son Grendel can never take it into his heart completely, is that it preaches ultimate relativity, yet the end result is non-objectivity, perspective and meaning limited solely to the individual. Confused by what truth is, what meaning is, and what definition is, Grendel finds comfort as he unconsciously embracing the existence of free will. Grendel does not really find meaning to life as the Dragon and Shaper have dictated to him, nor does he seem to veritably believe he is the monster by which the humans define themselves; especially towards his death which he qualifies simply as an accident. In the absence of true meaning, Grendel defines himself partly by conflict. He is the meadhall-wrecker, the kingdom-smasher. He is not human and not normal and not accepted. He is a force of destruction. Even though he has now turned in to what the dragon and shaper have been describing since the beginning of the novel, Grendel, however, has the impression that because his own will, logic, and decision has he turned into what he is. He has given himself meaning, with no other aid but that of free will. Consequently, at this point of the book, Gardner cleverly promotes existentialism as he turns Grendel into a true philosopher appearing much more intelligent and correct than the humans. Gardner's refutation of existentialism reaches its rhetorical climax during Grendel's death. Beowulf whispers to Grendel, "you make the world by whispers, second by second. Are you blind to that? Whether you make it a grave or a garden of roses is not the point" (171). Once again Gardner poses an interesting question as he introduces Beowulfs point of view. The Geat warrior does not defend existentialism, but rather challenges it. Beowulf's point is that the purpose of life lies in meaning, not truth. To Beowulf, existentialism is something completely different in the sense that it is a self-contradiction, for the individual has the power to give life meaning, yet ...
