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Zodiac Signs In Grendel Essay

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Apparently the time you are born predetermines your personality with a corresponding zodiac sign. If this is true, then why are there people who do not fit within the characteristics of the sign, or like Grendel have characteristics from all signs? In the his novel, Grendel, John Gardner incorporates each chapter of the book with a distinct astrological sign, to display the growth and withdraw in Grendel's philosophical development. The different zodiacs in each chapter are parallel to Grendel’s spiritual evolution, constantly seeking to understand the world around him and himself. Through the chapters of the book, it can be seen that all zodiac animals are interdependent of each other, and this tears Grendel apart emotionally. Aries marks …show more content…

Grendel often questions his self worth and the world around him. Being a Taurus represents the disconnect from the world that Grendel feels due to his existential crisis. One example of this is when Grendel realizes that his mom will not save him when a bull chases Grendel up a tree, he says “I understood that, finally and absolutely, I alone exist... I create the whole universe, blink by blink... I exist and nothing else” (Gardner pg). Grendel feels like his existence truly does not matter to anyone not even his mother, which adds on to his existential nihilistic crisis. Grendel comes off as self-centered because he mentions how he “[creates] the whole universe”. This trait is said to be common amongst people associated with Taurus, exemplified with Grendel’s Solipsist beliefs about his lack of understanding of the world around him. When Grendel says “The world resists me, and I resist the world” it is proof of his inertia (Grendel pg). Which is another characteristic of the Taurus pertaining to the fact that he does not do anything positive to improve his relations with the humans and his mother. In fact his confusing relationship with his mother is what leads to his demise at the end of the

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