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Post by haleyjensen on Jul 13, 2013 20:36:43 GMT
After reading chapter one, my initial reaction is that my heart goes out to Grendel. Yes, he is a murderer. But he is obviously so resentful of his actions and the life he lives that he appears to be destroying himself in the process of destroying others. The only place in chapter one where he appears to be happy is at Hrothgar's, where he is welcomed. Gardner writes, "Grendel!' They squeak, and I smile like an exploding spring" (12). The change in attitude of Grendel when he walks into this place expresses his longing to be accepted. At the end of the day, I believe this is something everyone struggles with in one form or another. The issue of wanting to feel wanted is not the only internal conflict humanity shares with Grendel. It is also clear that Grendel has issues with loneliness. He narrates, "I shake my head, muttering darkly on shaded paths, holding conversation with the only friend and comfort this world affords, my shadow" (9). Throughout the rest of chapter one, the monster also makes clear the negative view he has of himself, his irritation toward prejudice, and general unsatisfaction in the life he lives. On one hand, Grendel deals with a set of problems entirely unique to a monster, such as eating people and living in a forest. On the other hand, the inward concerns of Grendel are ones many people can identify with.
What holds Grendel back from being satisfied in the life he lives? Do you feel sympathy for him, why or why not? Do you see his set of struggles as a result of his life as a monster, or a result of universally shared struggles? And finally, do you think the internal conflicts he battles are as genuinely frustrating as they appear to be, or are they exaggerated by a negative attitude?
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Post by davidqin on Jul 24, 2013 23:59:16 GMT
Your questions remind me of my favorite book of all time, Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning. In it, the renowned psychiatrist states "If there is a meaning in life at all, then there must be a meaning in suffering. Suffering is an eradicable part of life, even as fate and death. Without suffering and death human life cannot be complete" (Frankl 67). If one cannot find a satisfying, pleasurable meaning for life, Frankl argues that instead, one should look for meaning behind the suffering. If one understands the meaning for his suffering and can bear to withstand it (i.e. that suffering is worthwhile for some reason), then there is a meaning for continuing to go on in life. Grendel never identifies the reason for his suffering in life. We can speculate at why he is so sad: - His inability to talk with his mother.
- The fact that other than his mother and himself, he has nobody else to relate to. Grendel complains about "the meaningless objectness of the world, the universal bruteness" (28).
- Grendel is also furious at happy the humans are when they are together, compared to his solitary suffering: "'Why can't I have someone to talk to?' I said... 'The Shaper has people to talk to,' I said. I wrung my fingers. 'Hrothgar has people to talk to'" (53).
If we compare Grendel to Viktor Frankl during his time in Auschwitz, then perhaps we can see that Grendel never explicitly identifies any meaning behind his suffering. If Grendel were to do that and find meaning in his solitary battle against the world, wouldn't he be happier? Or at least more satisfied? This is the key to Frankl's concept of logotherapy, which defines life as the process to find meaning in that life.
We can also look at Grendel's woes from a different perspective. I refer to the same unit in Freshman Honors English, but this time instead of Frankl's logotherapy, I look at Grendel through the lens of Adlerian psychology (basically what Nietzsche came up with originally). Friedrich Nietzsche had a concept he called the will to power. It's the force that drives us in our lives; the will to power leads us to have ambitions and strive for the most we can achieve in life. As for our story, I think that Grendel tries too hard to become what he is not. Grendel, like the humans and Hrothgar in particular, has ambitions in life. Simply, Grendel wants to be with people he can relate to. He wants to be part of a loving family and community. I think it's fair to say Grendel wishes he could join the humans if he could (hence his attempt to join them on page 51), but the humans simply cannot allow such a beast to join their company. Therefore, Grendel's ambitions are consistently thwarted, yet also taunted by the Shaper and Wealtheow. Probably, this continuous inability to achieve his chosen ambition is a reason that Grendel is so miserable in his life.
Since I'm able to apply these two schools of psychoanalysis to Grendel, his problems seem very real and universally-shared. The quest to find acceptance and belonging is one we all undergo, and his inability to fulfill his wishes and wants is also something that we can sympathize with. To me, Grendel's struggles appear genuine and very human-like. It's just a pity that the humans could never take him for what he was on the inside.
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