\"Grendel\" Notes - Professor John Brinegar PDF

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Grendel Notes September 8, 2017 Chpt. 1-3 Quiz: -

A bull attacks Grendel when he is struck in a tree Blind man with the harp recites the beginning of Beowulf in chapter 3 Men who find Grendel in the tree think he’s a spirit What makes Grendel realize that he is related to humans? They speak the same language he does Hrothgar throws an axe at Grendel when he finds him in the tree

Discussion Question 1: At the end of chapter 1, Grendel is infuriated because the people sing over the funeral pyre. Why does this anger him so much? - Men burning the body of someone Grendel killed - To Grendel, singing sounds like celebrating - why would they be celebrating if they lost? - People too cocky/confident - Takes away pride Grendel feels from ruining their happiness - Grendel doesn’t understand how humans can feel joy even in times of horror/chaos - Point of funeral to let go and celebrate life; to Grendel, what’s there to celebrate? Discussion Question 2: What is Grendel’s basic view of the world and his place in it? - Believes he is the center of the universe and he is the “only thing that exists” - Very confident that he is the only thinking being - Believes he is better than humans and all other creatures Discussion Question 3: What does Grendel think of humanity, and why? How does this relate to his isolation? - Thinks humanity is inherently dumb - he knows things they don’t? - Nothing exists besides himself - If you think the world has meaning, it’s only the meaning you’ve imposed on it - He determines the meaning of things - everything else is just “brute matter” - Everything, besides him, is all the same - Is unhappy with the world because he thinks he’s the only thinking creature - life is pointless - No external reality that determines good and bad - Curious about humans at first, but after watching them, starts to see them as irrational, brute (random violence), dangerous creatures - If they can think, why are they doing what they do? - Doesn’t want to admit/think about the fact that he is similar to humans (they speak a similar language)

Grendel’s Solipsism: - Views world as mindlessly mechanical - He decides only he exists; world has no meaning save what he imposes on it (pp. 21-22) - He is radically isolated, even from his mother (p. 28) - characteristic of monsters Grendel and the Pattern Makers: - Humans are dangerous because they’re “pattern makers”; what does this mean? - They kill for no reason, waste food, betray each other (who’s monstrous now?) - They speak the same language as Grendel (although they usually can’t understand him) - If they speak the same language, why can they not understand Grendel? Is it because they’re not trying to understand him? Because he’s different than them, they automatically assume he’s bad and don’t make the effort? Lecture Notes: - Grendel is frustrated by bull (cannot think) - wants creatures to “get some dignity” - Grendel thinks he’s superior/sophisticated - Thinks he’s the only thinking creature in the world (mom doesn’t speak, bull is dumb) - Starts to believe The Shaper’s story of the glory of the Danes - Knows it’s not true (he’s seen the men fighting, betraying each other, etc.), but for some reason he starts to believe it - Even Grendel, who considers himself intellectually superior, can’t help but be affected by the story September 11, 2017 Chpt. 4-6 Discussion Question 1: Why is the Shaper called the Shaper? Why does he particularly disturb Grendel? - Called the Shaper because he shapes people’s idea of reality - Shapes their ideas into believing the greatness/glory of the Danes - Tells people things that didn’t actually happen and makes them believe it - Grendel considers himself to be more intelligent than all other beings - frustrates him that he is affected by this human - Doesn’t understand why he wants to believe it - struggling with whether he actually believes it or not - Makes Grendel wonder why he has to be alone - why can’t I communicate with someone? Lecture Notes: - The Dragon: - The whole night, Grendel feels as if he’s being pulled towards a dark force - Wonders if it’s within him (since he thinks nothing is real) - Grendel closes his eyes and suddenly he’s in the dragon’s cave

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Can see past, present, and future - like God - Tells Grendel that one day everything will be gone and everything will end in ashes - Dragon tells Grendel nothing is real and everything is a construct of our minds what Grendel already believes, but he is still very disturbed by this idea and doesn’t want to believe it Grendel realizes humans can’t hurt him anymore

September 13, 2017 Chpt. 7-9 Quiz: -

Ork is a priest Hrothulf counselor’s name: Red Horse Helming King gives Hrothgar his sister in order to make peace Priests think Ork’s behavior is proof of senility Unferth defies Grendel in Heorot

Chapter 7 - Beauty: - Wealhtheow beautiful enough to get Hrothgar to relent from war - So beautiful even Grendel feels it - “She was beautiful, as innocent as dawn on winter hills. She tore me apart as once the Shaper’s song had done.” (p. 87) - Hard for Grendel to deal with because he doesn’t want to admit a human is beautiful - Grendel knows the Shaper lies about the history of the Danes, but he knows Wealhtheow is beautiful and there’s no way to deny that - His solution? Kill her (but can’t make himself do it) Chapter 8 - Revolution: - Hrothulf considers deposing Hrothgar - Red Horse casts this in (anachronistic) revolutionary terms: “The total ruin of institutions and morals is an act of creation. A religious act. Murder and mayhem are the life and soul of revolution.” (p. 102) - Hrothulf rejects violence for its own sake; Red Horse embraces it Chapter 9 - Religion: - Grendel pretends to be the Destroyer, the humans’ god - Ork the priest believes him and delivers a speech on the King of the Gods (and also evil and the remedy for evil) - The ultimate evil is that time is perpetual and leads to everything’s end - “Things fade and alternatives exclude” - Religion Deflated: - The other priests want Ork to calm down and stop disrupting routine

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The only priest who’s sympathetic is also drunk What does this suggest about institutional religion?

Discussion Question 1: Ork says that the ultimate evil can be summed up in two propositions: “Things fade” and “Alternatives exclude.” What do these propositions mean, why do they describe the ultimate evil, and what does Ork see as the remedy for evil? - Time brings an end to everything - everything dies - The older you get, the closer you get to fading out yourself - Alternatives exclude: can’t go back and change things you regret or redo things you wish you did differently - Every time you make one choice, you wipe out all other choices - To dragon, what was excluded is as meaningless as what was chosen - To Ork: - Our world isn’t all there is - there is an afterlife (proof of God?) - In the mind of God, everything that ever existed is preserved; every choice you didn’t make, is made real - Because God exists, everything that fades into the “temporal world” has ongoing existence September 15, 2017 Chpt. 10-12 Chapter 10 - Death of the Shaper: - How does Grendel seem to feel about the Shaper’s death? - Grendel is sad about his death (unexpected), but wishes he would have killed him sooner - Shaper gives Grendel some kind of meaning and way to understand the world without the Shaper, he doesn’t have that (takes away his reason to attack - makes it harder to maintain that attacks have meaning) Chapter 11 - Beowulf Arrives: - Beowulf described as a large, soft-spoken man - Grendel confused about the way Beowulf speaks - While others more concerned with his body/strength, Grendel more interested in his mind - Grendel doesn’t believe Beowulf’s superhuman strength, but knows nobody will cross Beowulf because of his way with words...