I guess we'll never know.
Saturday, September 14, 2013
Truth
What is the truth? In Grendel's perspective, truth became a concept that was no longer valid. With the arrival of the Shaper, the word itself lost all of its meaning. The Shaper would sing of past events, which consisted majorly of praises, thus leaving Hrothgar and his people with great pride and confidence. The only problem was that Grendel knew the truth, and he knew that everything the Shaper sang of was not it, as he said on page 43 "I crept away, my mind aswim in ringing phrases, magnificent, golden, and all of them, incredibly, lies. The man had changed the world, had torn up the past by its thick, gnarled roots and had transmuted it, and they, who knew the truth, remembered it his way- and so did I." The Shaper had this ability that could somehow transform memories and persuade people to believe his lyrics. This is evident, as Grendel admits that he too, while knowing and witnessing everything the Shaper sang of, began to believe what he [Shaper] said. Another example of this confusion of "truth" is from the movie we watched in class on Friday- after the Shaper sang his song, the people, and even the Hrothgar himself, didn't recognize half of the things he [Shaper] sang about, but they took the credit anyways. Rather than wondering what the truth is, there should be more focus on why people should believe in the Shaper's version of the "truth". There are people who know the truth, such as Grendel. The real question is why do they drop their knowledge so easily when the Shaper comes around.
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I guess we'll never know? No, I think we do. Someone comes along who is confident, persuasive, articulate, etc. and due to the person's lack of knowledge-of-self or esteem, they are easily convinced to see themselves in a negative light...maybe a positive one. I think Grendel is in such a state of ignorance about his own existence that he easily adopts the point of view of someone who claims to know even if it's not in his best self-interest.
ReplyDeleteYou do pose an interesting question at the end of the post: "The real question is why do they drop their knowledge so easily when the Shaper comes around." I instantly thought of the first instance of the Shaper's performance when the meadhall becomes silent and they all listen to his performance intently. I think they drop their knowledge because the Shaper's stories are meant to invoke feelings of braveness and curiosity. He, the Shaper, sings of how the earth was created and how there is light and dark. These stories are equivalent to the stories of Humpty Dumpty and Jack and Jill; we all know them, but something about them reminds us of the beauty of life and things.
ReplyDeleteThe things that the Shaper tells Hrothgar and his men are things they want to hear. Why would they not agree upon these compliments they are getting? Grendel takes on the Shaper's ideas as his own in order to compensate for his lack of true understanding.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your point Kristy. I believe that the reason they automatically cling to the Shaper's version of the truth is because they don't plan to stop living the way they do, under Hrothgar's rule, so they find comfort in feeling good about it versus feeling guilty. From what I can tell, it seems that these people aren't writers, thinkers, poets, and artists as much as they are warriors, drinkers, and followers. They don't see many other options besides living the life their king sets up for them, be it right or wrong, so in order to keep their daily routine from falling apart and follow the "status quo" they enjoy hearing feeling good about their way of life.
ReplyDeleteI think Grendal listens to what he wants to hear... thus this makes him somewhat ignorant. Suppose the Shaper's song is all true.
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