In the book, “Grendel,” by John Gardner, Grendel is some sort of supernatural creature that kills the humans and eats them after he is done. So Hrothgar’s men fight to defend themselves against this supernatural creature. However, we see in the book that Grendel has feelings and emotions towards humans. Grendel states in the novel that he thinks Hrothgar’s men are animals and that they waste lives. However, the humans think otherwise, they think that Grendel is a supernatural monster that is here to kill them.
These monsters are descendants of Cain, just like Grendel, so readers can safely assume that Grendel also strives with God to remove their curse. In fact, despite being a monster, the poet also makes subtle hints that Grendel has human-like traits, such as cowardice and the desire for acceptance. So his exile, instead of cultivating his human qualities he could possess, further strengthened his malignant nature and his desires to strive
He is called by King Hrothgar to defend his people from the "evil" Grendel. Normally, it is really unlikely that the antagonist of a book or poem turns out to be the most interesting one, but in Beowulf, this is the case. Grendel is a demon, but a demon mainly driven by human emotions. According to the poem, Grendel is by lineage, a member of "Cain’s clan, whom the creator had outlawed / and condemned as outcasts.” (Beowulf, 106–107) Grendel resents this, so this is his first motive to attack the people in the Heorot. To understand where Grendel's wrath is coming from.
John Gardner’s Grendel is the retelling of the epic poem Beowulf from the point of view of the antagonist, Grendel. The main difference between the two literary works is represented by the values behind their writing. The ancient epic poem is the perfect example of the tales of a hero, Beowulf, the storyline is flat and characters are static because they are constructed around the heroic code to fulfil a specific role. Grendel, in the homonym novel, is a dynamic character with a post-modern, existentialist vision of the world in the constant search for his sense of life. Despite some similarities with humans that make him in some way relatable to us, Grendel present some significant differences with human beings.
In the novel Grendel by John Gardner, Grendel’s largest internal conflict is whether or not he can overcome his predestined status of monster. Throughout the course of the story Grendel is influenced by both sides, human and beast, through the dragon and the Shaper. Although Grendel initially wants to align himself with the humans, no matter how he tries to communicate with them as an equal they will not accept his company, causing him to become lonely and angry. Grendel’s anger turns to violence, which makes the humans turn further against him and, as he is alienated from any sense of humanity he ever had, he eventually discovers that he has no choice and must fulfill his role as the enemy to humans. Initially, Grendel’s free will
But, while giving Grendel advice about the humans he tells him that the humans need him to ameliorate themselves. The dragon ends up giving Grendel a power that makes him immortal and inevitable to humans and their weapons. Although Grendel is frightened of the dragon, the humans are also afraid of Grendel. Grendel is not ready to commit to the rivalry between him and the humans but the dragon coaxes him to continue his feud with the
He is carnivorous and feeds on human flesh. He does not seem to have a limit when killing “(…) greedy and grim, he grabbed thirty men from their resting places and rushed to his lair, flushed up and inflamed from the raid, blundering back the butchered corpses” (ll.120-125). Finally, Grendel does not seem to have emotions about those he kills, he is "insensible to pain and human sorrow” (ll.119-120) and he never showed remorse”(l.137). By his beast-like physical appearance, as well as his gruesome actions and his lack of emotions, the monstrosity of Grendel becomes evident throughout the
Grendel simply represent an alternative darker side of humanity, which is reflected in his underwater sea cave. Compared to the dragon, Grendel is more human than monstrous. Grendel represent the dark side of humanity that have simply lost. Whereas, the dragon is truly a monster that human simply can’t relate at
Different events in the book, prove that the monster is impressionable and afraid. Everyone describe Grendel from his physical appearance. For example, "When a man-eating beast meets an epic hero (Coleman 24)" was the title of an play. The title described Grendel as a beast because of his appearance and the way humans looked at Grendel. Grendel
In the book Grendel, John Gardner conveys Grendel's loneliness by Grendel's attacks on the people showing the lack of companionship drives him to destroying other people through his actions, thoughts and relationships. Body paragraphs: Grendel's loneliness is expressed greatly through his thoughts. The authors describes Grendel's need to jeopardize others people life just because Grendel is unhappy. The quote, "Pointless, ridiculous monster crouched in the shadows, stinking of old men, murdered children, martyred cows" (Gardner 6). This proves Grendel's view of the world is horrid and he has nothing in his life meaningful to him.