The Mate Agreement
“With Beowulf, the artist is embedded into the art. The fact that the author is unknown makes it even more of an interesting work. It’s not a separation, it’s a sort of immortalization. The situation is not the same with Steinbeck.”
He clenches his jaw, narrowing his eyes at me, and tensing up a bit at my words. I do a little dance of triumph in my head, and jut out my chin so everyone in the class can see my smug smirk, knowing I’ve won the argument.
“If you’re a shitty person, it shows in your writing. It shows in your words.” I add in an acidic tone, indirectly referring to him, remembering his words in the library, remembering how angry it had made me.