ter anyway." As a system of values for a living being, however, nihilism leaves much to be desired. It destroys the self, quickly and totally, with a single fall of a cynical whip. Grendel is utterly unhappy, because his life is empty and devoid of meaning. Notice that he projects this meaningless onto the thanes. He ridicules their actions and their passions, rendering them absurd in the reader's eyes. In truth, Grendel has a certain respect for human beings. He envies their capacity to dissolve into pure belief, and most of the hostility he exhibits toward them is actually derived from hostility toward himself.The human hero Beowulf represents an alternative to hopeless nihilism and cynicism, an alternative that Grendel never finds. Beowulf is the embodiment of regeneration and purity. Though Grendel thinks he is insane, Beowulf is the only level mind in the entire novel. Beowulf completes the philosophical journey that shapes this novel by providing a perfect answer to Grendel's puzzle. The meaning of life is in its living. The justification of truth is in truth. The reason for beauty is beauty. It is too late for Grendel, however, as he has lost too much of himself. In the final battle he rejects Beowulf and all that the hero represents, and so Grendel's death, like his life, is merely an accident....
