So.
We are reading Grendel in March. And Grendel has decided to stroll into town to mock a blind priest.
A blind priest walks into a bar...
It sounds like the setup to a bad joke. And if we squint at it hard enough, gentle reader, I think that is precisely what it is. A bad joke. Because there is nothing else that Grendel seems to be capable of producing from his nihilistic perch.
Leave Ork alone! He's just a guy, a true believer! Why must he be mocked? What has he done to you?
We murder to dissect.
Thank you, Uncle Wordsworth. This is true. Our humanity demands that we dissect, scrutinize, categorize, evaluate, critique. And an excitable fellow sharing thoughts on his faith seems like an easy target.
I don't even think Grendel is fully to blame here. It is Ork's own exuberance that gets him into some trouble. "The King of the Gods is the ultimate limitation, and His existence is the ultimate irrationality." I have to wonder at Ork here. Is he attempting to merely pass the test? You know, show the Great Destroyer that he has it correct, to satisfy his God? It would make sense, being in the presence of the divine, to want to put your best foot forward, so to speak, and honor Him.
But I have to wonder: is Ork perhaps reaching a little bit too high here? Not showing off, but definitely showing out. See what I can do! Look at what I know! Yes, for your glory, but also for my own satisfaction, that I do have it right!
In any event, Grendel is taken aback by the man's conviction. Grendel is here to mock Ork, but his sarcasm dies on his lips halfway through the conversation because Ork responds with a flamethrower. He is cranked up to 11. He is literally weeping as he speaks, so overcome with emotion and belief and unrestrained passion. And that holds Grendel's attention. Grendel, the monster who is impressed by nothing, is impressed.
That's kind of cool.
No, I don't ultimately think that Ork is flirting with arrogance, nor do I really believe he is grandstanding. What I do think is that he goes for it. With everything he has. I don't think this is a life lesson to be applied everywhere. No yolo here. Because this isn't a ho-hum situation. When your God arrives in your praying circle, you express some exuberance. You give everything you have. Because that isn't the kind of thing that happens twice.
That's not something Grendel understands. Or, if he does, then he isn't interested. In either part of the equation: 1) having something that you are that invested in, or 2) exuding true blue passion when the moment is right.
I like Ork. He's a bit ridiculous, but, who cares? That criticism is the Grendel in me. Something that, I think, this novel tends to see as a detriment, not something to cultivate.
After all, he is the monster.
