Relativism vs. Moral Absolutes Paul Sartre’s atheistic existentialism divides the world into 2 groups‚ authentic and inauthentic. Authentic people are distinguished by their deliberate choices to use their freedom to find purpose and meaning in their existence‚ while inauthentic people are characterized by passivity. John Gardner disagrees with moral relativism evidenced in Sartre’s existentialism and chooses to believe in moral absolutes. He portrays Grendel in his book Grendel as a condemnation
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Apollo and Green Arrow/ Oliver Queen When I first learned about the Greek god Apollo in my Classical Mythology class‚ he reminded me of Oliver Queen. Oliver Queen is a character from one of my favorite television show called “Smallville”. He inherited a big industrial empire from his parents when they passed away. He was a playboy who did not care to give back to the society and only did what pleases him. One day‚ when Oliver was out on his boat‚ he was pushed overboard into the sea by an employee
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Sir Gawain from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight‚ how are these warriors self bound by codes of honor? Beowulf and Achilleus’ codes of honor are somewhat similar in that they both occur while in battle. For Beowulf‚ this happens before the battle with the rudimentary beast known as Grendel. Beowulf decides not to use weapons to fight the beast because Grendel does not use weapons‚ and Beowulf wants the fight to remain fair. On page 18 lines 73- 83 “Grendel is no braver‚ no stronger‚ than
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Knights of Dignity the Code of Chivalry is a system that helped govern the people of the Middle Ages and was treated like the Bible to knights in Le Morte Darthur‚ The Canterbury Tales‚ and “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”. The knights following it must be someone whose worth brings respect and fame‚ someone who has the strength to venture and withstand difficulty and someone who has consideration and cooperation. These characteristics are apparent in the portrayal of Le Morte Darthur‚ Canterbury
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For generations‚ people are only known by who they are. From kingdoms that are known for their heroic knights‚ from villages lead by their barbaric warlords‚ from monasteries protected by their wise samurai. Heroes are born. The only proof of their legends are the stories told to each passing generation. When that happens exaggerations‚ magnifications‚ embellishment is added. Who is to say which is the truth? Who is to say you heard it wrong? What if the original was altered? These legends are perceived
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These battles consist of fighting with the demon Grendel‚ the demon that was Grendel’s mother‚ as well as a great battle with a giant green dragon. All of these battles ended with the beast dying‚ but the final battle ended with beowulf having a greater battle with the dragon than with the others. Beowulf approached these battles differently‚ but some of them have similarities. Grendel comes because he hears all of the partying and joy. Grendel knows that the men will soon be too drunk to fight
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Existentialism in Grendel Nihilism‚ as well as existentialism and a host of other philosophies are boldly explored in Grendel‚ a novel by John Gardner. The antagonist Grendel travels on a journey of self-discovery‚ eventually becoming a nihilist‚ only to be gallantly disproved by the hero Beowulf. In the end Gardner proves that the virtues of individuality and meaning triumph over meaningless violence and destruction. While Gardner presents countless philosophies and thoughts in Grendel‚ the two most
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Grendel as a Ridiculous Character Probably one of the greatest questions of the 19th century comes directly from John Gardner’s novel Grendel. Given a world with no inherent meaning‚ how should one live his or her life? Grendel lives in a world that he is not supposed to be in‚ acting out on emotion. Grendel represents the animalistic traits of humans. His actions are primitive and based around society’s acceptance throughout the novel. Grendel portrays a ridiculous character that is convinced
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Throughout the novel Grendel by John Gardner‚ the monster Grendel has many different encounters that change his view on the world‚ but it becomes unequivocally clear that his true way of life is through nihilism. Grendel starts out in life as a nihilist where everything is meaningless to him. However‚ he longs for meaning. His only dilemma is within himself because he cannot see how an animal like him has any true purpose. As Grendel matures and leaves his mother he becomes interested in looking
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Grendel in the novel shares many of the problems as the Monster in Frankenstein does. Grendel and The Monster both share suffering‚ isolation from mankind‚ and their monstrosity towards mankind. Grendel and the Monster both share their isolation by being exiled from mankind’s society due to their “monster” characteristics. In the novel Grendel‚ Grendel says to himself‚ “So it goes with me day by day and age by age‚ I tell myself. Locked in the deadly progression of moon and stars. I shake my head
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