Examples Of Anxiety In Grendel

In the story “Grendel” by John Gardner, the monster Grendel is portrayed as a beast. Grendel is shown as a villainous monster in the epic poem, Beowulf. Throughout the story, Grendel shows characteristics including jealousy and bitterness. These features substitute Grendel's murderous intentions and turns him into an evil creature. Near the end of the novel, Grendel’s villian trends transforms his life into a never ending battle for acceptance. His only desire was to be accepted by the humans. While he is depicted as a monster, he is just someone who wants to be accepted and acknowledged. Humans used ideas of heroism and appearance to make the world as what they wanted it to be, and because of these ideas, Grendel did not fit the mold and is

In the epic poem Beowulf, the protagonist, Beowulf, faces three “monsters” at different times in his life. The poem begins with Grendel, a monster who attacks only in the dark of night, tormenting the kingdom of Hrothgar. The last two sections of the epic detail the conquering by Beowulf of Grendel’s mother and the dragon. The battle between the monsters and Beowulf represent the theme of good versus evil in the poem, as well as the fusion of pagan and Christian ideals in the changing Germanic society. Grendel’s mother’s actions directly juxtapose the role of a woman in this time period, and the greediness of the dragon with his treasure contrasts with the virtues of what would be considered a good king.

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. So, due to circumstances I think the humans were the monsters and Grendel was not.

The story of Beowulf successfully follows every step of an Archetypal Hero Quest; the hero, Beowulf, answers a call, makes a decision, prepares, faces obstacles, reaches a climax, and returns home. Beowulf is met with three large battles within Beowulf, first with Grendel, then with Grendel’s mother, and his last fatal battle, with a dragon. Each battle carries aspects that add to the Hero Quest but do not fully create one until all are together.

Comparing society in Beowulf and society in Frankenstein is like comparing a simple farm to the processing plant; futuristic and totally dissimilar. Although, the core ‘monsters’ are unchanged; grotesque, horrifyingly pagan-esque beings of the dark that strike terror in to the hearts of even the stoutest of fighters and the sanest of men. In the Christian and Medieval world, monsters were human beings with an unnatural birth or a birth deformity (Stitt, 2003). The term ‘monster’ derives from the Latin term ‘monere’ which means ‘To warn’ or ‘to advise’ and ‘monstrum’ which is ‘a sign or portent that disrupts the natural order as evidence of divine displeasure’. The aspect of ‘Divine Displeasure’ is attributed almost perfectly to Grendel, the monster of Beowulf and the terror of Hrothgar. Both authors paint a grotesque picture of their creations and how they both desire to destroy beauty; Aesthetic Iconoclasm, that is shared between the two figures. However, both authors present their monsters separate to one another in philosophy; with Grendel being a mindless savage and the Monster being more contemplative and questioning the nature of its own creation.

In the poem Beowulf, there is a contrast between good and evil. This distinction is presented through the monsters Grendel and his mother, in parallel to the hero Beowulf. The themes of evil and monstrosity are therefore used in the story, as a way to create the notion of Grendel and his mother as monsters. Beowulf therefore appears as a character representing good. Although Beowulf shows traits of abnormal power, like Grendel and his mother, his motifs are interpreted differently.

Point of view is an essential component of Grendel because it gives us a perspective of how Grendel sees the world. Having the ability to view the story from the eyes of Grendel gives the reader insight into how Grendel thinks, how he sees people, and how people see him. The first person point of view in Grendel reveals a deeper understanding of how isolation can shape one’s existence and change them over time.

Though their stories are different, intertwined in their own ways, their stories, when stripped to their underlying strands of text, are quite similar. Two separate beings, forged by the hands of a creator long gone, find themselves in a cold, cruel, world where their differences cast them out. They are neglected by their creators and rejected at every turn by all they come across. Without guidance and without discipline, these beings are made to grow in a world they do not know, to fend for themselves. The beings, Grendel and the Monster of Frankenstein, charge their way through a world that despises them, searching for companionship, for acceptance, and for their self-worth. Try as they might, they cannot succeed and their sorrow turns to

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.

The actions of others is what absolutely counts. What any creature does determine what he is and how he thinks of himself. In the novel known as Grendel, written by John Gardner, Grendel has a dynamic self-image of himself since he was slaughter people. Grendel is what many psychologist would declare to be a sociopath. For he has no remorse and he is anti-social. Grendel had no one to call a "comrade" or a "friend", but whatever relationship he had damaged his self image. His feelings about himself could not have been very well. However, Grendel kept changing himself after forming some relationship,especially from after he had learned something new from his relationship. The relationships that affected him the most were with human creatures

At the beginning of the story, Grendel is a cynical character full of sarcastic and inappropriate remarks, such as when he says “...tickling his gross, lopsided balls...” (Gardner 6). Despite, his cynicism, he actually gives off a very playful and childish vibe. Much like a child that ask a lot of question, his mind runs wild, asking questions about and to the “sky” in a comical manner. Then, as the story proceeds, Grendel is faced with several characters that changes his outlook and changes the overall tone of the story. The first person he meets that fundamentally changes him is Hrothgar. As he observes him from afar, he “suddenly knew (he) was dealing with no dull mechanical bull but thinking creatures, pattern makers, the most dangerous things (he’d) ever met” (Gardner 26).

Not all heroes wear capes. Well, in novels and movies, they tend to. From the start, heros have always been someone who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. In poems such as Beowulf, which date back to the 10th century, implement the hero’s model in its purest form. The main character, Beowulf, is the stereotypical hero that comes from a far away land to defeat the monstrous antagonist Grendel, and defend the impotent villagers. More modern novels such as Grendel, depict the hero model in much different way. Grendel, the antagonist and protagonist, suffers through an extended existential crisis and is forced to deal with his monstrous instinct. The “hero” of this novel, Beowulf, is portrayed as

Psychoanalysis is the way the mind investigates itself through consciousness and unconsciousness by bringing repressed fears and conflicts into the conscious mind. It brings better understanding to what shapes our personalities and why people are who they are. Grendel is just like everyone else, the way he grew up influences who he is. By looking through a psychological perspective we can get a better understanding of Grendel by observing him through Freudianism, object theory, and Neo-Freudianism.

Grendel, the first monster Beowulf encountered, attacked because he was exiled form the rest of society and probably felt angry and jealous out of the peoples joy(87).he was probably jealous of the happiness of others, and like many people, he decided that if he was not happy, no one should be happy. Grendel acted out of

The Green Knight and Grendel are two characters that represent the face of evil and horror. Grendel is the typical monster. He is massive and malicious. On the other hand, the Green Knight is innovative and capable of living decapitated. Both being similar in the fact that they are meant to portray the same type of character (antagonist), they are different in the way they challenge the protagonists and how they grow as characters.