<p>I wrote an essay for literature, and I forgot to get help with editing it... Since it's kinda late, I'd figure I might as well show it to you guys so you can see if you agree with me.</p>
<p>Basically, it's a letter to John Gardner, the author of Grendel. Here are the instructions for writing the letter:</p>
<p>Your task is to write a letter in response to Gardner’s letter about Grendel and Beowulf. In your letter, you should cover the following ideas:
1.What is a hero? What is an artist? How are they alike? What does Gardner say about the role of the artist/“Shaper” in society, in both his letter and in the book? How does this relate to the concept of “inner heroism” that Unferth represents? What can heroes and artists provide us with “in dark times”?
What Beowulf says, in effect, is this: one looks at the world--bangs one's head against it--and one has two choices, to accept it as it is or to transform it, shake it to life by imagination. ("Sing walls," Beowulf says. He means, of course, not just the wall Grendel's head has just banged but all life's walls--the walls which lock us away from other people, finally the great walls birth and death.) Grendel has asserted a dead, mechanistic world of brute accident; but by the accident of meeting Beowulf he's forced to discover how accident can be turned into a good, how imagination can reshape and ultimately improve the world--at least for the lifespan of a given civilization.
2.Given the reality of Time and death, what choices does Gardner say we have in our lives? What is the difference between “short-term gratification” and the need to “dream up a future better than the present and try to create it”?<br>
Hopefully all readers will recognize the central question, namely: if the world really is meaningless (as it now stands) how should I live? We all know that love sometimes dies, that people who at one time love each other truly and deeply may at another time stop loving each other. But … that is no reason for people to stop trying to love each other all their lives. In other words we don't need eternal values to assert and try to live up to eternal values.
3.Finally, do you agree with Gardner’s closing statement that “Grendel is a considerably more optimistic book than Beowulf”? Explain, using quotations from both books.</p>
<p>I thought I did a pretty good job at this, but my peers didn't. Here's my first draft:</p>
<p>Dear John Gardner,</p>
<pre><code>I recently read your book, Grendel, and it's very interesting compared to Beowulf. It certainly has a lot of the same themes that Beowulf does, but from different points of view. For example, in Beowulf, there are physical and spiritual heroes, but in your book, a new type of heroism (inner heroism) is introduced in which anyone can be a hero without being quite as strong or brilliant as real physical/spiritual heroes. Your book also deeply explains the Shaper's job and how he lies about the world or “reshapes it” to make it seem better, while in Beowulf he is just portrayed as a man who sings about the world to entertain people. Both books also discuss the meaning of human life in different ways. Beowulf simply shows that the Danes are existentialists, but in Grendel, existentialism and nihilism are thoroughly explored, thanks to Grendel and the dragon (so, monsters can allow us to understand the world more easily).
Heroes and artists work together around the standards and values of normal people, and Grendel really shows it. You said that an artist, like the Shaper, “makes up a vision of the future, makes up glorious values such as heroism, queenliness, etc.”, which is done as a result of choosing a way to live life (they make up their own values). Then, heroes become inspired by this poetry and these high values (called the projected possible) and strive to live up to these standards – they want to make that projected possible or better future a reality (and win fame, as well as other prizes, in doing so). In your book, Unferth tells Grendel, “'Except in the life of a hero, the whole world's meaningless. The hero sees values beyond what's possible. That's the nature of a hero... it makes the whole struggle of humanity worthwhile.'” (page 89, Grendel). This shows that heroes go beyond the normal standards, values, and what's thought to be possible (which is what makes them heroes).
While Unferth talks about the nature of true heroes, he also represents inner heroism. Unferth acknowledges that he will never be the kind of physical hero that Beowulf is, and in doing so, he becomes an inner hero. He does the right things in society, and he makes the best of his situation, even if it's not the best at what he does (all of these “practices” make him an inner hero). Unferth says, “'A hero is not afraid to face cruel truth... No man above us will ever know whether Unferth died here or fled to the hills like a coward. Only you and I and God will know the truth. That's inner heroism.'” (page 88, Grendel). This small speech shows how Unferth represents inner heroism, and it also shows that the Shaper's projected possible inspires everyone (not just heroes); everybody who listens to the Shaper can become an inner hero by, according to the values that the Shaper sets, doing the best that he or she can and following/striving for those values. This also demonstrates that the Shaper inspires people to live their life to their maximum potential by becoming inner heroes (if they can't become complete heroes). Heroes also inspire people by acting with/living up to the values/standards the Shaper sets. You said that, “Beowulf has not only the physical strength to kill Grendel, he has the intelligence to force Grendel to see his mistake, or at any rate to glimpse it.” This gives Grendel the joy that he feels towards the end of your book (Beowulf is actually a field of grayness to Grendel; he makes him experience joy and terror simultaneously).
Besides the roles of heroes and artists, we also learn about existentialism and nihilism from the two books – the Danes are determined existentialists who acknowledge that nothing lasts forever (but at the same time strive for the best according to their values), and Grendel, being a confused outcast, develops a nihilistic philosophy and decides to cast away his hopes and values. Seeing as nothing will ever really satisfy Grendel since it all goes to waste anyway, he searches for short-term gratifications (events that will make him happy for short periods of time). For example, at one point, Grendel kills many of the Danes just for amusement (albeit his amusement dissipates quickly): “I laughed... they came, they fell, howling... I saw myself killing them, on and on and on, as if mechanically... I saw myself swelling like bellows on their blood, a meaningless smudge in a universe...” (page 81, Grendel). He doesn't need to kill the Danes; he's just doing it because he wants to and he knows that it won't matter in the end.
On the other hand, as you mention, one can make up values or follow ones that have already been put in place. This is different than Grendel's short-term gratification (nihilism) because it allows people to have something to live for in their lives (but at the same time, not be ignorant because they understand that the world will eventually end). As you said, “either you behave as if there were a god and try to determine what's right, in other words you make up values, you dream up a future better than the present and try to create it...”. The other choice is that of nihilism where one “scoff[s] at all values because.. they're lies”, which is obviously different because you're rejecting values and basically living for nothing (or just short-term gratifications).
I thought that your final statement that “Grendel us a considerably more optimistic book than Beowulf” was interesting, and after having thought about it for a while, I decided that I agreed with it. Sure, your book might seem less optimistic than the original story since the depression of Grendel and all of his raids are very thoroughly detailed, but Grendel actually changes and evolves throughout the book. He starts out as being a confused monster, but just before his death, Beowulf helps him see what the world looks like to others, and he finally becomes happy and feels that his life is “complete”. “Is it joy I feel?... 'Poor Grendel's had an accident,' I whisper. 'So may you all.'” (pages 173-174, Grendel). This shows that Grendel feels joy because of his accident that he had during the fight with Beowulf. While his final words seem like a curse, they are actually a blessing because he's telling the animals to have an accident – not necessarily a gruesome, violent one – in which they come to realize something that completes their life, just like Grendel had completed his. This makes the book more optimistic than Beowulf, because in Beowulf, nobody grows, changes, or completes their life; in fact, they all come to die and mourn over each other in the end. Beowulf dies without realizing anything important or “completing” his life/bestowing a spiritual gift on others, like Grendel does. “...A Geat woman too sang out in grief; with hair bound up, she unburdened herself of her worst fears, a wild litany of nightmare and lament: her nation invaded, enemies on the rampage, bodies in piles, slavery and abasement...” (line 3150, Beowulf). This shows how the constant deaths of people in society rack peoples' nerves and also how tough their lives were (enemies on the rampage, bodies in piles, etc.). Obviously, since your book tells of how someone evolves over time and “completes” their life/learns something that they become incredibly happy about, it is much more optimistic than Beowulf, where people live in times of hardships and constantly mourn over the many deaths of others.
Thank you, Mr. Gardner, for writing this spectacular book! I sure learned a lot from it, and it completed the story of Beowulf (not to mention I learned a lot more than I thought I would). I don't know how long it would have taken me to learn about philosophy without your book, and I'm very glad that I encountered such deep philosophical ideas so soon in my life. Monsters can really teach us a lot!
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<p>What can I do to make this better? My peers are currently giving me 85s-90s on this, but I'm shooting for a 95+, and I feel like the edits they made/the things they took points off for aren't easily justified (ex. I didn't give a good definition of inner heroism, I didn't explain the role of the artist and hero)./</p>
<p>Also, would this be considered illegitimate (posting it up online to get people to help me w/ it)? Thanks in advance.</p>