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Post by allegra on Aug 11, 2013 2:23:55 GMT
The shaper is able to create aesthetic tales that, according to the dragon, help humanity feel less "worthless". In your opinion, how is the shaper represented in today's society? How does it/ the person appear in day to day life?
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Post by haejungyoon on Aug 16, 2013 1:17:59 GMT
It would be no exaggeration to say that people today live in fictional stories written by numerous shapers. We are constantly surrounded by exaggerated stories and obvious lies. Yet, we refuse to reject them just like Grendel; “the [shaper] had changed the world, had torn up the past by its thick, gnarled roots and had transmuted it, and they, who knew the truth, remembered it his way-and so did I” (43). The presidential candidates provide us with promises that seem to make the future perfect for everyone. The “reality shows” provide us with people’s ideal lives with extravagant surroundings and plastic like flawless people. The news channels offer only the most exciting and scandalous news. With so many lies told at the same time, it is difficult to differentiate between the reality and a delusion. Nevertheless, I think the shapers today are necessary. They give us a strand of hope when everything seems to be going wrong. They motivate people to move forward by providing them with a vision of a future.
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Post by sheridanf on Aug 16, 2013 3:05:28 GMT
To me, Grendel's shaper was shrouded in mystery- the book never described him as totally good or totally evil. He seemed somewhat in the middle. Yes, he blatantly changed the entire past for his own benefit. But oftentimes the shaper was described in a more positive light. For example, after the shaper's death, Gardner writes about the relationship between the shaper and the faithful wife whom he loved, writing that "[n]othing came of [the shaper's love]. She would leave the hall on her husband's arm: the Shaper would bow politely as she passed" (pg. 144). Love of a married woman could definitely be considered an evil act; yet, the Shaper is very respectful and dignified, only bowing politely.
Similarly, modern shapers are very mysterious in their shaping ways. To begin, modern shapers can be found anywhere- in movies, in TV shows, on the internet, and more. There is no one main culprit to modern shaping. And while most of this modern shaping is meant to be beneficial- to give hope to the hopeless and increase worldwide optimism in times of distress- it can be very destructive. Upon experiencing the shaper for the first time, Grendel reacted violently: "Thus I fled, ridiculous hairy creature torn apart by poetry- crawling, whimpering, streaming tears, across the world like a two-headed beast, like mixed-up lamb and kid at the tail of a baffled, indifferent ewe- and I gnashed my teeth and clutched the sides of my head as if to heal the split, but I couldn't" (pg. 44). Grendel's confusion over two contradicting realities made his head "split," and he felt like a child ("mixed-up lamb and kid"). Many young adults experience this kind of trauma upon entering the real world- instead of the relatively easy success they expected, they experience harsh failure.
But does this make modern shaping "evil"? As with Grendel's shaper, it's hard to tell. After all, modern shaping leaves many children with blissfully ignorant and optimistic childhoods, which any child deserves. But does this make it okay when they have to experience the sudden harshness of the world and all they know is easy success? I believe the modern shaper, who appears in all forms of media, is different from Grendel's shaper in that the modern shaper does not shape reality for his/her own benefit, but rather for the benefit of youth. But the question still remains if modern shaping is actually beneficial. In terms of benefit, the modern shaper appears as a more neutral force. |
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Post by keelycorrigan on Aug 28, 2013 4:24:16 GMT
The Shaper is essentially a glorified and beloved story-teller who weaves beautiful tales that, while they are based in fact, are exaggerations of fact in order to flatter or disfigure certain parties. In the constructs of Grendel’s story he is a man who, as Sheridan stated so eloquently, is “shrouded in mystery” because his main purpose is to flatter the current ruling dynasty. This kind of lore-spinner is evident in EVERY SINGLE culture in ALL of history. In my humble opinion, a seminal aspect of humanity , if you will, is the desire to be praised and admired. The Shaper is able to provide this; but, the shaper is also a source of power to those who seek it—like kings—because as has always been evident, those who write history determine history.
Shapers, however, are, interestingly enough, sentient beings when it comes to where they fall of the spectrum of absolute objective good and absolute objective bad (if you believe that kind of thing to be true), is variable by perspective. I would argue that one of the most powerful shapers of our modern world that pervade their ways into people’s homes in order to sway them and flatter/disfigure certain parties are major corporation-like news companies with extreme or unreasonable bias. Many people cannot filter the information that is presented to them as fact by the sources of news or information, and are therefore victims of the modern shaper. They have been told a story that has been spun. Imagine that!
Of course, shapers can act for the benefit of humanity or the world. Many documentaries that aim to help a just or good cause will manipulate or distort the facts in order to sway the viewer. Many of these "documentarians" have the best of intentions and mean to bring good into the world—but, they do so through manipulation.
On a different but analogous note, Fairy Tales, and parents who use myth to protect their children are shapers in and of themselves. Fairy Tales will often take a pretty plausible premise—girl in red meets wolf in woods, for example—and then twist it to fit a moral message for the children. The story of Santa is the story of a shaper! No fat man in a red suit actually climbs through that many chimneys in a single night; but, Santa teaches children about the spirit of giving and indiscriminate (as long as you believe in Santa) love. For many children, the knowledge that at least one stranger out there loves and cares for them is a deeply moving and affecting way to grow up. A shaper’s story of Santa still manipulates truths in order to weasel a message into a listener’s mind—but the intentions are so pure and good that how could it be the same thing, basically, to a bad news reporter’s lies?
The multifaceted truth about complex issues like the integrity of stories and the intentions of story-tellers are very interesting things to ponder—especially while questioning them in a modern context.
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