Gardner focuses on how Grendel only really cares for himself. He doesn’t care for his mother, he doesn’t care about any gods, and he definitely doesn’t care about humans. He is so self-centered that he rarely does anything that does not benefit or amuse him. Grendel isn’t the only one who does this however, in fact I’d say just about…
Grendel and Born of Man and Woman were similar in surprisingly many ways. The biggest point of comparison between these two works is the human/monster ambiguity that is present. Both of them make if difficult to decipher whether or not the main character is really human or not. They each have very human-like characteristics, but there are many things that point to them each not being human. For instance, Grendel is obviously not human by the way humans react to him, and from the description of his mother, it can be gathered that she is not human at all, shedding doubt on his humanness. The character in Born of Man and Woman is also seen as not human by those people who witness him. He also says he "drips," meaning bleeds, green several times. This is obviously not a human characteristic. Each case could be argued either way for the two of them, though it is clear they are not normal humans.…
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.…
To sum it all up, In Beowulf, Beowulf is an archetypal hero who ended up being corrupted by the fame and fortune that was gained while doing the Danes a favour and killing their monsters. In Grendel, Grendel was labeled as a monster who tried to be part of a human society; the failure to be accepted as part of the society has forced Grendel to act like how he was labeled.…
He, a descendant of Cain, has been exiled into darkness: “Conceived by a pair of those monsters born/ Of Cain, murderous creatures banished/ By God, punished forever for the crime/ Of Abel’s death” (20-23). Therefore, as a foe of God, Grendel is angered at the fact he cannot exist in light. Given that he cannot enact his revenge upon God himself, Grendel enacts his revenge upon God's people. Other reasons why he may attack humans is that the text also specifically says that he can't stand the noise of the "harp’s rejoicing"(4) in the mead hall. Grendel is perhaps attacking because the joyful camaraderie reminds him each day of his own isolation -- owing to his connection to the Biblical Cain. He is described as child-like. Young children will lash out when they are frustrated or don't like what is going on. If a noise is too loud, they might just cry, but they might hit the person making the noise. Of course, children don't react this way out of violence or evil, but rather out of a lack of self-control. Grendal is both child-like and evil. He is unable and unwilling to control himself. His reaction to the joyful noises he hears in the hall begins as a lack of self-control and continues as an evil act of anger and vengeance against the…
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,…
Both characters, Grendel and the monster, can’t be associated with people. Both are grotesque, alarming creatures. Both are sentient, they cannot become a fellow comrade to their surrounding societies despite their depression and loneliness. Both want nothing more than companionship with someone other than Grendel’s mother and Victor Frankenstein, but they are aware of how utterly impossible…
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…
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…
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.…
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.…
Several scenes in Grendel reflect real world situations. In some scenarios, Grendel interactions with other characters are no different than that of us with friends or family members. This is most easily seen in chapter seven when Grendel stumbles upon a dragon guarding a large pile of gold and gems. The dragon proceeds to give Grendel advice and discuss the habits of, not only Grendel himself, but also the humans. The dragon very clearly views himself as wiser and superior to humans and Grendel. Let’s face it, we all have that one classmate who thinks he knows absolutely everything and is not afraid to let us inferior students know about it. The dragon reminds me of a know-it-all student, or maybe even an older sibling- someone who has been praised for knowing so much that they assume they know everything.…
He is the hero of the story because he is proud. After his encounter with the dragon, Grendel begins to see the world as a meaningless place. Despite this new outlook, he still has no intention of systematically terrifying the Danes. “I was Grendel, Ruiner of Meadhalls, Wrecker of Kings! But also, as never before, I was alone.” (Grendel Pg.80) Grendel makes this miserable statement when he discovers the dragon's enchantment has left him invulnerable to harm from the Scylding’s weapons. He glories in his power, but realizes that his impervious hide now separates him even more from the world of mortal men. He’s proud because he can survive any attack, yet he’s sad because he has become even more different from the mortal men.…
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…
In Grendel, the story is told from Grendel's point of view. Therefore he is not viewed as a killing machine. In Beowulf however, it is the exact opposite. Grendel is seen as a monster who is terrorizing Hrothgar's people. The way Grendel is portrayed in Grendel is different from the way he is portrayed in Beowulf regarding his initiative and purpose. Grendel is portrayed the same in both stories when it comes to his actions and his nature.…