Saturday, May 23, 2020

Empiricism In Grendel - 1503 Words

In Grendel by John Gardner, twelve philosophies are connected to each one of the twelve chapters in the novel. These philosophies are all ‘coats’ that the main character, Grendel, â€Å"tries on† to see if he truly aligns and believes in the philosophy. Similarly, I, throughout my fifteen years of living, have â€Å"tried on† coats of philosophies and align specifically with parts of two philosophies present in Grendel: Empiricism and the philosophy of Nietzsche. Empiricism is the philosophy that professes all knowledge comes from sense experience, and the primary aspect of Nietzsche’s philosophy is that tragedy is the affirmation of life. Ultimately, because of the experiences I have had in my life, I have developed into an Empiricist and believer†¦show more content†¦After opening the document, I scrolled quickly to the bottom of the document. I saw the rubric. I froze. Time froze. I closed my eyes in disbelief. I refreshed the page. I thought Ms. Platt had attached another student’s rubric to my essay. I wanted the nightmare to end. Not only did I not receive an â€Å"A† or a â€Å"B,† but a â€Å"C-.† I earned a seventy percent. My eyes watered, and I began to feel nauseous. I felt as if I failed myself and my family. This grade was not supposed to be possible. In the words of Grendel, it was an accident. But unfortunately, it was not. At that moment, I had to accept, even if I did not want to, that I, for once, did not reach my high goals or had to surrender my unrealistic view of myself. I had erred, like all humans do, and learned that I was not perfect and that I could fail to reach my standards. At that moment, I realized that I wasn’t superhuman but human, and this was something challenging for me to cope with at the time. However, in discovering my ability to fail, my perception of myself had been revolutionized. After that moment, I no longer saw myself as an intelligent kid who was unable to fail, but one who was and could be challenged by failure and challenged to learn from my mistakes. After revising the essay, I received an â€Å"A+,† yet this was not what made me happy. The fact that I, the twelve-year-old boy who had previously rejected failure as a possibility, could accept failure (by my standards) and use it asShow MoreRelatedJohn Gardners Grendel And Beowulf1468 Words   |  6 Pagessacrifice, and heroism defeat the dragon’s antagonistic, materialist, and isolated nature. Many tales throughout the ages echo this classic theme: love overcomes hatred; selflessness overcomes selfishness; friendship overcomes enmity. Similarly, in Grendel, John Gardner ultimately argues that true meaning in life arises from developing strong connections with others, by contrasting the Dragon’s nihilist teachings, Beowulf’s empiricist brutality, and the Shaper’s nati onalist poetry. Like Smaug in theRead MoreFrancis Bacon Essay example1282 Words   |  6 Pageswritten his essays to help guide young men who were ambitious to succeed† (McDougal 455). Unfortunately for him, Bacon fell from power after being wrongly accused of bribery and corruption and fully devoted the last part of his life to scholarship (Grendel). His longtime servitude to the royal system of politics has made him aware of politics and power issues between men and states (Zagorin). Furthermore, Bacon’s studies of Science brought him to conflict with Aristotelian philosophy (specific axiomsRead MoreChildrens Literature13219 Words   |  53 Pagesbooks.’ That similar statements are still being made two hundred years later shows us how much children’s books have always had to prove in England. And it has been harder still for children’s fantasy, since it supposedly goes against that hearty empiricism which has been as much the hallmark of the standard Englishman as once was his roast beef. Bloomfi eld, after all, was talking about ‘realistic’ children’s books which could be made useful by being directed to the moral and social education of children

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