Post by jessicapollard on Aug 20, 2013 7:39:40 GMT
Mahatma Gandhi once said "You must be the change you wish to see in the world". While this sentiment is now mindlessly plastered onto thousands of Tumblr 'art' blogs, Gandhi himself acted on his wise words and well, it worked. There is no denying that Gandhi's non-violent civil disobedience, which began on an amazingly small scale, forever changed the fate of India and its people.
In chapter 5, the Dragon maintains a very cynical outlook in terms of change, explaining to Grendel, "... it's extremely rash to extend conclusions derived from observation far beyond the scale of magnitude to which the observation was confined. For example, the apparent absence of change within a second of time tells nothing as to the change within a thousand years" (56).
Later, when Grendel idealistically disputes why he should change his ways for the sake of the kingdom, the Dragon responds sarcastically: " 'Do something else, by all means! Alter the future! Make the world a better place in which to live! Help the poor! Feed the hungry. Be kind to idiots! what a challenge!'" (63).
As someone who personally strives to do the very things that the Dragon scorns, I know all too well the face of cynicism and cannot help but to wonder if bothering to change anything is worth it? How would the novel change if Grendel miraculously decided to replace his havoc-reeking with good deed doing? Is change truly as insignificant as the Dragon *knows* that it is?
In chapter 5, the Dragon maintains a very cynical outlook in terms of change, explaining to Grendel, "... it's extremely rash to extend conclusions derived from observation far beyond the scale of magnitude to which the observation was confined. For example, the apparent absence of change within a second of time tells nothing as to the change within a thousand years" (56).
Later, when Grendel idealistically disputes why he should change his ways for the sake of the kingdom, the Dragon responds sarcastically: " 'Do something else, by all means! Alter the future! Make the world a better place in which to live! Help the poor! Feed the hungry. Be kind to idiots! what a challenge!'" (63).
As someone who personally strives to do the very things that the Dragon scorns, I know all too well the face of cynicism and cannot help but to wonder if bothering to change anything is worth it? How would the novel change if Grendel miraculously decided to replace his havoc-reeking with good deed doing? Is change truly as insignificant as the Dragon *knows* that it is?