Afternoon of Alterity - Nazareth College

sports and regard our members of the armed forces as heroes.In terms of occupation, Beowulf was a member of the military.In American culture, we have split the military into the same islandsof meaning. Members of the Armed Forces are culturally regardedas the heroes that preserve our freedom and way of life, yet we hatewar. The goal of the solider is to win wars and solve problems withviolence yet we cringe at the idea. To give an example, Marine CorpRecruit Depot: Parris Island, is nothing more than a little swampbuilt on blood, sweat and sand fleas. It is an engine that turns youngmen and women into ultra efficient killing machines with heartsof stone. The idea is barbaric but at the same time people (namelyAmericans) sleep very well at night knowing that those same enginesof death are standing watch. Beowulf is no different and neitheris the context of his service. The book, Medieval Callings, edited byJaques Le Golf speaks heavily of the paradox in which the warriorlives in. He describes the medieval world as exceptionally cruel, whereviolence was very normal (Le Goff, 75-79). Beowulf, as a warrior hada place in that world. He was a wall separating peaceful existencefrom the jungle of tyranny.How Beowulf perceives his job as a warrior is a clue to his place inthe world. Beowulf views Grendel as an adversary or rival. The poetof the original text used a handful of creative binaries to help thereader make this connection. The two binaries present are the pointsof view of Grendel and Beowulf. To Grendel, the people of Heorotare game. We see this when he makes his famous journey fromthe fen to the doors of Heorot for the first time. He seizes peopleand kills them and more importantly, eats them. The imagery usedmakes Grendel seem as monstrous as possible. Beowulf’s perceptionis a little different. He treats the encounter with Grendel almost as agame, but definitely a job to be done (Parks).The poem states that hedoes his job for a variety of reasons, namely for God, fame and glory,but any of these reasons could be replaced. He could have done itdavid buisch 131