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
Grendel and the monster Frankenstein are contradictory in their individual philosophies and actions, although they are both isolated and lonesome, they come from different origins, think differently, and take significantly different actions, and their very fates were catastrophically no unique.
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.
In conclusion, in both of the novels the theme of isolation is presented through Grendel. He becomes evil, wants to be accepted, he feels helpless and he wants to take revenge. Both of the novels show that Grendel is alone and he is characterized as a evil monster because he doesn't know anything, but to do bad things to other people. Grendel doesn’t have intentions to kill people but his loneliness leads him to become evil because he feels that he is unwanted in his world. All in all, Grendel’s isolation is caused by not being understood and listened. Loneliness can affect people's self esteem and lead them to take many bad decisions.
In Jeffrey Jerome Cohen’s Monster Culture (Seven Thesis), Cohen analyzes the psychology behind monsters and how, rather than being a monstrous beast for the protagonist of the story to play against, “the monster signifies something other than itself”. Cohen makes the claim that by analyzing monsters in mythology and stories, you can learn much about the culture that gave rise to them. In Thesis 1 of Monster Culture, Cohen proposes that “the monster’s body literally incorporates fear, desire, anxiety, and fantasy”, specifically the fear, desire and anxiety of the cultures that gave rise to it;; fFor example, vVampires, undead, represent a fear of death. Monsters are born of an intense fear, desire, or internal conflict, “at this metaphorical
John Gardner’s Grendel reveals the opposite side of the story depicted in Beowulf by making Grendel the narrator. Grendel, a monster, is the only source of information the reader has, which forces the reader to gain trust in Grendel’s thoughts and memories. Although Grendel and Beowulf share the same storyline, but switch perspectives, the themes happen to change, solely because the reader reaches a deeper level of connection with Grendel by discovering the similarities humans have with him and pities his loneliness.
Grendel, the savage beast from John Gardner’s Grendel, and the Monster, the murderous creation from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, seek companionship but ultimately turn to violence when they are rejected, suggesting that all beings need love.
The beast in the novel Grendel does not stray to far away from the monster in the book Frankenstein. These two creatures are both misunderstood which makes them do what they do, while they are just trying to fit in.
In Grendel by John Gardener, the author describes a humane-minded monster’s, Grendel, struggle to find a purpose due to his isolation with the world. Gardener uses exuberant techniques of diction and sensory imagery to depict the theme. The utilizations capture every single detail of Grendel’s thoughts and struggles for existence.
When hearing the story of a murder, we seldom withhold our comments of how malicious the murderer is. The reasoning behind their actions might as well cease to exist, as we would not want to believe that they share the same state of mind as a criminal. However, in John Gardner’s Grendel, we see that Grendel has morals and feelings, contrary to how he is portrayed in the poem the novel is derived from, Beowulf. Similarly, the monster in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein shares the same emotional characteristics as Grendel, along with innocence at birth, the desire for a companion, and the pain of being an outsider.
The creature in ‘Frankenstein’ by Mary Shelley is known to have lived an extremely tragic and miserable life. When he finished his tale to Victor Frankenstein, he justifiably demands for a mate to help him cope with all the ordeals he encountered and experienced. This creates the argument of whether Victor Frankenstein was correct in deciding not to create a companion for the creature. I believe Victor Frankenstein was correct in deciding to not create a companion for the creature because the two creatures could reproduce, the female creature may not even be attracted to the male creature, and Victor does not owe the creature the love of a mate.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and John Gardner’s Grendel have numerous similarities, despite being published one hundred and fifty years apart from each other. The monster, in Frankenstein, and the beast, in Grendel, are both named appropriately since their appearances are frightening and cause them to be isolated from society. They are similar in the sense that they each seek companionship to end their loneliness, and they both kill to relieve their pain.
The fact that they would be considered the villains of their stories is their first similarity. Grendel strikes fear into the people of King Hrothgar’s land. He hates humans so much that he begins relentlessly killing humans. Humbaba is in charge of protecting a cedar forest. If any person enters this forest and begins cutting a single tree down, Humbaba is responsible for stopping said person with any means necessary, including killing them.
The famous book Frankenstein by Mary Shelly has had an enormous impact on literature today. People in the movie industry have actually made top hit movies using the basis of Frankenstein. One of those movies being Blade Runner. Even though they are very similar there are definitely differences.
The moment Victor Frankenstein successfully infuses life into his creation he is overcome with horror and disgust. Without further examination he is certain to have created a monster, not a human being (Shelley 35-36). However, despite his grotesque appearance, Frankenstein’s creature was not born malicious. During the first stages of his existence, unbeknownst to Frankenstein himself, his acts are motivated by innocence and virtue, which even earns him the title “good spirit” (79). Frankenstein did not create a monster. An unsatisfied need for a sense of belonging transforms Frankenstein’s creature into the monster it ultimately becomes. Therefore, I argue that the predominant theme in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is the need for social belonging