¶ … Grendel by John Gardner and Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut.
Grendel by John Gardner
The Development and Validity of Knowledge
In the beginning of the novel, Grendel is a large and frightening monster who enjoys killing and eating people. It is however revealed that he is also intelligent, and that he can theorize about the meaning of life and tell sophisticated jokes. He however hates almost everything.
He hates his mother, for her inability to speak or reason. He also hates animals for their stupidity, and he hates the sky for ignoring him. This hatred is born of painful knowledge.
When Grendel was young, his foot was caught between two trees. While he was trapped and crying for his mother, Hrothgar's men approached him and attacked him for no other reason than that he looked monstrous. This gave Grendel the knowledge that human beings were cruel to those they did not understand and thus they attacked. This knowledge then had the effect of his hatred, as a result of which he killed and ate any of Hrothgar's men who crossed his path.
As the novel progresses, beauty also becomes a part of Grendel's life. This comes in the shape of a singer, whom Grendel calls the Shaper. The Shaper awed everyone, including Grendel, with his music. While the singer brought Grendel closer to a knowledge of beauty that contrasted with the life of violence that he had known, Grendel believes that the battles he sings about in such glorious terms are in truth brutal and petty. In this way Grendel uses reality in order to shape his thoughts and knowledge regarding the content of the songs.
Another source of Grendel's knowledge is the Dragon.
Grendel, perceiving that the Dragon is evil, finally however gives in to his enticements to come to his lair. The dragon superimposes his own acquired knowledge upon Grendel's. While Grendel is cruel for a good reason and as a result of experience, he still believes that life holds some meaning. The Dragon on the other hand believes that life is pointless, and that the Shaper's songs are merely an attempt to inject meaning and a sense of community where none was to be found.
Initially Grendel is confused...
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" (Ibid) Reflecting on Hall's revelation of Gardner's interpreting Beowulf's in terms of "the Three Ages, in which "youth is identified with the irascible part, middle age with concupiscence, and old age with the search for wisdom." Biblical comparisons include: Youth: "Foolishness [is] bound in the heart of a child..." Proverbs 25:15. (Blue Letter Bible) Middle Age: "The glory of young men [is] their strength..." Proverbs 20: 29. (Ibid) Old Age: And God
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Grendel And After that it's Elephants All the Way Done Wagner's Grendel is one of the most finely crafted pieces of postmodern fiction because it performs both of the functions with which postmodern literature is tasked. First, it is a work of literature that shines on its own, that offers a significant reward to the reader regardless of whether or not the reader is familiar with literary traditions. Second, the work addresses,
. Beowulf is an example of the perfect hero. He is selfless, in that he sacrifices his safety to save other people. He is also lonely, ironically as lonely as Grendel in his own way, as he waits for the monster he must kill alone in the hall. However, Beowulf is also tied in a network of social obligations to his lord and king, as he only agrees to fight Grendel
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