Preview

Two Examples Of Ethical Egoism In Grendel

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
294 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Two Examples Of Ethical Egoism In Grendel
If you could have access to anything that you want whenever you want would you? I believe that a vast majority of people would answer this with a yes. That is because everyone is at some level worried about themselves usually more than others. The philosophy behind this idea is called ethical egoism or the idea of putting one’s self before others. John Gardner’s Grendel hones in on this philosophy in chapter six. Gardner focuses on how Grendel only really cares for himself. He doesn’t care for his mother, he doesn’t care about any gods, and he definitely doesn’t care about humans. He is so self-centered that he rarely does anything that does not benefit or amuse him. Grendel isn’t the only one who does this however, in fact I’d say just about

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The movie basically told us the opposite of what was true about him. We would have never known this stuff if the author wouldn’t have written in the stream of consciousness. Grendel had many feelings that we did not know about in Beowulf that we learned about in the book. In the movie we got the idea that he was a horrible monster who didn’t care about anything or anyone. Beowulf told the story from the dans point of view not Grendel’s. So by John Gardner choosing to use stream of consciousness we really saw who Grendel was. Grendel seems way more human in the book rather than the movie. “I laughed my ankle was numb; my leg was on fire to the hip” (page 21). Only a real human could feel pain and sorrow like…

    • 610 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    It gives the reader the feeling that he does not possess the same thought processes as humans do; therefore, he is characterized as a monster. However, in this novel, Grendel’s point of view and thoughts are more developed and deeper than how he is portrayed in Beowulf. The readers get a glimpse of the story through his eyes and it may change their view of Grendel. He is a solitary and disoriented creature who is misunderstood by humans and all those around him. He looks for a place to belong and his quest is to know who and what he…

    • 406 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Grendel’s goodness is continuously suppressed by the misunderstanding of humans. When Grendel first encounter’s humans, the humans immediately mistake Grendel for a bloodthirsty monster because of his appearance. In the beginning when Grendel is still developing his moral and spiritual understandings of the world,…

    • 659 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Grendel is a fictional character, designed by John Gardner. Throughout the book Grendel develops new philosophies as he continues to explore the world and encounters new surroundings. Solipsism is an idea that everything is created out of your own mind, that your mind is the only thing to actually exist. Nihilism is the thought that life is meaningless. Solipsism is developed after Grendel explores his new world for the first time. Nihilism is created in Grendel after he has a discussion with a Dragon who tells him the world is pointless. Grendel shows Nihilism and Solipsism throughout the story.…

    • 636 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In writing from Grendel’s perspective, I think Gardener is trying to makes us sympathize with Grendel. While reading the story from Grendel’s point of view we can see that he also felt fear at some point in his life. Like when he caught his foot in the crack where two old treetrunks joined Grendel says “I shrieked in fear; still no one came.” In Grendel’s story he says men are dangerous thinking creatures, “Suddenly I knew I was dealing with no dull mechanical bull but with thinking creatures, pattern makers, the most dangerous things I'd ever met”. In his story we can see that they were the ones that made him a monster because they could not understand him. They just saw that he was an ogre an assumed he was a monster, so they attacked him…

    • 220 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Continuing, this now leads to the next point. That is, the curiosity found in Grendel helps to prove his actual morality. This is shown through his observance of animals, nature, and humans. The first example of this can be located on page six. Here Grendel is speaking of watching a bull go about it’s daily business. The bull mindlessly stares off into the distance, simply enjoying the cool breeze. With this, Grendel is agitated. “Why can’t these creatures discover a little dignity?” he ponders to himself. All throughout the recollection of Grendel’s life, he frequently mentions stopping to watch the sky and life around him. In a like manner, Grendel has also observed the humans. He found himself interested in the human impact on the environment…

    • 172 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the first chapter of Grendel, I believe that Grendel is more animal than human. In Grendel he is portrayed as a sensitive, intelligent, and immature creature.Grendel is more animal than human because he does act like an animal. For instance, When Grendel states “I cry and , and hug myself, and laugh, letting out all the salt tears…”(Gardner 6). Even animals have feelings. I feel Grendel is not welcomed within society. He feels as though he has worthless. As an example, “Pointless, ridiculous monster crouched in the shadows...”(Gardner 6). He hides in the shadows as he looks for his prey not being welcomed by anyone else. Grendel feasts upon other animals and humans. He eats more cattle than anything. For example, “Cows have more meat and,…

    • 146 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    To begin with, Grendel’s last words are “ Poor Grendel’s had an accident,” I whisper. “So may you all” (Gardner 174). Grendel is cursing the animals around him. For instance, when Grendel illustrates that he doesn’t like animals. This is when he has several incidences with the animals. Likewise, Grendel yelled “I smile, threatened by an animal already dead, still climbing” (Gardner 140). Grendel felt threatened by the animal, therefore he had to kill the goat. The goat trespassed on Grendel’s rock, making Grendel dislike the goat because the goat wouldn’t leave his rock. Also, Grendel implies “Why can’t these creatures discover a little dignity”(Gardner 6). The animals bother Grendel a lot of times. Grendel is just trying to be alone. He doesn’t…

    • 199 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Grendel, generally seen as a monster or giant, is one of the main antagonists in the popular Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf. Portrayed as the epitome of evil, Grendel brutally attacks the meadhall of the Danes for twelve years before being defeated by the epic hero Beowulf. Gardner, through his book Grendel, creates a new point of view of these events through Grendel eyes, as Grendel learns about the humans and how they seem like wild animals in their actions. In Grendel by John Gardner, Gardner reveals that “Man must have evil so that he may have good to balance…” through the use of juxtaposition and aphorisms (Gardner 6).…

    • 698 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the story Grendel, there are a lot of different themes and lessons one of the main themes in this story is isolation. Grendel is a very isolated character who is looking for his purpose in life. Grendel has a lot of hate in his heart, but there is also a lot of love in it at the same time. So throughout the story, there are a lot of moments when Grendel has a battle within his self. For example when Grendel first hears the Shaper playing in chapter 3 it starts to make Grendel think different about what he knows is true and what he wishes were true. Grendel understands the world as a brute, emotionless place that follows no meaningful pattern or laws. He knows that all the beautiful concepts of which the Shaper sings about heroism, religion, love and beauty are merely human projections on how the humans would like to see the world.…

    • 573 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the novel Grendel, John Gardner, through Grendel’s character, portrays the universal struggle all humans face to find meaning in life. Grendel, just like everyone else wants to find his meaning, and purpose. Though he struggles, Grendel is ultimately trying to find himself in all of the things that he does.…

    • 515 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the novel Grendel, by John Gardner, portrays Grendel's characteristics altering as he meets new characters; throughout his journey to mankind. Mankind teaches him vast new knowledge he's never understood. His nihilistic and solipsism is formed through the characters in the novel; envy and anger are also shown. He plays big roles in terrifying the Danes and somewhat of the Geats; they mold him into the monster they fear the most. The characters, shaper, man, and the dragon shape Grendel into the monster he so desires. They teach him of lies, false glory, brutality, never ending violence, and wisdom.…

    • 511 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Grendel views the world as an open space of “nothingness” to which he entered, to which the nothingness where it must end. He comes to the realization that his own, along with every other individuals existence is merely just a flash in time, "in a billion billion billion years, everything will have come and gone several times, in various forms" (page70). He possesses the belief that all men are mechanical. He is given the opportunity to observe and study them, introducing him to the idea of conformity, with the desire that he too can find meaning in this…

    • 761 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Grendel Essay

    • 639 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Gardner uses the first couple chapters of the novel Grendel to show the reader how Grendel is a big scary monster who has a very sensitive side to himself and is very lonely. When Grendel first encounters men he describes it as: “ I saw men … I found I understood them: it was my own language but spoken in a strange way. (Pg.23)” This quote from the text shows Grendel's first realization that he wanted to fit in with these men and noticed that humans and him were not that different at all. This realization set the tone for the story and showed that the monster in all reality just wanted to be accepted.…

    • 639 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Grendel Essay

    • 708 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The epic poem Beowulf does not portray Grendel in a fair manner. One of the main characters in the epic poem is called Grendel. Grendel is a monster who lives in a cave with his mother. He hates his mother and thinks that he is the most intelligent species and no one else’s life has meaning. Grendel in the epic poem is portrayed as a monster who only kills and cannot think for himself. John Gardner, an author of the book Grendel felt like the epic poem was one sided and Grendel did not get to share his side. In the book Grendel Gardner portrays a monster as someone who is a little different. Gardner is trying to make the point that if you are a little bit different, you are an outcast in society. Gardner ties parallels to today’s society and the society in the book about monsters being a little bit different causing them to be outcasts.…

    • 708 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays