Afternoon of Alterity - Nazareth College

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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
ecause he liked the idea of killing or because he was a medievaladrenaline junkie. Any reason could have sufficed because the actof destroying those that would destroy the innocent without mercyis justified.To speak again of the society that Beowulf lived in, it is clear thathe lived in a very martial, warrior controlled society. This system ofgovernment relied on a king’s ability to control the use of violentpotential (Le Goff, 75). Violent potential is nothing more than thiswarrior society’s ability to commit to war and the motives surroundingit. In the epic, Hrothgar is a Danish King that is described as a ringgiver. His purpose for giving said rings is to invite (or at least bribe)the warriors of his region to unite under his colors. Normally, thecreation of an army for the sole purpose of uniting a group of peoplecould be seen as a bit fascist. The nature of this fascism and unifiedmilitary pride is not without precedent, nor is it something that hasbeen abandoned as an ideal of the Dark Ages. Case in point: the flagof Fascist Italy, flown by the Italian Dictator, Benito Mussolini. Theflag depicts an image of a bundle of sticks, lashed together with anaxe in the middle of them. The bundle of sticks is a representation ofstrength through unity and the axe represents that this unity is madepossible by the military. Beowulf’s culture is no different. To not beviolent would cause everything to fall apart.The actions of Beowulf, although a bit misunderstood to thisday, are justified on a cultural level. Richard Kaeuper’s Chivalry andViolence in Medieval Europe speaks volumes of the mindset of peoplelike Beowulf. The fringe benefits of Beowulf’s job appear to be morethan just fame and a ticket on the fast track to heaven. According toKaeuper, the literature of the time, “declare it a great honor to diefrom the blows of a man of great prowess” (Kaeuper, 153). It is notsuggested that Beowulf was on a suicide mission or that Grendel wasa man. But one could easily see the honor in either victory or defeatwith Grendel. To us, this is a bizarre instance, but only because132 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
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ook “contains recipes from the bo
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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 134 and 135: They Walk Among UsOccupational Viol
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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