Grendel's Nihilism In Beowulf

He no longer has the undertone of a child, rather, more of a man going through hard times. He believes that the gods had defied him a “rejection of the gods that, for (his) part, (he’d) known all along to be lifeless sticks” (Gardner 52). Later when Grendel talks to the dragon, the dragon reminds Grendel of his true self, that “nothing interests him (except) excitement, violence.” (Gardner 67). While to an extent, this is true, there are some parts to this that isn’t true, otherwise Grendel could not be a dynamic character. Grendel has changed from a impressionable and inquisitive cynical monster in the beginning, to a grieving child of Cain, longing for purpose.

Victor felt he had no one to turn to because he did not want to tell anyone what he had created. Because of this, he became very depressed which took a huge toll on his mental side. He eventually came to a point where he wanted to put an end to his madness and set out to kill the monster. The novel of Frankenstein can be interpreted to a student who became so engulfed by the thought of recreating life from those that were dead that it ended up ruining who they were as a person. Through the pursuit of his found passion in his work he wanted to accomplish, the

However, Victors reckless and unthoughtful actions pushes the monster into a state of rage and hatred that overrides his ability to stop from exacting revenge on Victor. Victor initially creates the monster thinking that it will be an amazing creature, built from the best human body parts Victor could procure. After he views the outcome of his work he is repulsed by it and abandons it, hoping that it would cease to exist. Not only did the monster survive, but it learned to speak, write, and read. After reading the book Paradise Lost, the monster thinks of its own situation and states the following: But I was wretched, helpless, and alone.

Betrayal in Beowulf When Beowulf goes on his quest to slay the dragon, everyone except for Wiglaf “runs for their lives to the safety of the wood” (175). To be fair, Beowulf is quite old at this point, so his men probably are not as confident in his abilities as they used to be. Still, Wiglaf gives them hell for their cowardice, referencing how they “pledged their loyalty” when “mead was flowing” and nothing was around to challenge their allegiance (177). The men still aren’t convinced, and continue to hightail it out of there. The situation alludes quite nicely to the scene in the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus’s disciples abandon him after having sworn similar allegiances.

It is most wonderful. Now am I fearful…” (Twain 342). Ogre myths are rooted in the most savage aspects of pre-human life (Cirlot 243). Romantic authors wrote about the gallantry and chivalrousness of the nobility and the kindness and graciousness shown towards the common folk (Class). However, Twain exposes the Romantics’ naivety through Sandy’s child-like disillusion of the swineherds as ogres and their idiocy for writing tales themselves about knights and ogres as though they were fact.

He is saying that he left everything for his relentless search of knowledge and forgetting about his physical. I think that his suffering is do to the doubts that he had about life. When Victor gave life to the monster, he couldn’t believe the appearance of the monster that he just run away. This was another problem that caused his suffering because of his absences on taking care of the creature. Because of his lack of human appearance, society making something bad awake inside him rejects the monster.

The Creation was abandoned from the start just because he wasn't the best looking, which clearly shows Victor favors beauty over value. Which is clearly displayed when he refers to creation as “it” (102), a “vile insect” (102), “wretch” (77), and a “filthy daemon” (77) multiple times. Victor directly told his creation, “Begone! Relieve me from the sight of your detested form” (104). Distinctly displaying conflict because he tells the creation to get out of his life constantly mistreating and

Victor fails to build a being similar to that of his own because of his flawed mentality, limiting Hakimian 3 the protagonist from recognizing the many treasures in his life. Likewise, Prometheus fails to accept his accomplishments and seeks to achieve more. The Titan abuses his powers by choosing to steal, justifying his actions by claiming to benefit humanity in the long run. The God of the sky seeks revenge on Prometheus by ordering eagles to tear open his stomach and feed off his liver. Though unaware at first, Prometheus and Victor become familiar with their fate.

After calling out to the Cyclops and revealing his complete identity, Odysseus’ ships were driven off course in the complete opposite direction, further delaying their journey home. Odysseus’ struggle for kleos while living repeatedly affected him negatively. He continues to seek glory, regardless of the circumstances, and therefore ends up on the brink of death time and time again. Odysseus’ seek for kleos inhibits his ability to identify when the risks outweigh the benefits of any

He fights to the best of his abilities against many monsters such as Polyphemus, Circe, and the sea monster Scylla. There has been many claims that Odysseus isn’t hero because he lets his crew die. Just because his crew didn’t survive, it certainly does not mean he isn’t a hero. He tries his very best and even test his limits in order to get him and his crew back home. An example of this is in Homer’s ‘The Odyssey” where Odysseus tries to persuade his crew to bypass Thrinacia, the island of the sun god Helios, but they were too stubborn and insisted on landing.