The Ending of Grendel

If you read Beowulf you might have somewhat of an idea of how Grendel come to an end. Grendel dies from being slain by Beowulf but it is further explain from Grendel's side of view how the whole event occurred. During Grendel and Beowulf's battle i felt as if Grendel was taking by surprise by Beowulf's power and fighting abilities. Even once Grendel realizes of Beowulf's true threat, Grendel still feels as if he can beat Beowulf. Even once Beowulf is obviously winning, Grendel just starts to make excuses for himself and feels as if Beowulf is getting lucky. Grendel blames him slipping on blood, as the reason for his defeat by Beowulf. The end result is that Beowulf rips of Grendel's arm and Grendel stumbles back to hi home where he eventually falls into the deep abyss. Whether or note Grendel intentionally fell into the whole can be a topic of discussion. I believe that Grendel fell to his death on purpose. Grendel states that he had an accident and that it was all a mistake. By emphasizing that the whole situation was a misunderstanding and a mistake, the theme of mis communication and accidents are clearly expressed. The idea hat nothing happens for any reason at all and that everything is random and accidental can be shown through a narcissistic point of view. This point of view expresses that nothing happens for a reason and everything will eventually end just as we all do so there is no point to life. This idea is shown when Grendel plummets into the dark abyss and leaves the world for forever, now waiting for his replacement to take his place. I also thought the end was interesting because of the way Beowulf was portrayed with wings, which could ether symbolize the words of the dragon coming true or symbolize Beowulf as a fallen angle similar to Luther. Beowulf can be seen as a fallen angle like Luther due to how he almost torments Grendel during his defeat giving Beowulf a form in which he is both evil yet bringing peace to many. Grendel's hallucination of the wings can also serve as if Grendel is remembering the wise words of the dragon and he now sees what the dragon was referring to when he stated to beware of strangers. While Beowulf brings peace and safety to the people he can also be seen as the bringer of death from Grendel's point of view.

Is Grendel Evil?

Without thorough observation and proper physco analysis we are able to see that the question may not be as easy to answer as first thought of. Without giving much thought as a reader you may say at first with confidence that Grendel is in no doubt born evil and corrupt. This idea forms from the basic and obvious traits of being a monster, looking fearsome, living in a cave and the power and ability to kill human beings at ease. While this may be the case to identify whether or not Grendel is truly evil you must analyze Grendel's life and see what made him react the way he did and what made him who he is. When Grendel terrorizes human beings the act seems to be obviously evil and full of hate. However, what many fail to acknowledge  the whole reason why Grendel's relationship and connection with the humans is one of hate between the two. It all started off on a negative note due to the failure to communicate which lead to confusion and fear which resulted in both Grendel and the humans reacting on instinct by trying to defend one selves. This lack of communication is just as much, in my opinion, the humans fault as it was Grendel's. In fact i believe it was the humans fault maybe even more so than Grendel's, that the two were unable to communicate and make peace. While it may have been the humans fault for the initial confusion and violence i do believe that Grendel became to used to terrorizing the humans which lead to him becoming evil in all the actions that he did. While Grendel had an evil side and way of living, Grendel did not fail to recognize his flaw.  felt as if Grendel did not want to live this way yet society and the lack of communication corrupted his life in ways that forced him o become evil. Its almost as if Grendel had no choice or say in the matter. It seems as if Grendel was just as much destined to be the villiain, as Beowulf was destined to be the hero. While Grendel knows of his evil deeds he is still confused about what his true identity is. This failure to identify his identity is what Grendel seems to try and achieve throughout the novel. I feel as if Grendel does not truly know his place in the world and he strives throughout his life in order to find the answer. I also thought it was interesting how Grendel's predestined character trait of being the villain, whether he had a say in it or not, also expresses the naracism that is present throughout the novel due to the feeling that nothing matters and everything is random so there is nothing you can do to change what is happening in your life because it simply means nothing.

Grendel

The book Grendel is a unque and interesting outlook on the monsters side of view. Rather than telling the story from Beowulf's point of view, the story is told from Grendels' point of view. I feel that by telling the sstory from both points of view it allows us to further understand the connection between the hero and the villain. It also alows us to get the full story along with allowing us to identify and dbate certain forms of bias along with motives and reasonings behind the main characters. In Grendel it also takes an interestng twist by almost identifying Grendel as the hero is some ways rather tahn just an evil monster set out to destroy man kind. I also believe that seing it from Grendels point of view allowed me understand why things got off on a bad start with Grendels connection with the humans. While during Beowulf I assumed that the reasoning behind Grendels reactions, where simply due to him being an evil beast that knows nothing more than to terrorize and demolish human beings. I know feel as if Grendel's and the humans relationship is not a good relationship based on mis communication and simple mistake. Grendel thinks and in some ways is similiar to humans in his ability to think and react to situations. However, Grendel is unable to communicate with the humans. as the humans are unable to communicate with Grendel. This lack of communication is what spurred the years of hatered and endless turmoil between the humans and Grendel. I also believe that Grendel, like Beowulf was on a quest to find his identity and true meaning in life. Also, like Beowulf Grendel eventually meets his end and is filled by another in his footsteps. I also believe that while it is said that Grendel is able to think and reason as if a human, he still has a significant amount of animalistic chracter traits. While Grendel is able to think as if a human, I feel that when he is confused or is reacting souly on instinct, Grendel reverts back to his animalistic traits and reacts based upon instinct. This is why his connection with the humans is not good because when ever there is some kind of confusion or failure to communicate, Grendel reverts back to his animalistic qualities which is often defense and this just makes the whole situation more serious and dangerous for both teh peole and for Grendel. This issue can be clearly identified when Grendel meets the humans for the first time and when they try and communicate with each other they are both confused and this confusion leads to both Grendel and the humans to revert to a state of self defense and react without thinking. This repeated issue leads to Grendel's relationship with the humans becoming worse and worse and will probably be indentified more clearly later on in the story.

Good or Evil? Hero or Villain?

The topic of good and evil and heroism verse villains is commonly debated and can be interpreted in many different ways. First off i believe that society identifies good as someone who cares for others more than they care for their selves. This trait is often found in hero's through the form of sacrifice. A hero is looked on by society as commonly referred to as a good person or someone who triumphs over evil. One other trait that is often related with good is being in touch with God along with being pure and not full of sins. The term good and the term hero, in society, are paralleled to the point that in someways they mean the same thing because you can not have one without the other. By using this theory you can also relate good to evil as well as a hero to a villain due to how they depend on each other because without one you can not have the other. Because, without evil, there would be know "good" hero to triumph over evil. As well as without hero's their would be no evil and villains that fight back. Society also relies heavily upon religion in order to determine what is good and what is evil. The traditional religious view points allows people to have a guide line and it makes it easier for people to properly identify good and evil. By making this easier to identify people in society are able to feel safer due to the safety that is brought about do to the knowledge of what is good and what is evil. One thing I would like to change, is how people define hero's in our society. I believe that many people fail to realize that a hero can be a simple deed of feeding the poor or simply serving as a role model for those who need a role model to direct them to the path of good rather than evil. I believe if people in society would step back and see what people are doing around them on a daily basis, people in our society would realize that there are hero's all around us. People however, sometimes simply fail to see these hero's that may be the most important hero in order to preserve good in our society. While hero's can be the ones who achieve great goals and changed great numbers of lives, there can also be hero's who may have changed maybe only one persons life, but by doing so they impacted more than they could ever imagine. By changing the life of one person for the good, that one person may someday be that hero who touches numerous people. If the small hero had never impacted his or her life, then many others would have suffered as a result of it.

Beowulf

Beowulf represents and plays the role of what would been recognized as the perfect hero. Throughout the poem the common theme of heroism is expressed. Beowulf's heroism in shown during his time of youth as well as through his time of age and experience. Beowulf's heroism is proven by being put through various trials in which he is faced with challenging obstacles that he is forced to overcome in order to fulfill his name and legacy. These difficult challenges come in the form of opponents that are monster like beings such as Grendel, Grendel's mother, and the dragon. Beowulf's heroism is shown through various stages in his life including during his youth and during his older age. Beowulf's reaction and way of dealing with issues changes through tout his life and can be analyzed due to being able to identify Beowulf's reaction when he is a young fearless warrior based upon his reaction when he is a mature and experienced king. Beowulf also expresses extreme forms of stubbornness because he never backs down from a challenge, almost as if defeating a foe would be more for himself rather than the people who are now safe and happy due to the terrible monster being slain. Even when Beowulf was an elder king and needed by his people he still was unable to back down from the challenge of slaying the dragon which points to how slaying the dragon means more to Beowulf than actually making his people safe on top of collecting all of the dragons gold. Its almost as if Beowulf has personal goals and motives that keep him going and may be the soul reason for his purpose in life. I feel that, including Beowulf, a main theme includes finding there own identity and meaning in the world. I feel that Beowulf's quest and goal in life is to find his identity and meaning for life. He knows that he is a terrific hero and has incredible fighting skills, yet he wants more and continues to seek more throughout his journey. This character trait is how Beowulf lead his life and is also why he was so stubborn. His stubbornness is fueled by his true meaning to find his true identity in his surroundings. On top of this struggle I also noticed that Beowulf's opponents and foes throughout the poem seem to become more and more difficult to defeat as Beowulf's hero's quest progresses during the span of his entire life as a hero and slayer of evil monsters.This may have happened in order to make the cycle repeat because in order for that to happen monster and hero alike, eventually one must been slain and killed and another one, Hero or monster must take its place.

All The Kings Men Corruption

Throughout the novel corruption plays a significant role. Corruption is often portrayed in politics. One aspect that can be associated with corruption is knowledge. For example once Willie Stark found out a received the knowledge of how he was being used in order to split the vote, this knowledge in a sense corrupted Willie. The Knowledge corrupted willie because it made Willie completely change his attitude in life to one that he states that all the men with power are corrupt and that they do no treat the common people with respect because they feel that the common folk are all ignorant hicks. This theory lead to how Willie was eventually able to come to power. Power often follows knowledge and is a contributing factor in the process of corruption. Once power is received a common result may end up to be corruption. Power often time corrupts people because they like the feeling of the power they have and they will do anything in their power in order to maintain their power and high rank in society. I believe that Willie Stark was not a naturally corrupt man. I say this because his whole life he tried to live it the right way and he worked hard for everything he ever received and earned. Even at the point in his life when snapped, he still had the people in mind. I believe however, that once Willie received excessive amounts of power, he lost certain aspects and qualities in which he had previously in life. This result proves how knowledge often leads to power and power can often times lead to corruption, like in the case of Willie Stark. I also believe that corruption can be spread out from the head man (the boss) all the way down to the main who works for him. I say this because if the man at top is corrupt often times the men who choose to follow him are in turn also corrupt people. While knowledge is important to man kind in order to evolve, knowledge is not always positive and can lead to why people become corrupt beings, because with knowledge there is often power due to the specific type of knowledge a person may obtain. Once this knowledge is obtained, often time this knowledge may result in an increase in power and if the person allows the increase of power to envelop them then this is the gradual decline from knowledge to corruption.

The Ending of The Awakening

While the ending of The Awakening can be interpreted in many different ways, one thing is for sure and that is that Edna committed suicide. Many debate on whether this was a courageous act or whether it was a cowardly act. I personally believe that the result and the act itself is cowardly. I believe by taking her own life she is acting selfish and cowardly. Its almost as if she was trying to free herself from something, however in doing so she never took into account the impact her actions may have on others. By taking her own life she abanded her family leaving theme without a mother. While I may think the act itself and result is cowardly i feel that the process she had to go threw was some what of courageous. I say this because it must take some courage and will power to intentionally swim out to see as far as you can knowing that you will loose your life in the process. This act goes against all of human instinct which is to survive. By going against the natural human instinct to protect herself she must of required a significant amount of bravery and determination. I also compared her relationship with the sea to one similar to a lover. I compared the sea as a lover because like a lover, you give all of yourself to that person. In marriage you promise to give all you have to the other person, you are also supposed to reveal all of yourself to your lover upon your marriage. Edna does all of this to the sea because she takes off all of her clothes and then literally gives all of herself to the sea. She gives her life to the sea which is the same as giving all of your life to your lover. I also found it significant how when Edna was described as sleepy a drowsy around her husband, the beach scenery during her suicide is also described as sleepy. One other important aspect i noticed during the ending was how music played in the background from a distant house in order to help further develop the emotions and sad feelings that has come about due to Edna taking her own life. The music also seemed as if it was all knowing and the over seeing eye of the entire situation. Its almost as if the music comes in at the end almost to say i knew that was going to happen. The music does the same thing when Edna starts to feel bad about her situation with Robert. I believe that the action itself of swimming into the sea with the goal of taking your life requires bravery or maybe just pure insanity. I also believe that the result and intentions of the act were very cowardly and selfish. She simply wanted to relieve her pain and did not think of others and the impact of her actions.