Preview

Humanity In Grendel's Morality

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
172 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Humanity In Grendel's Morality
Continuing, this now leads to the next point. That is, the curiosity found in Grendel helps to prove his actual morality. This is shown through his observance of animals, nature, and humans. The first example of this can be located on page six. Here Grendel is speaking of watching a bull go about it’s daily business. The bull mindlessly stares off into the distance, simply enjoying the cool breeze. With this, Grendel is agitated. “Why can’t these creatures discover a little dignity?” he ponders to himself. All throughout the recollection of Grendel’s life, he frequently mentions stopping to watch the sky and life around him. In a like manner, Grendel has also observed the humans. He found himself interested in the human impact on the environment
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Comparing Grendel And Beowulf
    • 305 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Comparing Grendel And Beowulf

    Grendel was strong and powerful monster. (line 1) He was so strong that he could rip men apart. Most men in the kingdom feared him. He was the most evilest monster in land.(line21-24) Even though many of the men in the kingdom didn’t know about his mother.…

    • 305 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    John Gardner's 'Grendel In Beowulf'
    • 406 Words
    • 2 Pages

    John Gardner's 'Grendel In Beowulf'

    The story focuses on Grendel’s different philosophies of thought. He observes the local humans, the Scyldings’ development as a civilization and as individuals. His first encounters with the outside world are both bewildering and melancholy. His encounter with a bull and humans leads to his search for personal meaning and his desire to torment the humans. All these things show that Grendel is not a monster, but a non-human who possesses human-like qualities, such as emotion and thoughts.…

    • 406 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Grendel's Motivation In Beowulf
    • 359 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Grendel's Motivation In Beowulf

    Grendel is a man-eating demon that lives in the land of the Spear-Danes and attacks King Hrothgar's mead-hall, Heorot, every evening. The narrator of Beowulf claims that Grendel's motivation is hearing Hrothgar's bard sing songs about God's creation of the world, which rubs his demonic nature the wrong way. Whatever the reason, every night Grendel slaughters more Danes and feeds on their corpses after tearing them limb from limb. Although he can't be harmed by the blade of any edged weapon, Grendel finally meets his match when the Geatish warrior Beowulf takes him on in a wrestling match.…

    • 359 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Compare And Contrast Beowulf And Grendel
    • 393 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Compare And Contrast Beowulf And Grendel

    In Gardner's novel, Grendel speaks from a first person point of view and we discover that he is not so much the brutal and heartless beast that everyone believes he is, but rather a perpetually misunderstood, lonely creature. In this story the monster is given more of a personality and humane quality. He struggles to understand the human race, when every attempt is instantly shot down because of the fear he instills into every creature he comes across. In Grendel, Grendel is nothing more than a misguided being who is trying to find a purpose in life and acts violently as a result of fear. Readers are able to more closely identify with Grendel in this story and cannot help but to empathize with the monster whenever he is victimized by others. In this novel he is considered as the protagonist of the…

    • 393 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Beowulf And Grendel Research Paper
    • 659 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Beowulf And Grendel Research Paper

    Grendel’s goodness is continuously suppressed by the misunderstanding of humans. When Grendel first encounter’s humans, the humans immediately mistake Grendel for a bloodthirsty monster because of his appearance. In the beginning when Grendel is still developing his moral and spiritual understandings of the world,…

    • 659 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Grendel Vs Goat
    • 196 Words
    • 1 Page

    Grendel Vs Goat

    Grendel has a difficult time trying to find his place in his own world, and this is made even more difficult by watching the brute, unthinking creatures who seemed to live and breathe without one iota of angst. Towards the end of the novel every piece of mechanical imagery comes together when the goat arrives. Even as it is injured, bleeding, and dying, the goat keeps climbing forward. Unlike the ram, which frustrates Grendel, and the bull, which amuses him, the goat haunts him with its mindless persistence. As the goat keeps climbing toward its imminent death, it also foreshadows Grendel’s upcoming death. While Grendel scorns the stupidity of nature, the novel also asks us to consider whether Grendel, who goes willingly to Beowulf, though…

    • 196 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Grendel's Argumentative Analysis
    • 199 Words
    • 1 Page

    Grendel's Argumentative Analysis

    To begin with, Grendel’s last words are “ Poor Grendel’s had an accident,” I whisper. “So may you all” (Gardner 174). Grendel is cursing the animals around him. For instance, when Grendel illustrates that he doesn’t like animals. This is when he has several incidences with the animals. Likewise, Grendel yelled “I smile, threatened by an animal already dead, still climbing” (Gardner 140). Grendel felt threatened by the animal, therefore he had to kill the goat. The goat trespassed on Grendel’s rock, making Grendel dislike the goat because the goat wouldn’t leave his rock. Also, Grendel implies “Why can’t these creatures discover a little dignity”(Gardner 6). The animals bother Grendel a lot of times. Grendel is just trying to be alone. He doesn’t…

    • 199 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Grendel In Beowulf
    • 693 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Grendel In Beowulf

    Although Grendel is likely the poem 's most memorable character, we are never given a straightforward description of his physical characteristics. We can only imagine why the author wrote his character in this way, giving us only a few clues as to his nature. One explanation is that they wrote it this way to leave the image of Grendel to the imagination of the reader. This is a trick that writers use to make readers more involved in the story line and character development, and in this case, it works to their advantage. Many…

    • 693 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Grendel's Ideas On The Balance Between Good And Evil
    • 698 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Grendel's Ideas On The Balance Between Good And Evil

    Grendel, generally seen as a monster or giant, is one of the main antagonists in the popular Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf. Portrayed as the epitome of evil, Grendel brutally attacks the meadhall of the Danes for twelve years before being defeated by the epic hero Beowulf. Gardner, through his book Grendel, creates a new point of view of these events through Grendel eyes, as Grendel learns about the humans and how they seem like wild animals in their actions. In Grendel by John Gardner, Gardner reveals that “Man must have evil so that he may have good to balance…” through the use of juxtaposition and aphorisms (Gardner 6).…

    • 698 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Example Of Grendel Theme Essay
    • 573 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Example Of Grendel Theme Essay

    In the story Grendel, there are a lot of different themes and lessons one of the main themes in this story is isolation. Grendel is a very isolated character who is looking for his purpose in life. Grendel has a lot of hate in his heart, but there is also a lot of love in it at the same time. So throughout the story, there are a lot of moments when Grendel has a battle within his self. For example when Grendel first hears the Shaper playing in chapter 3 it starts to make Grendel think different about what he knows is true and what he wishes were true. Grendel understands the world as a brute, emotionless place that follows no meaningful pattern or laws. He knows that all the beautiful concepts of which the Shaper sings about heroism, religion, love and beauty are merely human projections on how the humans would like to see the world.…

    • 573 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Grendel Character Analysis Essay
    • 511 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Grendel Character Analysis Essay

    In the novel Grendel, by John Gardner, portrays Grendel's characteristics altering as he meets new characters; throughout his journey to mankind. Mankind teaches him vast new knowledge he's never understood. His nihilistic and solipsism is formed through the characters in the novel; envy and anger are also shown. He plays big roles in terrifying the Danes and somewhat of the Geats; they mold him into the monster they fear the most. The characters, shaper, man, and the dragon shape Grendel into the monster he so desires. They teach him of lies, false glory, brutality, never ending violence, and wisdom.…

    • 511 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Grendel And Frankenstein Comparison Essay
    • 1002 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Grendel And Frankenstein Comparison Essay

    He describes himself as ‘hideous’ in comparison to humans. Humans were all he knew and what he thought he knew was that humans were the only creatures to bear any beauty. Grendel also says, “Thus I fled, ridiculous hairy creature torn apart by poetry—crawling, whimpering, streaming tears, across the world like a two-headed beast, like mixed-up lamb and kid at the tail of abaffled, indifferent ewe. . . ” (44). He on the contrary uses a simile to describe him self. The picture of a ‘two-headed beast’ gives the look of a non-domesticated being. Both characters were able to realize their true uniqueness. They had an image of what beauty was and for them it wasn’t…

    • 1002 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Theme Of Grendel In Beowulf
    • 639 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Theme Of Grendel In Beowulf

    Grendel was not human, he was an animal that eats anything he sees around him. Grendel was a lonely beast, he did not have any relationship with any human being. His Mother was the only person he knew since he was a little child. Grendel’s mother loved him is some different ways, but he was not sure about that. “I understood that, finally and absolutely, I alone exist. All the rest, I saw, is merely what pushes me, or what I push against, blindly as blindly as all that is not myself pushes back.” (P.22). He feels like his mother and he was the only being exist, but he also feels that he was separate from her. When he was crying, she would hold him against her. “Thus I fled, ridiculous hairy creature torn apart by poetry crawling, whimpering, streaming tears, across the world like a two-headed beast, like mixed up lamb…

    • 639 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Loneliness In Frankenstein
    • 1378 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Loneliness In Frankenstein

    In one of his first encounters with the Danes, Grendel kills thirty of their warriors and carries them on his back. He desires human flesh through his acts of violence. His aggression toward the Danes is due to the jealousy of Hrothgar and loneliness that is endured by him through isolation from everyone. Grendel desperately admires his hunger to kill and destroy. “I have not committed the ultimate act of nihilism: I have not killed the queen” (Gardner 90). Grendel fears the idea of compassion and kindness in a society . Therefore he has a hard time accepting Wealtheow (Hrothgar’s wife) into the life of the Danes. At the same time he is confused on whether to kill her or not, because of his self-indulgent philosophy. If he gets rid of her he completely contradicts what he believes in, so he decides not to make a fool of himself. His vulnerability to existence is merely because he is skeptical and doubtful toward the intentions of his surrounding society full of…

    • 1378 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Is Grendel Truley Evil?
    • 1119 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Is Grendel Truley Evil?

    The first evidence of this is found with observing his circumstances in which he is forced into. The first and foremost distinct difference between Grendel and any other typical monster is that Grendel never made a conscious choice to be evil. In Beowulf, Grendel’s circumstances were given to him, he did not choose them. “He had dwelt in for a time/ in misery among the banished monsters,/ Cain’s clan, whom the Creator had outlawed/ and condemned as outcasts.” (Beowulf 104-107). Grendel was punished for not only a crime he didn’t commit, but a crime that was carried out by a person who we merely was a descended from, a very long time ago. The punishment for what, a long past family member did, was a life of loneliness and banishment. This given circumstance is another huge way in where Grendel has a gigantic impact on the story. Grendel is a representation and symbol of evil for Christianity, but at the same time it also symbolizes the unfairness and the closed minded way of thinking that…

    • 1119 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics