2/27/20 Allen Vaiman PD 7

Allen Vaiman

2/27/20

Period 7

Aim: How are philosophies of religion and government constructed by the characters in Grendel?

Today we considered the different beliefs and mechanisms at the core of religion and government, how they interact, and even interfere in some cases.

For the Do Now we once again took a closer look at Red Horse and his motives. Most groups agreed that Red Horse is an anarchist who believes all systems are inherently evil and that he was trying to sow the idea of revolution in the mind of the young prince Hrothulf. We also discussed corruption in modern systems of government and how they may start off with good intentions, but ultimately end up straying from their original path because of the nature of humanity.

This led us into considering the role of religion and government and how they compare. Both are systems that work by unifying people under certain values, and yet this unity can lead to division as well, excluding people who do not conform to the system such as Red Horse. We tried to see the Hrothgar’s government from the peasants’ perspective with Steven likening it to a “cult” because it demands unquestioning allegiance from subjected groups, as opposed to the more individual significance of religion in one’s life.   

Finally, we took a look at some of the “omens, allusions, & ominous woes” present throughout the chapter.

We talked about how Ork was an outsider who could communicate with Grendel eventually even gaining his empathy. The blind old man grovels at the feet of who he believes to be “the Destroyer '' god, but continues to speak his beliefs, reconciling pagan ideas with that of monotheism. Later he is ridiculed by his group of fellow priests, a scene that was reminiscent of the Book of Job. The harsh snow and desolate land foreshadow doom and gloom, and the coming of Beowulf to defeat Grendel in the next few chapters. The children make angels in the snow and Grendel speaks of visions of the black sun being consumed by swarms of spiders. The priests preach a hope that they themselves do not entirely believe in, a feeling that resonates uneasily even with the nihilistic Grendel. The end is approaching. A time of reckoning, judgement, and Rapture.

Additional Thoughts/Reflection:

Overall I feel like we had some insightful discussion about the core themes of Chapters 8 & 9 and nicely wrapped them up as we head towards the climax of the novel and inevitably, the end. This was a shorter chapter but, I feel like it was still densely shrouded in enigmatic signs, which this lesson helped us uncover.

As for the Zodiac symbol of this chapter, the Sagittarius is referenced in the archer shooting the hart, which also foreshadows Grendel’s demise in the near future. His invulnerability to weapons and nihilistic nature have made Grendel complacent when it comes to taunting humans for their beliefs, be it their religions, governments, or honeyed view of heroes and poetry. He now wanders freely within their walls, terrorizing them and laughing at their ideas. Likewise, the passionate and commanding Saggitarians enjoy freedom, philosophy, and occasionally even mischief as they search for purpose in their lives. As of late Grendel has been enjoying his delusions of enlightenment, not realizing that they do little to give him any more control over his fate. Consciously or not, he has followed the dragon's advice to a T and has become "the Destroyer '' from whom humans define their purpose. Unlike the dragon who is able to foresee the circumstances of his own death, Grendel is in for a rude awakening when he discovers his unfortunate role in the story of one such human “hero” has unknowingly inspired. For now, the snow drops in silence, a numbing cold before the frenzy of death...

“All Heaven and Earth

Flowered white obliterate...

Snow...unceasing snow”

• Kajiwara Hashin