ce for legitimate violence; it is simply the pitting of power against power, [hero against hero,] where the issue is freedom for the winners and enslavement of the rest"(Gardner 119). This revolution is built on intimidation by the powerful of society to oppress the undesirables. "Murder and mayhem are the life and soul of [the] revolution"(Gardner 118). This revolution is most evident in John Gardner's Grendel. In Hrothgar's meadhall, his thanes are discussing the heroic revolution with the Shaper. According to the Shaper, the kingdom, those in power, pretends to be protecting the values of all people. Supposedly, the revolution causes the kingdom to save the values of the community-regulate compromise- improve the quality of the commonwealth. In other words, protect the power of the people in power and repress the rest [It] rewards people who fit the System best. The King's immediate thanes, the thanes' top servants, and so on till you come to the people that don't fit in at all. No problem. Drive them to the darkest corners of the kingdom, starve them, arrest and execute a few, or put them out to war. That's how it works. (Gardner 118) In Grendel's time, violence is the common denominator in all righteousness. "The incitement to violence depends upon total transvaluation of the ordinary values. By a single stroke, the most criminal acts may be converted to heroic and meritorious deeds"(Gardner 117). Certainly the only difference between appalling acts of violence and heroic deeds is the matter of who commits them. What might be appropriate for a king would be unheard of by a peasant. This is obviously a social commentary that fits today as well, if not better, than it did then. The rich and powerful still succeed in oppressing the poor and helpless in every culture around the world. "If the Revolution [ever] comes to grief, it will be because [the powerful] have become...
