Innovations of the republic of uzbekistan gulistan state university

CHAPTER II A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE NOVEL GRENDEL
2.1 Analysis of John Gardner's novel Grendel
Grendel
Agathon reappears in Gardner’s next novel as the perversely likable narrator of Grendel, a retelling of Beowulf from the monster’s distinctly modern point of view. In his 1970 essay, “Fulgentius’s Expositio Vergiliana Continentia,” Gardner argues that the Beowulf poet used his three monsters as perversions of those virtues affirmed by Vergil in the Aeneid (c. 29-19 b.c.e.): valor, wisdom, and goodness (the proper use of things). Specifically, Grendel represents perverted wisdom; in Gardner’s novel, he is the one who mistakenly chooses to believe in what he rationally knows and to reject what he intuitively feels. In both the epic and the novel, Grendel is an isolate, a cosmic outlaw, but Gardner’s monster is less a hulking beast than a shaggy Holden Caulfield (The Catcher in the Rye), a disillusioned and therefore cynical adolescent. Not simply a creature cursed by God, he is a detached Sartrean observer, a relativist for whom “balance” can be both “everything” and “nothing,” and a comic ironist trapped within his own mocking point of view. For him the world is a meaningless accident, “wreckage.” Although he finds the indignity of the men he observes humorous, he is less tolerant of the factitious patterns they use to make sense of their existence.Grendel makes his chief mistake when, having become dissatisfied with what is, he goes to the Dragon for advice and guidance. The Dragon is a bored and weary existentialist who espouses the philosophy of Sartre’s L’ Étre et le néant, 1943 (Being and Nothingness, 1956). He tells the confused and terrified Grendel that values are merely things, all of which are worthless, and counsels fatalistic passivity in the face of a fragmented, purposeless world. Although Grendel becomes infected by the Dragon’s nihilism, he still feels attracted to King Hrothgar’s court poet, the Shaper, whose songs he believes are lies. Unlike the Dragon, who is the ultimate realist and materialist, the Shaper is a visionary who sings of the “projected possible” and an alchemist who transforms the base ore of barbarism into the gold of civilization. His songs bespeak hopefulness and, by means of what the Dragon scornfully terms the “gluey whine of connectedness,” a dream of order. Moreover, his singing works: The Shaper’s words first envision Hrothgar’s splendid meadhall and then inspire the men to build it.Grendel’s ambivalence toward the Shaper also marks his attitude toward Wealtheow, the wife bestowed on Hrothgar by her brother in order to save his tribe from the king’s army. Whereas Grendel gloats over man’s indignity, Wealtheow, whose name means “holy servant of the common good,” has the power to absolve it. She brings to Hrothgar’s kingdom the illusion of timeless peace, an illusion that, like the Shaper’s words, works. Although her “monstrous trick against reason” enrages Grendel, he too is affected by it, temporarily discontinuing his attacks and choosing not to commit “the ultimate act of nihilism,” murdering the queen.The Shaper (art), the queen (peace and love), and the hero Beowulf represent those values “beyond what’s possible” that make human existence worthwhile. Interestingly, Gardner’s Beowulf is, like Grendel, an isolate, and, in his fight with the mon- ster, appears as a dragon—not Grendel’s adviser but the celestial dragon that figures chiefly in Eastern religions. Where Grendel sees accident and waste, the hero finds purpose and regeneration. During their struggle, Beowulf forces Grendel to “sing walls,” that is, to forgo his mocking cynicism and to take on the role of Shaper, the one who by his art shapes reality (what is) into an illusion or vision of what can or should be. Thus, Grendel is not simply defeated; he is transformed—his death a ritual dismemberment, a symbolic initiation and rebirth.Although the novel affirms the heroic ideal, it nevertheless acknowledges the tragic view that informs its Anglo-Saxon source. The meadhall the Shaper sings into existence, to which the queen brings peace, and that Beowulf saves, is a symbol of what virtuous man can achieve, but it is also tangible evidence that art, love, and heroic action can defeat chaos for a limited time only and that, finally, the Dragon is right:⁷ “Things fade.” Against this tragic awareness, to which the Dragon and Grendel passively acquiesce, Gardner posits the creative possibilities of human endeavor, especially art. It is, after all, as much the action (plot) of Beowulf as Beowulf’s heroic act that defeats Gardner’s Grendel and the monstrous values he represents. Gardner’s alternative to Grendel’s mindless universe and brute mechanics is implied in the novel’s very structure. Its twelve chapters suggest not only Grendel’s twelve-year war against Hrothgar and the twelve books of literary epics but also the symbol of universal harmony, the zodiac (each chapter of the novel is keyed to an astrological sign). Grendel, therefore, is not a postmodern parody of Beowulf; rather, it is a work in which parody is used to test the values presented in Beowulf (and its other sources: William Shakespeare, William Blake, John Milton, Samuel Beckett, Georges Sorel, Sartre, and others) to discover their usefulness in the modern world.John Gardner's Grendel is a story based on the epic tale of Beowulf. Gardner writes his story in the eyes of the monster, Grendel. Gardner decides to go through human society and write about how humans view themselves. As the story proceeds and Grendel explores his inner self, a hidden progression of philosophies are introduced.The twelve chapters all reveal the twelve different phliosophies and differnt phases of characteristics Grendel experiences.Chapter one explores the cynical understanding of the universe. In this chapter a ram is introduced to symbolize the beginning of spring. The change of seasons results in the change of human character. Chapter two explores solipsism or the idea that only you exist. The bull is the only thing that exists in this scene. Grendel observes his own observations when feeling his mother's fur. Chapter three introduces sophism. This explains the importance of rederick, to teach, what is true. The sophist in this chapter is the shaper. Sophistry is merely arguing without believeing.Chapter four is based around the old testament of the bible. The crab reveals a character of internal conflict. Grendel realizes he is cursed by the shaper's songs. Related to society are internal conflicts between lust, love, good and evil. Darkness emerges here as the chaos of nature. Chapter five identifies nihilism which is the rejection for what requires faith for salvation. The dragon is the symbolic figure in this chapter which represents passion for luxury.Chapter six explores skepticism. Grendel is the skeptist. He is scornful of unferth's heroic image and criticizes him for the challenge.Chapter seven is based soley on the new testament. Weltheow is the symbol of balance just as Jesus was supposed to bring balance to the world. Grendel wants to embrace but he's seen to much evil and corruption to understand to love. In Chapter eight, Machiavelli's principles of warefare tactics are seen as peo...Grendel is portrayed in two radically different ways in the novels Grendel and Beowulf. What accounts for most of the differences in the portrayal of a monster, in both novels, comes two completely different perspectives. The main thing that separates Grendel in both novels is the fact that we are exposed to the humane side of Grendel. We are shown a Grendel that thinks and has a sense of reason. While in Beowulf we are just shown a brute with no thought except that of the next meal and the juiciness of it.One of the main differences in the novels is the relationship between Grendel and his mother. There is a lot of detail that goes into explaining the rather complicated and intricate relationship they have. In Beowulf, there is no real description or an account of any interaction between the two aside from Grendel's mother's attempt to avenge her son's death. But then, Beowulf wasn't about Grendel. In Grendel, however, we learn that there is a close relationship between the two, more so as Grendel is growing up. As he is growing up, his mother is the only companion we are aware of. Grendel is not shown to have had any friends aside from his mother. The only flaw in their relationship is that they cannot communicate. Somehow his mother has forgotten how to speak. Even with this setback, the bond between the two is still very strong and they find ways to communicate. An example of this is when Grendel's mother holds Grendel and he rests his head against her chest to comfort him after his first encounter with the humans.The place in which they live is also very different in both novels, not literally, but in how they are portrayed and shown to the reader. For example, in Beowulf, their cave is described as this hell-hole with no light. An lair where the evil lie waiting for dusk to come so that they may hunt for blood. A nasty place overall where no healthy, sane person would nor could possibly...Grendel the monster has been charged with committing the acts of murder and bringing mass terror to the Danes. However, what you don't hear is how the Danes have treated this poor ogre. Little Grendel has been ignored, taunted, and humiliated by the humans who go to Herot. Grendel was saddened when he saw the Danes taunting him with the light, the music, and the happiness visible in the mead hall, he had to fight back, but being the compassionate being he was he decided to give them a second chance. The Danes took it to another level, and that was the last straw. The Danes began singing the "Song Of Creation", this totally offended Grendel's beliefs that god was the enemy, the human's were being insensitive and don't understand. They were being ignorant. Grendel's "evil" is merely a social construct, something a society perceives rather than absolute fact. Whenever Grendel entered the mead hall to greet and befriend the human's, they would run and hide, perhaps even attack him! The men who died at Grendel's hands were violent ones, antagonists who wished to offend him! Grendel was merely minding his own business when the human's came to attack him, Grendel had to put the spell on their armour. The innocent ogre attempted to talk them out of it, but the arrogant human's did not listen, he had to slaughter them in self-defense. What angers me and my client is all of the assumptions and baseless allegations humans have made. Lie and rumors that have spread all the way to the land of the Geats. The Geats, the evildoers they are. The Geats, like the Danes, are both evil, out to make Grendel's life miserable. The overly violent Geats came to our land to provoke Grendel, and assaulted him! They tore off his arms and now they have them as trophies, proving their savage nature. Now my client is permenantly injured and psychologically scarred for life.