Afternoon of Alterity - Nazareth College

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otherness and disdain for humanity. But it also highlights Beowulf’splace as a defender of civilization. It is logical to believe that Beowulfwould wait for Grendel in a place in which he knew he wouldcome but it is also interesting that in all of the possible places inDenmark, that he could have killed Grendel, it happened in theplace that is a symbol for the heart of civilization. It is also worthnoting how he killed him. Beowulf was without weapons or clothingand defeated his opponent in the most animalistic way possible.Ultra-violence and primal aggression are what helped Beowulf defeatGrendel. Ironically, Grendel used these two qualities in an attemptto tear down civilization. This bizarre coincidence places Beowulfin the same category of his enemy, Grendel. But because the readersympathizes with Beowulf, it is justified.To further reinforce the mental lumping and splitting of Beowulfand Grendel it is important to analyze just how similar they are.Both are of immense size and strength and both live to kill. It wouldnot be fair to say that the difference between them is why they kill.Beowulf, as a warrior, utilizes violence for political purposes as well asa way to gain fame. Grendel commits violence because he is spitefuland hungry. The only ideological difference is the effect caused bythe violence they loved to create. Grendel is attempting to destroythe established order while Beowulf is trying to restore it.Although Beowulf is just a man and therefore a member of society,it is his size and indifferent attitude on the subject of killing thatclassifies him as “other”. We as a society try to look at members ofour military as one of us, but sometimes doing so is not so simple. Infact, it could be said that members of the military look at themselvesas “other.” It’s safe to say that Beowulf was probably groomed to bea soldier but it is also entirely plausible that he could have retiredor quit the life whenever he wanted. To revisit his perspective, itis plausible that he not only looked at his coming to Denmark tokill Grendel as an opportunity to enhance his career, but as a sensedavid buisch 135
of duty to defend those that cannot defend themselves. RichardKearney quotes Jacque Derrida when he defines other as, “host or asenemy” (Kearney, 69). On a literal level, Beowulf could have viewedHrothgar and the people as the host of a tyrannical monster andtherefore, “other”. Given Beowulf’s nature it is likely that the islandof meaning he places the people of Heorot on is labeled as “weak”or pitiful. In a roundabout way, this makes him a monster, but amonster the people need.In all, it could be said that the deeds of a person is what definesthem. Beowulf, although born into the military lifestyle with apowerful man as a father, did not rise to kingship by chance. It wasnot a gift or a bestowing that made him powerful, it was what he did.The medieval era may have been a time of beautiful words and prosebut it was a world that had been pulled into a dark pit of violenceand cruelty. It was not the boasts or words that Beowulf spoke but itwas the actions that he had taken that made him the legend he was.Five day swimming marathons and the slaughtering of sea monsterswere among these actions. His life was wrought with danger, mostlyof his own making but most of it was necessary. His size and staturemade him physically equipped for the job and on a few occasionsthe only thing that saved him was luck, such as the fact that hiswillingness to fight Grendel unarmed was only a coincidence. Howcould he have known that Grendel was immune to weapons.The military is not the only occupation that seems to blendviolence and labor. Butchers, executioners, exterminators, scientistsand exorcists are also members of our society that seem to walkthe line between what should be done and what needs to be done.Butchers in particular are some of the most despised and beloved ofthe occupations on the list. Every day they wade in blood and stenchto do the job the popular culture deems unbearable and barbaric.Yet, the eating of meat is a large part of the human diet. The jobitself is back-breaking, violent and not for the light of heart. They136 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
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Monstrous Mothers andObjectified Da
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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 136 and 137: sports and regard our members of th
Page 138 and 139: modern readers are not part of the
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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