As young adults, how are we able to develop a sense of reasoning, morality, and a general belief system? How do we decide what makes one thought more righteous or correct over another? Throughout John Gardner’s novel, Grendel, we are introduced to many different philosophies. With every new encounter that the character, Grendel, makes, the more he is influenced by another worldview. Grendel is shown to be an intelligent and curious creature. He only wanted to learn more about the world and that curiosity was what drove him forward. With his first encounter with the humans, he is misunderstood and attacked. Being seen as a monster, he is made into an outcast by the humans. But despite this, Grendel still goes to listen to the Shaper’s stories. He was aware the stories were lies, but still couldn’t help but be amazed by how the Shaper created those tales. However, the more he listened, the more Grendel began to believe the Shaper’s words, telling him he was different, separating him even more from the humans. This caused an inner conflict in Grendel’s mind, making him question himself and his own existence. Meeting the dragon, Grendel hears his advice and this brings changes in him. More than justification for him…show more content… He uses existentialism to give himself motivation and a reason to live. However, Grendel falls into violence without considering consequences. Sometimes we may want to believe that nothing really matters and that we should just live freely in the way we want, but we have to learn that there can be consequences and when given freedom there is an equal amount of responsibility involved. Empiricism may seem to be a reliable belief to follow, it can be seen in our everyday lives, when we interact with the people and the world around us, we learn and interpret new information. Yet, there are forms of knowledge that can not be gained just through our
