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The Dragon In Grendel

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The Dragon In Grendel
The Dragon as a character in John Gardner’s Grendel serves as a mentor for the main character, Grendel. Grendel visits the Dragon in his underground lair in hopes of finding purpose and meaning to his life of killing humans. However, Grendel quickly discovers that the Dragon has a unique viewpoint on life. The Dragon tells Grendel that he has the ability to see into the future, and, as a result of this vast knowledge, life has no real purpose. The river of time can not be slowed or altered. He tells Grendel that his place in the world was already decided long before he was born and that he is doing exactly was is meant for him in this world. The Dragon serves as a vessel in the novel to present the central theme of Grendel, which is the idea …show more content…
The Dragon asserts that Grendel's life, as all others, are all tiny blips on the vast future and history of the entire world thus far. When speaking on the subject the Dragon sarcastically implies that free will is a facade stating, “So much for free will and intercession.” (Gardner 63) In this quote, the Dragon is explaining how, even though he can see the future, he is powerless to alter it. This realization plays a major role in the ideas of the Dragon and the philosophies that he exerts. As a result of the realization that the future is finite, the Dragon concludes that nothing truly matters. The Dragon then pushes further with the assertion and treasures Grendel that it is not only his life that is meaningless but his own as well. Through these teachings to Grendel, the dragon is beginning to build his nihilistic …show more content…
The character of the Shaper in Grendel serves a similar purpose to the Dragon in that they both provide life meaning to Grendel, however that is where the similarities between the two end. The Shaper is the antithesis of the Dragon in terms of philosophies. It is the Shaper’s job to tell stories to the Danes in the novel. In order to be an effective storyteller, the Shaper often embellishes the truth in order to motivate and empower the Danes. Through these stories, the Shaper implies that life's meaning is up to interpretation. He tells stories of the great Danes of history and how it is the Dane’s right to be on top of the world. The Shaper’s role in the novel and as a whole is to encourage and give the assurance that although the future may be grim, life is still worth
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