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Examples Of Nihilism In Beowulf

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Grendel as a Philosophical Text Nihilism is the rejection of all religious and moral principles, often in the belief that life is meaningless. Existentialism is a philosophical theory in which each individual person has their own free will . These two theories are shown throughout the book Grendel, by the main character Grendel, whether it is existentialism brought on by his mother or nihilism brought on by the dragon. In the beginning of the book Grendel expresses some existential views on life but through Grendel’s experiences in the book he begins to express his Nihilistic views on life, only to be disproved by the hands of Beowulf. Grendel begins his life as an existentialist, as he is confused by the world that surrounds him. He uses …show more content…

As Grendel converses with the dragon he is introduced to the ideas of nihilism. The dragon’s nihilistic views are expressed through his motto, “Do as I do! Seek out gold- but not my gold- and guard it!(Gardner 62) Grendel is curious about these views and he asks the dragon why he must do this. The dragon is very angered by this because there is no rhyme or reason to what he does because he believes in nothing. The dragon tells Grendel that he believes that life is meaningless and everything will come to an end at some point in time. “ The beginning, the present , the end. Everything. You now, you see the past and the present, like other low creatures” (Gardner 62-63). Grendel then leaves the case with a large sense of pride in himself as he feels even further justified in what he is doing to the Danes, because he begins to take on the Dragon’s ideas that life is meaningless and he feels that nothing in life is meaningful so he can continue his killings because neither him nor the Danes will be affected by what he does according to his newfound views. The only thing left for Grendel now is to fulfill his evil fantasies. Grendel creates his own motto, “Nihilo ex Nihilo” (Gardner 150)or nothing from

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