Loneliness can tear people down‚ and make people feel like they have no one to turn at the rough patches in life. In the fictional novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck‚ Steinbeck illustrates the way loneliness can negatively affect people. The novella depicts the way that George and Lennie wander California‚ and then settle into a ranch as workers. Men come and go at the ranch‚ all wanting to achieve their dreams of owning land‚ but the loners never actually make their dream a reality. The workers
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have. In the novel Grendel by John Gardner‚ a monster named Grendel‚ who was once depicted as a complete evil creature in the epic poem Beowulf‚ tells the monster’s side of the story through it’s own eyes. By reading the text in the novel Grendel a person can realize that the monster Grendel was seeking attention and acceptance from the Danes‚ who were the human civilization which Grendel encountered on a daily basis. The author Gardner used this portrayal of the monster Grendel in the third person
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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
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In the novel‚ Grendel by John Gardener‚ Grendel is a human-like creature capable of rational thought as well as feeling emotions. Early on in the story Gardener depicts Grendel as being very observant‚ critical and somewhat spiteful of the world around him. He describes himself as a murderous monster who smells of death and crouches in the shadows. Grendel watches the humans from the shadows of the trees and at first it seems as though they are the real monsters‚ slaughtering and pillaging all for
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his freedom.” This is the illusion breaker. This helps us lean toward the fact that Grendel is‚ in fact‚ a human. Grendel is fighting for his life‚ out of fear. If he were truly a monster‚ he would not feel the need to run from Beowulf. Secondly‚ the poet’s use of emotive words help us feel the murderous and twisted feelings of Grendel. The following quote is from line 394‚ “Grendel came‚ hoping to kill.” Grendel showed up to Herot with the intention to kill as many people as possible. He has to
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Meaning in a Meaningless Place In Grendel‚ by John Gardner‚ the character Grendel considers the world to be cyclical and ponders the meaning of existence. Throughout the novel‚ the Shaper sings songs which persuade listeners to think life and the universe is greater than it actually is. The Shaper represents the power of illusions to create meaning in a meaningless place. The affects he has on the characters‚ builds the themes and conflicts in the novel. The power to create illusions is based
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In both works‚ Beowulf and Grendel‚ Grendel himself is generally given the same connotations. He is given kennings‚ called names‚ referred to as the evil spawn of Cain‚ and even viewed as a monster; but why? Why in both books is he a wicked‚ horrible‚ person who is harshly excluded from everyone? After stumbling upon John Gardner’s book‚ it was halfway expected that some excuse would be made for Grendel; that he wasn’t really the inexorable monster the thanes in Beowulf portrayed him as. But all
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Hrothgar and his followers leave Herot‚ and Beowulf and his warriors remain to spend the night. Beowulf reiterates his intent to fight Grendel without a sword and‚ while his followers sleep‚ lies waiting‚ eager for Grendel to appear. THE BATTLE WITH GRENDEL 235 Out from the marsh‚ from the foot of misty Hills and bogs‚ bearing God’s hatred‚ Grendel came‚ hoping to kill Anyone he could trap on this trip to high Herot. He moved quickly through the cloudy night‚ Up from his swampland
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individual. Evil is typically perceived as the dualistic opposite of good. While many characters in literature throughout history are conceived as evil‚ two distinct characters stand out from the rest; Macbeth in Shakespeare’s definitive tale Macbeth and Grendel in the legendary masterpiece Beowulf. These two literary figures both exemplify traits of gullible ambition‚ avaricious guilt‚ and true wickedness. The two pieces of literature depict the terrible effects that these traits‚ as well as many others
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Authors often have to choose between concentrating on either plot or social commentary when writing their novels; in John Gardener’s Grendel‚ any notion of a plot is forgone in order for him to share his thoughts about late sixties-early seventies America and the world’s institutions as a whole. While Grendel’s exploits are nearly indecipherable and yawn inducing‚ they do provide the reader with the strong opinions the author carries. This existentialistic novel can be seen clearly as a narrative
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