Truth

TRUTH

An infinite range of emotion was evoked in Grendel by a single song.  The shaper in this novel, in my opinion, is one of the most important characters. The shaper directs the hearts of people and paints this image in their minds of pride and victory.  Grendel calls the shaper’s stories lies and tricks. However, at first Grendel enjoys the stories, as if he wants to believe the shaper but ultimately knows the truth. After speaking with the dragon, Grendel realizes that the truth is more dooming and brutal than we are willing to admit. The so called reality sung by the shaper is something we choose to believe. The songs and stories is just an illusion, but the remolding of the past won’t bring a brighter future, which is what Grendel comes to learn. As Grendel says when conflicted, “did we kill each other more gently because in the woods sweet songbirds sang?” Grendel shows that even though humans claim to be more intelligent than creatures, when our hearts our influenced by what we want to believe is real, it overrides logical thought.  It’s as if our heart demands comfort and hope, which Grendel discovers in the shaper’s stories.  He surrenders these hopes after his encounter the dragon, he’s sees the people for who they really are and how pointless it is to gloss their lives with the belief of dignity. Grendel is the one who witnesses the lies of the shaper and discovers the consequences of truth.