on John-
Paul Sartre’s philosophy, which Gardner himself disagrees on. According to Sartre, humans are basically isolated individuals in an accidental world where God does not exist. Men must create their own values, though these won’t have any meaning outside the individual’s consciousness. Grendel is based on meta-fiction by portraying a world completely opposite to what Beowulf portrays. In the end Gardner makes his beast endorse or accept this nihilistic view of the world as his own.
In Gardner’s hands Grendel is a parody that mocks other specific authors and their philosophies, by bringing out the points of contrasting philosophies or anti-heroes. If we look at the overall analysis of the book itself, Grendel is very insecure of what to do and how to do it. It takes Grendel twelve chapters to finally make a decision on his real views of the world. Grendel has watched men evolve and yet he is attracted to poetry and eventually rejects it. The Shaper talks about beautiful ideas, and gives some stability and hope to the community (which Grendel wishes to be a part of it but then realizes he can’t therefore he goes against it).
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