responsible for the birth of existentialist thought. Existentialism is the theory that individuals are independent beings and are free to exercise their own free will. It focuses on questions such as: Do humans have a predetermined essence or do they live completely free from restrictions? If a divine creator does exist‚ what is its true nature? And whether the universe is indifferent to human existence. This paper takes a deeper look into existentialism and how it can apply to literature. Mary Shelley’s
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Existentialism is a philosophy of existence that asks what the nature of human existence is. Albert Camus’ The Stranger is an existentialist novel because it represents three main ideas in the philosophy of existentialism: absurdity‚ death‚ and emotions. Absurdity according to an existentialist means life has no meaning or ultimate purpose‚ humans need to make sense and have purpose. Throughout The Stranger Meursault experiences many absurd act‚ for instance “Gentleman of the jury‚ the day after
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Existentialism In The Stranger and The Metamorphosis Have you ever contemplated whether or not your life‚ or even life in general‚ has meaning or purpose? Have you ever wondered why we are here or why we have responsibilities or even why we think of things as we do? This series of questions that an individual might ask in his or her own mind all point to a philosophy known as existentialism. Existentialism explores the uselessness of the human’s responsibility to make choices‚ perform actions
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characterization. An example of this is Grendel‚ the beast described in Beowulf‚ an epic poem‚ and in Grendel‚ a retelling of Beowulf from Grendel’s point of view. In Grendel‚ Grendel is speaking directly to the reader and is shown as a witty and reflective being‚ whereas in Beowulf he is described from a third party’s eye as a ghastly beast with no morals or mercy. However‚ both tales depict the character with raging and murderous tendencies. The viewpoint in which Grendel is written affects the characterization
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11 March 2010 John Gardner’s Grendel The author of Grendel‚ John Gardner‚ is considered one of the most influential and controversial authors in the twenty-first century. Known for his brutal honesty in religion and society‚ which is most commonly reflected in his novel. In his novel Grendel‚ John Gardner translates his personal tragedies into the text with depictions including his own life experiences‚ tragedies‚ and religious upbringing. John Gardner was born in 1933‚ in Batavia‚ New York
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the novel Grendel‚ by John Gardner‚ portrays Grendel’s characteristics altering as he meets new characters; throughout his journey to mankind. Mankind teaches him vast new knowledge he’s never understood. His nihilistic and solipsism is formed through the characters in the novel; envy and anger are also shown. He plays big roles in terrifying the Danes and somewhat of the Geats; they mold him into the monster they fear the most. The characters‚ shaper‚ man‚ and the dragon shape Grendel into the monster
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Cartesian Skepticism to Existentialism The nature of our reality and existence has been a topic of debate since at least the ancient Greeks. Do we exist? Why do we exist? Does it even matter? These are questions I will attempt to address thoroughly. Answers may not be comfortable or satisfactory‚ but it’s better to rip that band-aid off now than continue blindly in the dark. Rationalism and Empiricism have both attempted to prove existence‚ but at their most extremes they fall apart. Using
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that lives in the darkness of the land. Its name is Grendel. Grendel is against everything the Danes love‚ including the mead hall‚ and things such as fun and happiness. It pains him to see and hear people having fun. So to enact his revenge‚ in the night‚ he sneaks up to the herot‚ and he swiftly takes 30 men in their sleep. The men were never seen again‚ and when their companions woke up‚ they were filled with sorrow over their losses‚ and Grendel is relieved. He continues this act of killing off
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The novel Grendel by John Gardner portrays the main character‚ Grendel‚ into a different prospective compared to the poem‚ Beowulf by Burton Raffel. While in both texts‚ Grendel has been displayed as an ugly beast whom everyone runs in terror‚ in the novel‚ the author explains how much Grendel thinks like a human. Grendel from the novel is immensely different from Grendel in the Beowulf poem because of how these two characters are portrayed‚ their morals and the way they handle their death. In both
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Beowulf and Grendel can be compared and contrasted in various ways. Beowulf was a hero to the village who came to defeat the monster which was named Grendel. Grendel was the mean dangerous monster who was killing many villagers because of the harassing they were doing to him by annoying him. The village had kicked Grendel out of the village because he was a monster. Grendel was half human half monster. In this essay I will discuss how Grendel and Beowulf are alike and different‚ and how they were
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