Nihilism in Garders Grendel

A detailed Summary of Nihilism in Garders Grendel

"Nihil ex nihilo, I always say"(Gardner 150). These are the words of the infamous Grendel from the novel, titled that same character, by John Gardner. They represent the phrase "life itself is meaningless" which is taught to Grendel by a few different people throughout this novel. In the following essay, the explanation of this phrase, the way Grendel learns about nihilism, and how Grendel develops the concept of nihilism, as it is known, will be discussed.

First, we attack the nihilism itself. What is Nihilism? Well, this is one of the main components of the book. It means life itself is meaningless. What is meant by that phrase is that anything you do or decide to do, means nothing. For example, if you make a huge decision that you think will affect you for the rest of your life, according to a nihilist it means nothing. To them, it will all turn out how it is supposed to turn out and that is that. Nihilism also refers to people who do not believe they should be told how to live their life by the government. One major example of a nihilism uprise was in Russia during the 1860's. During this decade, nihilism was primarily a rejection of tradition and authoritari

The Dragon, the mentor, the teacher to Grendel of nihilism. Grendel is awakened by the dragon and is brought to his lair. The Dragon, not caring at all about Grendel as a person, helps Grendel develop his nihilist ideas. To do this, he explains to him that repetition is the key to nihilism. No matter how hard the universe try's to stop repetition, it always goes on. For example, if Grendel were not there, some other evil would be tormenting the humans. From chapter five: "The essence of life is to be found in the frustrations of established order. The universe refuses the deading influence of complete conformity."(Gardner 67) The Dragon's teachings do not get through to Grendel very well and finally the Dragon just lets it all out. "You drive them to poetry, science, religion, all that makes them what they are for as long as they last. You are, so to speak, the brute existent by which they learn to define themselves." (Gardner 73) After that comment, Grendel stubbornly blurts out that he does not want to be the brute. The dragon sarcastically replies by telling him to feed the hungry and help the poor. The dragon knows that it is inevitable for Grendel to be the brute but Grendel does not yet understand this.

In conclusion, this essay has gone through the development of the idea of nihilism throughout the book. From its early stages in chapters three and four, to its development in chapter five, to its full blown out ideas in chapters seven and eight. Grendel at the end of chapter ten sums up the whole hypocrisy in a simple phrase. "A stupid business." (Gardner 150)

By chapte

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1083
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels