Contrasting Grendel and Frankenstein 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. Grendel is mortified with his purpose in life and driven by emotions which makes him plead for his purpose. “I had determined at the time that the memory of these evils should die with me; but you have won me to alter my determination” (14). He has to face the purpose he was told to behold since he was born and lived in Dane Kingdom. Ever since that he roamed around killing, “But deer, like rabbits and bears and even men, can make, concerning my race, no delicate distinctions.
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 vs. “The monster” Grendel in the novel by John Gardner is very similar to “the monster” in Frankenstein by Mary Shelly because both Grendel and the monster feel like outsiders, they kill humans, and they both are able to learn new things. Grendel feels like an outsider because he knows he is different and he wants to know the truth of why he is what he is and why God made him that way. Grendel asks his mother “Why are we here?” which means that he is doubting his existence. Grendel kills humans in the mead hall while they are asleep.
Grendel and his mother were never able to communicate fully, “ (She never speaks.) [...] She’ll tell me, in time, I thought. But she told me nothing. I waited on (Gardner pg.12)”, and even the dragon, who is the most prominent person in Grendel’s life, gave Grendel a philosophy that further increased his isolation, “and the dragon gives him a version of reality which he comes to take as correct.
In cinema nowadays, movies that are more famous among the people somehow engaged with explosions, gunfights, and superheroes. In the early days of cinema, the special spot for people had to do something with monsters and murderers. Some of these monsters have abilities to be sympathetic to the people who watch the movie. As a great example there is the movie Frankenstein. Dr. Frankenstein’s invention, is a monster that is created by an obnoxious scientist who decides to play god and it goes wrong. Dr. Frankenstein is the clear example of men playing with nature and then terrible consequences came into place.
As he matured and went through life the love he thought once existed was now to memory of the past. Grendel believed you could love someone deeply , you know real love but he no longer flt that way. " But now i do not sleep" this line can refer to him not sleeping because he's constantly up at night killing the towns people (which still refers back to his hatred for people) or it can refer to him
We have established that the monster from Frankenstein is one of a kind and feels alone, this brings up one of his main goals, seeking a life companion. In the novel, when talking to Victor, the monster states, ““You must create a female for me, with whom I can live in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for my being…””(Shelley 125) The monsters’ goal in the novel is not to hurt victor as some might argue, but to achieve a companion that will not shun him. While, trying to achieve this goal leads to suffering and hardships to many in the novel, it is seen that the reason is to fulfill one of humanities’ basic goals, achieve a companion. In the novel Grendel, we see that Grendel is also wanting a companion or friend to talk to.
Furthermore, early in the novel, Grendel learns of a man, known as the Shaper, who sings to entertain the folks in the Mead Halls. The Shaper sings of all sorts of stories and myths to give the people hope of something greater in the next life. He also sang of Grendel 's kind, which is "the terrible race God cursed" (Gardner 51). Grendel desperately wanted to believe this; he wanted to be part of the cursed creatures that are offsprings of Cain. This may give him some sort of purpose in life.
It was all lies” (Gardner 54). It is obvious Grendel suffers the physical pain of being alone, and he gets addictive to hurting others due to his sadness. The more Grendel hears about people getting along he hates them and wants to fight them, because he can not have that. Grendel actions speak louder than his words when conveys his anger against the world. In the quote Grendel portrays this is what he does when he says, “It's all I have, my only weapon for smashing through these stiff coffin-walls of the world”
This is because the war causes him to have so much pain with the humans. The last example that Grendel is not truly a monster is that Grendel states in the novel, “I would feel, all at once, alone and ugly, almost—as if I 'd dirtied myself—obscene.
Monsters are described as big, ugly, no-feelings creatures. They are also described as creatures of hell or creatures that are not acceptable in the society. This is disagreeable, not all monsters are ugly, and some monsters do have some feelings. The monster Grendel, in the book Grendel by the author John Gardner, shows that he is sensitive and has human's feeling traits even though he is a monster. Different events in the book, prove that the monster is impressionable and afraid.
Frankenstein In most fiction stories, there are always two characters that do or do not represent different sides of the same character. Frankenstein is a short gothic horror story written by Mary Shelley. Shelley writes about a scientist who created a being from dead body parts. Victor Frankenstein as the protagonist of the story created a monstrous character that was a reflection of himself.
Moreover, Grendel’s last words indicate that something will happen to mankind as it did to himself. For instance, Grendel expresses, “there is no limit to desire but desire’s needs.” (Gardner 93). Such illustrates that Grendel can desire as much as he wants
Mary Shelley (1797-1851) born as Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, the daughter of philosopher William Godwin (1756-1836) and well known feminist Mary Wollstonecraft (1759- 1797), is credited as a great revolutionary in the field of literature. With influences of family guests such as Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1843) and William Wordsworth (1770- 1850), and access to an extensive family library, Mary Shelley is believed to have developed great imaginative skills and fondness for literature at a very young age. She went on to marry the famous English romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley in 1816 after his first wife committed suicide. During her lifespan she went through the tragic death of her infant son, suicide of her half-sister and the drowning
In Chapter 15 of Frankenstein, the author compares the monster to Adam (the first man) as well as comparing Victor to God. I believe that Frankenstein is not as much a commentary on the bible, but rather on the nature of man. In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley compares the monster and Victor to biblical figures in order to relate that everyone is capable of moral good and evil. As we see in the novel, the monster is much like Adam in that he desires companionship, he is made in the likeness of his creator (a man), and he eventually turns to evil.