When Grendal was hearing the song of the Shaper, he almost was convinced. However, the dead man that he discovered made him think otherwise. Even though he disregards most of the song, he still believes in some, such as the story of Cain and Abel. Grendal seems as though he understands reality and truth, rather be bulged with unreliable facts the Shaper tells. Another prime example of truth would be king Hrothgar. Even though him and his people didn't know about half the things the Shaper were singing, they still passed it as truth. Rather than interrogating it, they embraced it. The credibility of the Shaper definitely shows the confusion of truth and what or who to believe.
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Truth
When the Shaper delivers his song to the king, Grendal is faced with statements he wasn't too necessarily sure about. Truth can be deceiving, for it could have been passed down from generations to generations. The once called "truth" could be manipulated and exaggerated. Former aspects of the truth could be omitted and replaced with versions that can be used to larger the deed of a particular race or person. Similar to the Shaper, his song boasts about the accomplishment of the Danes and King Hrothgar. Personally, I think because the fact that the Shaper is blind, it makes it obviously a person that was told the stories of the Danes. Emphasizing on TOLD, it clearly tells the reader that the Shaper's credibility is flawed, for he didn't witness something actually happening. Instead, he was told a story and he manipulated it in his own telling.
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So how would one in the circumstance that you detail discover truth? Can it be found again once someone manipulates it? GrendEl does not have a source to go to in order to challenge the narrative he hears from the shaper other than the dragon. Should the dragon's 'truth' also be questioned?
ReplyDeleteReading your post brought up questions about the Shaper himself. The story introduces him just as an blind man who approaches Hrothgar's mead hall one night. There was no information about the Shaper, aside from the explanation of his role. So what makes a person a Shaper, exactly? What allows him to come off as a knowledgeable person? Is there something that is distinguished between a Shaper and a person who sings and plays the harp? In other words, what allows him to have all this credibility?
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I don't think the actual truth can be retold once one manipulates it. As it passes from generations or more sources, the truth becomes so vague and its impossible to discover what actually happened. I would guess the best way to uncover the truth would be to self reason and ask yourself if it seems logically correct.
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ReplyDeleteYour comments about the shaper are very insightful. But one question that I had was whether Grendel even realizes that he's listening to the shapers words or if it's really just in his subconscious. He talks about the shapers lies and his misinterpretations but does he even realize that the shapers words carry so much meaning and truth with him?
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