Grendel- Philosophy

When we first started reading Grendel by John Gardner, I was frankly intimidated as I am in reading any novel that may be even remotely difficult to read. Even in class, we had discussed how complex the ideas were and how philosophical the book would be, and because of this philosophical nature, close attention would have to be paid to the fine details. Usually, when I am intimidated by something, I really do not enjoy whatever it is I am intimidated by, so I was understandably surprised when I found myself liking the novel Grendel. Not only did I understand almost everything in the novel, but I was also comprehending the philosophy employed by Gardner especially after the scene when Grendel has his leg stuck between the tree trunks. Grendel’s solipsistic philosophy stating that “the world was nothing: a mechanical chaos of casual, brute enmity on which we stupidly impose our hopes and fears” (Gardner 22) and that only he exists in the world is actually exactly what I was able to study this summer at GHP in a class called Perception vs. Reality. In the class we studied Plato's Republic as well as Descartes "I think therefore I am" philosophy. The belief that the only definite truth in the world is that we ourselves exist and that everything else may just be pigments of our imagination was also looked at. This same philosophy is also employed by Grendel when he states that the universe is unfolding blink by blink. Grendel seems to basically state that he is the only one in the universe and because of this, is able to create based on his visions. When I actually took the class, the discussions we had were extremely intellectually stimulating and many times I was completely lost because of the confusing topic matter. I mean, the concept that anything and everything we perceive is reality is really mind-blowing especially when considering the only certain truth is that we ourselves exist and that no one else around us does. But, my prior experiences with the philosophy have helped me better understand not only the perspective that John Gardner is coming from, but also something about what Grendel is feeling, as a being all alone in the world with no one to associate with. His story is quite sad as he is too much like a man to be able to fit in with the beasts as even Grendel himself feels that he is too intellectually gifted. He is also too much like a beast to be able to fit in with man, as men do not understand his speech and always try to kill him when he approaches. The irony in this is that men are portrayed more as beasts than anything else in the novel so far, but that is straying off the topic of Grendel being a surprisingly good book with a lot of fuel for thought. It is difficult to read with all of the philosophical ideas presented, but is also very enjoyable.