Afternoon of Alterity - Nazareth College

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They Walk Among UsOccupational Violence in Beowulfand The Modern EraDavid BuischThe combination of violence and civilization has given birth to aunique paradox. On one hand we deplore the use of violence andmuch of our legal systems are dedicated to eradicating it. On theother hand, it is our very legal system that embodies and embracesviolence. It is a volatile mix that leaves us asking many questions aboutthe very nature of our violence. The perceived truth surroundingviolence all has to do with our own cultural perceptions.The cultural perception of violence in the epic poem, Beowulfswims in a sea of gray. The poem accounts for the fictional taleof a kingdom that is besieged by a monster that comes from therim of civilization on a nightly basis to wreck havoc and chaosthrough extreme violence. The actions are so unforgiveable thatthe only possible conclusion to restore peace and order is to destroythe monster, Grendel, with extreme prejudice. The name of thatextreme prejudice is Beowulf, who wields uncompromising violenceas his tool.Before it can be assumed that Beowulf is just a man playingjudge, jury and executioner, it is appropriate to put his situationinto context. In the epic poem, the actions of Grendel are describedas being beyond atonement. In Heorot, “No one/ waited forreparations from his plundering claws:” (Beowulf, 156-157). It 129
is obvious that some type of system of criminal correction was inplace, but Grendel wanted no part in it. He was beyond the scopeof the law and removed from consequence. Grendel’s tyranny in thepoem was strengthened after each raid and was, “…seeking no peace,offering/ No truce, accepting no settlement, no price in gold orland” (Raffel, 155-156). Grendel’s only motive is to exterminate thepeople of Heorot. He cannot be reasoned with, bullied, or bribed.The situation Grendel created is “kill or be killed” and much to hischagrin, killers like Beowulf walk the earth to do just that: to kill thatwhich needs to be killed.As stated above, it is the common belief that all violence isdeplorable. It is what makes us fearful and in many instances it iswhat threatens the very foundation of civilization. Violence is theheart of the old saying “might makes right,” where order and thespoils of war come to whoever can most effectively use violence.There is no room for democracy or justice in such situations. Butwhere democracy and justice do thrive, violence can be used as atool of defense. Violence in several cultures is not only used butcelebrated as a tool to smite those that would bring havoc and harmto anything that is the cultural norm. It happens at all levels, be it thenational level that uses grand forces and armies to defend its bordersor right down to the cherished notion of a man defending his housefrom an intruder.It all depends on the context. In Eviatar Zerubavel’s book, TheFine Line: Making Decisions in Everyday Life, he claims that decisionsmade in life are based on evidence that has been creatively filed inour minds. These creative files are what he calls “islands of meaning”(Zerubavel, 6). He claims that a single idea can have two meanings andthat both meanings are equally valid. To apply his theory to violence,it is no wonder that we are able to love and hate it simultaneously.On one of these figurative islands we hate violence and the threatthat follows it; on another island, it explains why we love violent130 afternoons of alterity
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Afternoons of Alterity A Codex of t
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Table of ContentsFrom Medieval Mars
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From Medieval Marsh Monsters toFutu
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imagination, we must first attempt
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seed of monstrosity within themselv
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essence as a monster, it seems reas
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she bore two sons, one from the imp
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perhaps, anti-heroes) of the futuri
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to watch the murder and mutilation
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and modern audiences through their
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Works Cited“Bushwhacked.” Firef
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Projecting Otherness ontothe Disabl
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in any systematic structuration. An
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The idea of the monstrous’ vulner
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not us and are in the proximity of
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they want to be treated. The interv
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Monstrosity and theIrruption of Rea
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describing his fears of this place
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stained with sin” (Spearing 221).
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often and at will to show man somet
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What’s Love Got To Do With It?The
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story than as the beginning? What f
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It is textual content like this tha
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through the story as the Green Knig
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the first advocating voices for end
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“capable of seeing things objecti
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Darkness: The True Monster ofLitera
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the way they can make us feel, but
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not only closes out, extinguishes,
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and temptation, most especially for
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hours “led to the term ‘night
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specifically his relationship to da
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humanization of Grendel draws the r
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subconscious the message may be. Th
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Serial MonstrosityEmily Mastrobatti
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is clear that they are monsters and
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murderer that he once was. He has b
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of the killing, “When investigato
Page 82 and 83: ook “contains recipes from the bo
Page 84 and 85: asks Charles Manson to marry her, t
Page 86 and 87: Monstrous Mothers andObjectified Da
Page 88 and 89: and her sisters plot to kill their
Page 90 and 91: easons for “otherness.” On top
Page 92 and 93: The original ideas are still intact
Page 94 and 95: objectified creature. “Cultures o
Page 96 and 97: Works CitedAcker, P. Horror and the
Page 98 and 99: Grendel: A Manifestation ofMedieval
Page 100 and 101: ut never was his physicality hinted
Page 102 and 103: to wander in the darkness and the c
Page 104 and 105: Magic could not resurrect Grendel t
Page 106 and 107: Works CitedBeowulf. Trans. RM Liuzz
Page 108 and 109: The Monster Under the BedThe Creati
Page 110 and 111: to procreate but the accepted manif
Page 112 and 113: Cain had/killed his father’s son
Page 114 and 115: can, without a doubt, be placed int
Page 116 and 117: The vagina’s ability to function
Page 118: Ed. Barbara K. Gold, et all. Albany
Page 121 and 122: To understand precisely how states
Page 123 and 124: a strict delineation between each g
Page 125 and 126: monstrous and societal rules to fol
Page 127 and 128: Gawain is willing to accept his mis
Page 129 and 130: survive, challenge, and defeat. Esp
Page 131 and 132: governmental standards, then are we
Page 136 and 137: sports and regard our members of th
Page 138 and 139: modern readers are not part of the
Page 140 and 141: otherness and disdain for humanity.
Page 142 and 143: are underpaid and for the most part
Page 144 and 145: Home and Spatial IdentityPhysical t
Page 146 and 147: closeness among the people that the
Page 148 and 149: Into the dark gorge I ventured; the
Page 150 and 151: the treasures that fill up their ho
Page 152 and 153: threatened by the very existence of
Page 154 and 155: and draped in damp, shaggy moss, an
Page 156 and 157: individual. Home resides within the
Page 158: Works CitedArmitage, Simon. Sir Gaw
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Afternoon of Alterity - Nazareth College

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