Dear Sacred Book,
Life is unpleasant. Grendel is gross. I so badly want to show Hrothgar and everyone in the Mead Hall that I am a hero. Who cares about life anyway? It is so unpleasant and depressing. I would rather die knowing that I was famous. But Grendel refuses to kill me. He scoffs at the concept of honor, like some uncivilized baboon. Deep down, though, I know he is right. People are constantly in want of honor, so they just end up wasting their time killing people. Grendel is a sly one, he is. I am surprised by the fact that he is not just some stupid, hairy animal. I think he realizes that it is in my self-interest to be killed. So what villain would do what the victim wants? For this reason, I am eternally doomed to live in this unpleasant world with no reputation to feel good about myself.
I do not know if I can live through the humiliating apple moment. Grendel kept on throwing apples at me, and everyone stared, confounded. He laughed at me and humiliatingly mocked my want of glory. And I don't even know why, but life seemed so pointless and terrible at that moment, I just started to cry like a child.
I realized that I had to redeem myself, so I bravely took a journey to his cave and stupidly hoped that he would kill me. I should have realized by then that he was smarter than any rogue animal, not just a being led by devilish instincts. I actually feel that I am more vulnerable to instincts than he is, because sadly, I fell asleep! Again, I acted like a weak child. And the horror! I returned back to Mead Hall alive and Grendel was still alive, and I did not want to explain this utter humiliation to my kingsmen. How dare I come back alive with the villain still living? How dare I?
As if all of this is not bad enough, some gallant man who claims to be a hero shows up. He calls himself Beowulf. He is big and broad shouldered, and stands as if he is the greatest man in the world. I hate him. His eyes give off this cool, indifferent look. When you talk to him, he looks like he does not take you seriously, like he is so amused. He gives off an impression that he has much more important things to think about. It makes me feel like rotten apples.
Today, at dinner, I ridiculed Beowulf for his swimming challenge with Breca. Beowulf not only coolly defended himself (who knows what's true though), but he also insulted me. He said that I had done nothing glorious except executing my brothers. Everyone stopped speaking. It was humiliating.
It looks like Grendel and Beowulf have succeeded in making my life a misery. I would kill myself, but that would be dishonorable.
Sincerely,
Unferth
Life is unpleasant. Grendel is gross. I so badly want to show Hrothgar and everyone in the Mead Hall that I am a hero. Who cares about life anyway? It is so unpleasant and depressing. I would rather die knowing that I was famous. But Grendel refuses to kill me. He scoffs at the concept of honor, like some uncivilized baboon. Deep down, though, I know he is right. People are constantly in want of honor, so they just end up wasting their time killing people. Grendel is a sly one, he is. I am surprised by the fact that he is not just some stupid, hairy animal. I think he realizes that it is in my self-interest to be killed. So what villain would do what the victim wants? For this reason, I am eternally doomed to live in this unpleasant world with no reputation to feel good about myself.
I do not know if I can live through the humiliating apple moment. Grendel kept on throwing apples at me, and everyone stared, confounded. He laughed at me and humiliatingly mocked my want of glory. And I don't even know why, but life seemed so pointless and terrible at that moment, I just started to cry like a child.
I realized that I had to redeem myself, so I bravely took a journey to his cave and stupidly hoped that he would kill me. I should have realized by then that he was smarter than any rogue animal, not just a being led by devilish instincts. I actually feel that I am more vulnerable to instincts than he is, because sadly, I fell asleep! Again, I acted like a weak child. And the horror! I returned back to Mead Hall alive and Grendel was still alive, and I did not want to explain this utter humiliation to my kingsmen. How dare I come back alive with the villain still living? How dare I?
As if all of this is not bad enough, some gallant man who claims to be a hero shows up. He calls himself Beowulf. He is big and broad shouldered, and stands as if he is the greatest man in the world. I hate him. His eyes give off this cool, indifferent look. When you talk to him, he looks like he does not take you seriously, like he is so amused. He gives off an impression that he has much more important things to think about. It makes me feel like rotten apples.
Today, at dinner, I ridiculed Beowulf for his swimming challenge with Breca. Beowulf not only coolly defended himself (who knows what's true though), but he also insulted me. He said that I had done nothing glorious except executing my brothers. Everyone stopped speaking. It was humiliating.
It looks like Grendel and Beowulf have succeeded in making my life a misery. I would kill myself, but that would be dishonorable.
Sincerely,
Unferth
Your writing style in this piece is very good, especially when conveying Unferth's feelings. I like the choice of the scenes you decided on writing about!
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting that you implied that although Unferth hates Grendel with a passion, he still kind of respects him in that he isn't your typical villain or monster, he's smarter than that!
ReplyDeleteYou ALMOST make me feel sorry for poor Unferth. Well done.
ReplyDelete