Why Is Grendel's Existentialism
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“Tedium is the worst pain.” (Grendel, p. 138) Grendel finds boredom worse than violence. Living for so long and unable to be hurt by weapons has left him cynical and bitter. Life isn’t exciting or invigorating anymore. His ideals and views keep him in a repetitive “conflict/war” against Hrothgar in which he only fights pretty much out of habit instead of having any specific or real goal. The dragon tries to explain the philosophy of existentialism to Grendel, but Grendel’s world view is so small that his meaning is not understood.The dragon thinks of Grendel as the motivator for Hrothgar and humanity to progress, because often when people are pushed down they just rise higher to meet the challenge. Although Grendel refuses to acknowledge what