In Grendel the author shows us a very captivating character. Gardner is able to show himself misunderstood, confused yet a very different creature. By showing him this way, the author shows that there are more than 1 side to each story. This makes him be able to familiarize himself to the reader. Grendel has some very monster like qualities, but he is not violent and Grendel is a character who is capable of learning, thinking ,etc. and communicating. I think that grendel 's curiosity is his best feature. Grendel knows that his actions are mean, but he still loves doing them and unable to see why he likes doing it so much. Grendel has been at war with the Dane sand it was "twelfth year of his very stupid personic war" (5).Grendel knows that
The people in the story view Grendel as a monster, but why does Hrothgar-Grendel’s father-want Grendel to be killed? Is he full of shame? What would happen if the Geats knew about Hrothgar and Grendel’s Mother’s secret scandal? Grendel’s sadness and loneliness, the courage to protect himself from what is hurting is why he is despised. As a monster, Grendel was trying to protect himself.
Some may believe Grendel goes on his rampages because it’s what monsters do; however, there are numerous pieces of evidence suggesting that Grendel chooses his own actions. To begin, Grendel enjoys terrorizing the people of Herot. He breaks into the mead hall at night and eats the people for his own amusement. In the novel Grendel by John Gardner, Grendel says that he is “swollen with excitement, bloodlust, and joy” as he walks into the mead hall (Gardner 126). Grendel becomes “mad with joy” when Beowulf arrives (Gardner 151).
Grendel was a being sung about in the songs of the shaper, who twisted tales to fit his own means. In the song Grendel was made out to be a wretched monster, without intellect, who only sought to kill. This wasn’t the case entirely. Grendel was determined to enter society, to be a part of their gatherings, instead at every turn he was chased away, cursed, and attacked. He was only a monster to those in the mead hall, a beast who could never be a part of them.
When Grendel is first presented, he is described as
He also shares his views of the world and existence itself. There are many people who disagree, and believe the story of Grendel was written to make Grendel look even more monstrous and scary. I believe these people are paying too much attention to the setting of the story, and grendel’s actions, and not paying enough attention to Grendel’s
Beowulf’s Motivations (An Understanding of the motivations of Beowulf to Fight the Three Monsters) Every human being has a certain code with which they follow, most are outlined by the Anglo-Saxon, better known as Viking, code. This code itself was depicted through the epic poem known as, “Beowulf,” and more importantly, Beowulf’s motivations. His first motivation for fighting Grendel, is because he believes it is his duty to fight the monster. Secondly, Beowulf believes that fighting Grendel’s mother would help him in receive glory.
Motivations The three cardinal motivations for Beowulf to fight the monsters. People often have very different reasons to do something than others. Sometimes, people wonder why others do the things they do.
This time however, he is swept away by a person name the Shaper, who Grendel is ultimately scared of, because of the fact that the shaper is very good at changing the view of people very easily. During this same period, Grendel started to become more violent as well, first by attacking the humans. Grendel didn’t like the way Hrothgar lived and made the Mead Hall and in response, Grendel started to attack it at night. He killed anyone and everything that came into his sight, and even ate the humans. Grendel now became a real threat to the humans, which inevitably changed his status from sinister to pure
Grendel begins attacking the humans, “I eat and laugh until I can barely walk, my chest-hair matted with dribbled blood... my belly rumbles, sick on their sour meat” (Gardner 12). Grendel went from crying for his mother when his foot got stuck in a branch to killing and eating dozens of people. Seeing the events that lead up to this how Grendel did helps us further see the transformation he is making. It’s the isolation from the humans that transforms Grendel, “Not, of course, that I fool myself with thoughts that I'm more noble.
The common characteristics of what makes a monster have remained constant throughout society: evil, isolated, violent. Monsters have no regards for social normatives, and cause chaos and destruction wherever they go. Grendel is no exception. In Beowulf, Grendel manifests every characteristic of a stereotypical monster. He is considered inherently evil, and is an outcast; he roams alone and commits devilish atrocities whenever he pleases.
In the book Grendel he seems to change throughout the book. At the beginning of the story Grendel is sensitive , immature and very lonely. Giving a feeling of sympathy . That all changes when Grendel talks to The Dragon. When Grendel first meet The Dragon he was afraid of it. He was so terrified to ask him questions.
He attempts to make peace, his actions are no different than those of others, and he is experiencing resentment. Although there is no excuse for murdering others, Grendel does not kill for the fun of it. His actions are just reactions to emotions he is experiencing. Furthermore, his willingness to make peace emphasizes the remorse he feels for the crimes he has committed. This also shows that he acted impulsively because of his strong feelings of resentment.
Grendel in both stories is described as a vicious "Monster", but is viewed differently. The character of Grendel, in the novel by John Gardner, portrays a different visualization than that of Grendel in the epic poem Beowulf. In the novel the story is told in first person point of view which gives Grendel human qualities while Grendel in Beowulf is told in third person point of view not giving Grendel his standpoint. In both works, the authors give two different perspectives of Grendel. Grendel in the novel is not seen as a "Monster", but as a human that has emotions and is very sympathetic about everything that comes his way.
John Gardner gave Grendel emotions that the reader was able to see and hear through his own words. Grendel told tales of his childhood causing the reader to become invested in Grendel’s past giving the feeling of a connection. As in the way he describes instances of his imaginative play, “I use to play games when I was young…explored our far-flung underground world in an endless wargame of leaps onto nothing…quick whispered plottings with invisible friends” (Gardner 15). Consequently, this information gives the feeling of sympathy for Grendel, for his lonely childhood and circumstance. Gardner continues to play on the sympathies of the reader after Grendel’s first interaction with the Danes.
This is different than the Anglo-Saxon version of Beowulf, where Grendel is seen as an all-powerful monster who is very strong and dominant due to the use of different point of views from which the story is told. Beowulf is told from third person point of view. It is for this reason that we can not definitively see what Grendel is feeling physically, emotionally, or mentally. Meanwhile, Gardner’s version of the story is told from Grendel’s point of view. This is gives us a better look at what Grendel is seeing, feeling, and thinking.