Unferth+(D+Block)




 * Thesis:** Existence and purpose of a person is not meaningless; the world is not meaningless.


 * Argument:** One's existence on Earth is can be proven to be very meaningful by heroic actions and by demonstrating true heroism. Thus, heroism can be said to be the key of one's identity. Unferth values heroism more than anything else on he world so he believes that risking and sacrificing his own life while performing a heroic deed is definitely worth doing.


 * Textual Support**:

(Grendel pg 88)

"'A hero is not afraid to face the cruel truth.' That reminded him, apparently, of what he'd meant to say before. 'You talk of heroism as noble language, dignity. It's more than that, as my coming here has proved. No man above us will ever know whether Unferth died here or fled to the hills like a coward. Only you and I and God will know the truth. That's inner heroism.'"

(This is the part where Unferth was greatly disturbed because another one was mocking his views about heroism.) (Grendel pg 87)

"'You think me a witless fool,' he whispered. 'Oh, I heard what you said. I caught your nasty insinuations. 'I though heroes were only in poetry,' you said. Implying that what I've made of myself is mere fairy tale stuff.'"

(Grendel pg 86~87)

"'It will be sung,' he whispered, then paused again to get wind. 'It will be sung year on year and age on age that Unferth went down through the burning lake-' he paused to pant '-and gave his life in battle with the world-rim monster.'"

(Grendel pg 89)

" ‘Except in the life of a hero, the whole world’s meaningless. The hero sees values beyond what’s possible. That’s the nature of a hero. It kills him, of course, ultimately. But it makes the whole struggle of humanity worthwhile.’"


 * Conclusion:** People can prove their identity to be meaningful by learning and demonstrating true, inner heroism.

Statement

There is ideally only one true way to give meaning to one’s identity, through demonstrating genuine, inner heroism. Through heroism, one can prove their own identity as meaningful. I was brave enough to risk my life and fight vigorously with an abhorrent monster. However, this was hardly a traumatic experience for me. Rather, it was a chance for me to give meaning to my identity. Soon enough, people would be singing about how brave and heroic I was when I dealt with the horrendous monster, Grendel. “It will be sung year on year and age on age that Unferth went down through the burning lake-’ ‘--and gave his life in battle with the world-rim monster.’ (Grendel 87) However, Grendel does not seem to agree with me. He wanted to crush me and he mocked my beliefs. This was a terrible experience because Grendel thought my beliefs of heroism was nothing more than a mere fairy tale. I gave him an original lecture about my strong beliefs and values for heroism. ‘Except in the life of a hero, the whole world’s meaningless. The hero sees values beyond what’s possible. That’s the nature of a hero. It kills him, of course, ultimately. But it makes the whole struggle of humanity worthwhile.’ (Grendel 89) No matter what Grendel tries to tell me or to convince me, my beliefs of how heroism can shape a person and give meaning to a person's identity remains still.

Letter Reflection

From this letter, I have learned numerous more things about what to do in the trial, more specifically, about my character, Unferth. The letter starts out as saying that Unferth failed to meet the rudimentary qualification for a hero: he is not a supernatural figure. However, Unferth does step up to become a hero when he decides that Grendel is stronger than he is. Through Grendel and Unferth's discussion analysis in the letter, I also learned how inner heroism is actually the real, hidden key. Afterall, from this reading, I have gotten a wider range of each character's analysis and how different their beliefs are. I am pleased to be granted with this chance of reading this intellectual letter and is looking forward for a fruitful trial tomorrow as a witness.