individual. Evil is typically perceived as the dualistic opposite of good. While many characters in literature throughout history are conceived as evil‚ two distinct characters stand out from the rest; Macbeth in Shakespeare’s definitive tale Macbeth and Grendel in the legendary masterpiece Beowulf. These two literary figures both exemplify traits of gullible ambition‚ avaricious guilt‚ and true wickedness. The two pieces of literature depict the terrible effects that these traits‚ as well as many others
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Grendel as a Ridiculous Character Probably one of the greatest questions of the 19th century comes directly from John Gardner’s novel Grendel. Given a world with no inherent meaning‚ how should one live his or her life? Grendel lives in a world that he is not supposed to be in‚ acting out on emotion. Grendel represents the animalistic traits of humans. His actions are primitive and based around society’s acceptance throughout the novel. Grendel portrays a ridiculous character that is convinced
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Throughout the novel Grendel by John Gardner‚ the monster Grendel has many different encounters that change his view on the world‚ but it becomes unequivocally clear that his true way of life is through nihilism. Grendel starts out in life as a nihilist where everything is meaningless to him. However‚ he longs for meaning. His only dilemma is within himself because he cannot see how an animal like him has any true purpose. As Grendel matures and leaves his mother he becomes interested in looking
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Elements of a Series Grendel‚ a prequel to the popular epic Beowulf‚ provides a look into the dismal life of the unearthly monster. Grendel and Beowulf are clearly similar but also show striking differences in the elements of each story through the formulation of the setting‚ the portrayal and development of certain characters‚ and the depiction of motifs. In both Grendel and Beowulf‚ the stories take place in the land of the Gaets‚ ruled by Hrothgar. The Gaet people living in the town experience
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Grendel in the novel compared to Grendel in the epic poem Beowulf is presented as the complete opposite or more evolved due to the point of view in both the novel and epic poem‚ descriptions of events he has encountered in the novel and his reactions to them‚ and how Grendel in the epic poem is described as ruthless towards mankind. The epic poem Beowulf is told from a third person point of view while Grendel the novel is told from Grendel’s very own perspective. Both stories due to the different
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Heaney’s translation of Beowulf depicts Grendel as a demon‚ a beast. The writer makes Grendel powerful‚ merciless‚ and a source of pure evil. The author shows this while describing Grendel and by making him commit heinous acts. The narrator takes away any sign of humanity in him. This makes the God-cursed brute one of the most evil villains in literature. The attributes that the author gives Grendel describes him as one of the most chaotic antagonist. When Grendel is introduced the author uses the words
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an anonymous Beowulf poet‚ is a powerful monster named Grendel. This brutal persona strives to demolish his small town. This story involves a mead hall‚ by the name of Herot‚ built by king of the Danes‚ Hrothgar. Grendel feels that he can freely parade around the mead hall and prey on innocent human bodies as the lie soundly asleep. He’s very humble and steady-minded when it comes to his choice of supper for that particular night. Grendel had set up in his mind that no one could\would get in the
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first impressions are important‚ but these characters find themselves in an unfortunate plight. In the original and famous poem‚ Beowulf‚ GRENDEL is the evil‚ most abominable creature on the planet. His grim and naturally monstrous appearance haunts the Danes and people of the mead hall. His heart is heavy and dark‚ according to Beowulf‚ but in John Gardner’s Grendel‚ he explains in much detail how he truly feels about himself and his actions. Being raised alone (occasionally by his mother)‚ Grendel’s
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Existentialism in Grendel Nihilism‚ as well as existentialism and a host of other philosophies are boldly explored in Grendel‚ a novel by John Gardner. The antagonist Grendel travels on a journey of self-discovery‚ eventually becoming a nihilist‚ only to be gallantly disproved 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
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Is Grendel Evil or Victim to Circumstance? : How humanity has a tendency to put labels on people they don’t really understand. In the epic of Beowulf‚ one of the warrior’s biggest adversaries is a creature from the swamp named Grendel. Although the character of Grendel is present for only a short portion in the story of Beowulf‚ Grendel signifies one of the important messages in the text about humanity. In Beowulf‚ Grendel is called a ‘monster’. However‚ if observed closely‚ analyzing the
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