The archeologist's eyes combine the view of the telescope and the view of the microscope. He reconstructs the very distant with the help of the very small. -Thornton Wilder

These words, voiced by Thornton Wilder regarding his play Our Town express the antithesis of nihilism, a philosophy which stresses the lack of objective truth. Nihilism, as well as existentialism and a host of other philosophies are boldly explored in Grendel, a novel by John Gardner. Following the advice of the Dragon, the antagonist Grendel travels on a journey of self-discovery. He eventually becomes a nihilist, only to have his theories gallantly refuted by the hero Beowulf. In the end Gardner proves that the virtues of individuality and meaning triumph over meaningless violence and destruction.

While Gardner presents countless philosophies and thoughts in Grendel, the two most prominent are nihilism and existentialism. The ideas of meaningless violence and destruction...