ipl-logo

Grendel Vs Beowulf Research Paper

454 Words2 Pages

Compare and Contrast In both Grendel and Beowulf, Beowulf is perceived as a warrior who ultimately ended Grendel's life. However, there are different standpoints of the way Beowulf acted and how he took Grendel's life. From both books, you can see the likeness and also the differences in which Beowulf made himself out to be in the book Beowulf and how he was actually seen by Grendel in Grendel. As has been mentioned, Beowulf is a character in both Grendel and Beowulf. However, in the epic poem about Beowulf, he is seen as this glorious, superhuman soldier who is called upon by King Hrothgar because he is the only hope the kingdom has. Beowulf’s followers, the Geats, worshiped him and stood by his side after he dived into the lake chasing after Grendel’s mother. They waited for Beowulf even when the rest of the kingdom gave up home and left the marsh. Beowulf was made out to be this immortal warrior who could not die, and faced every fear without even hesitating. He was very boastful, and after falling to the dragon, he told his men to build a tower on the cliffside in order for every ship passing by to know how great Beowulf was. He was not shy of praising himself. The story of Beowulf exemplifies him as this amazing person who will go down the the slaying of Grendel as a trophy. On the other hand, in the book Grendel Beowulf is not portrayed …show more content…

We see different perspectives from both authors of how two different characters see Beowulf. A self centered perspective is not always the best way to see a character’s true persona. However, Grendel’s perspective is not the most credible and is hard to understand at times. All in all, Beowulf is a man who killed Grendel for the kingdom, but no one will ever know if it was simply a coincidence that Grendel slipped in his own mess, or if Beowulf was really this incredible man who was this great

Show More
Related

  • Grendel 'Monster In Beowulf'

    1813 Words  | 8 Pages

    Or so it seems. In the novel Grendel by John Gardner diagnoses the ruthless monster in the tale of Beowulf. He is the epitome of wrong judgement. Grendel is an intellectual. He was naturally curious about human society.

    Read More

  • Defeat Of Grendel's Pride In 'Beowulf'

    291 Words  | 2 Pages

    Beowulf is brave and grendel is spiteful. They both act out pride because Beowulf is an epic hero and most epic heros let the pride eat then. In other words it gets to their heads, which then hurts them in the end. Grendel has more of a vengeful pride. He killed Herot men for fun and because he was annoyed by their stories.

    Read More

  • How Did Beowulf Change

    247 Words  | 1 Pages

    Beowulf The heroism of Beowulf was exemplified in two separate phases: (i) youth; and (ii) age. It was also illustrated on three separate conflicts with Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon (SparkNotes). It was through these encounters that Beowulf has been molded into a hero. His years of being youth depicted his character of being an unfettered warrior and his mature years, on the other hand, portrayed that he is a reliable king (SparkNotes). These two phases in his life showed two different virtues which has been reflected as the story progresses and how Beowulf changed from a young man to a mature man full of vigor.

    Read More

  • How Is Beowulf Different From The Book

    378 Words  | 2 Pages

    The story of Beowulf and the movie are very different because of Beowulf’s actions are not noble. In the textbook Beowulf killed Grendel’s mother for the glory, but in the movie he lied about killing her for his own personal desires. Beowulf killed Grendel’s

    Read More

  • Essay On Grendel Vs Beowulf

    817 Words  | 4 Pages

    Complexity was added to Grendel’s character in the film due to the fact that, in Beowulf, the writer uses simplistic duality throughout the epic poem. The film modifies the simplistic duality used in the epic poem by adding a backstory to Grendel’s character. Instead of being seen as a monster committing senseless murders, he can be seen as compassionate, caring, and knowledgeable of his actions. The film shows his compassionate and caring side through his connection to the witch. In the film, the viewer can see that Grendel protects the witch from people who try to hurt her,

    Read More

  • Beowulf Benevolence Quotes

    778 Words  | 4 Pages

    Beowulf: The Benevolent Hero “Let me live in greatness and courage, or here in this hall, welcome my death!” That is the battle cry of the archetype of all heroes, Beowulf. Beowulf was a young man, a Geat, who was given the gift of superhuman strength to battle ferocious, evil monsters both on land and in the ocean. He hears of the horrible monster known as Grendel, who terrified the Danes through his trips to Herot, the mead-hall of the Danish king, Hrothgar, to kill more and more of Hrothgar’s men. Beowulf travels to the land of the Danes to kill Grendel, but did he do it out of the motive to help Hrothgar and his people, or did he do it to gain more fame and popularity?

    Read More

  • Theme Of Grendel In Beowulf

    406 Words  | 2 Pages

    How does point of view affect the theme of Grendel? 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.

    Read More

  • Grendel And Beowulf Compare And Contrast

    226 Words  | 1 Pages

    “How well he had worked, and in that gray morning broke their long feast with tears and laments for the dead. ”(42-44) The mood is the same because both stories show the merciless violence of Grendel. Grendal and Beowulf have different feelings in each of their stories in Grendal it is joyful and beowulf it’s anxious. As Grendel attacks he feels an emotion he didn't expect. “I felt an unearthly

    Read More

  • Iago Vs Grendel Analysis

    968 Words  | 4 Pages

    Readers can learn some things about Grendel in Beowulf but in order to dive deeper into the character and who he is, people go to the book Grendel. The book takes a closer look at Grendel and how he discovers the order and disorder of people and the world (Sanchez). Grendel is thought to symbolize the dark side of humanity, or the sins of man (Farrell). It’s easy for readers to sympathize with Grendel at points because he is a natural outcast of society. He is said to be the son of Cain and because of that he was labeled from day one (Sanchez).

    Read More

  • Grendel In Beowulf

    548 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the epic poem, Beowulf, Grendel is presented as a horrible and vicious monster, who was "spawned in that slime," a reference to the biblical story of Cain, who slayed his brother Abel, which was a horrible sin. In Beowulf, Grendel was never given a chance; his ferocious nature was innately inside of him. But in Josh Gardner’s, Grendel, we are offered a different side of the story as to why Grendel is the way that he is. In the book, Grendel was not born a ferocious killing machine, but instead was shaped by his environment, and as a result was turned into the demon that he has become. An example from the book that proves that Grendel is not distinctly evil can be found at the beginning of Chapter Seven.

    Read More

  • Comparing Beowulf And Grendel's

    349 Words  | 2 Pages

    Today, it is normal for filmworkers to change many stories and adapt them to a more modern audience. In the modern 2005 film Beowulf & Grendel (Gunnarsson) there are many changes to the epic poem of Beowulf (Heaney). Many of these changes can be seen throughout all characters, but Grendel’s by far one of the most different. In the beginning of Beowulf, Grendel is described as nothing but a vicious demon who kills for no apparent reason, while in “the movie” Beowulf and Grendel, Grendel kills, because his father was murdered by The Danes right before his eyes as a child.

    Read More

  • Foils In Beowulf

    1146 Words  | 5 Pages

    Unlike Grendel Beowulf is a human who is wealthy and is his father was known throughout the world for his actions. Beowulf has everything a normal person in Beowulf would want, but Grendel is the symbol of evil and hate to

    Read More

  • Essay Comparing Beowulf And Grendel

    752 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Beowulf And Grendel

    968 Words  | 4 Pages

    Argument Essay: Beowulf and Grendel Many people have read or heard of the epic poem of Beowulf, which spins a tale of Grendel, the monster, attacking the admirable Danes and their king, Hrothgar. Some may not be as aware of a book titled Grendel written by John Gardner in 1971. Gardner’s book tells a completely different account of the more familiar tale of Beowulf, from the perspective of Grendel, the monster. The narrator from Grendel portrays a more plausible, powerful story than the excerpt from Beowulf by drawing the reader in with a more emotional viewpoint from the character Grendel, making him more relatable by giving him humanlike qualities, and clarifying why certain events took place in Beowulf.

    Read More

  • Differences Between The Book And Movie Beowulf

    702 Words  | 3 Pages

    Beowulf went through so much to prove he was worthy enough to protect their kingdom and defeat Grendel. The story Beowulf was a great story to read and a great movie to watch; however, the battles were very eye catching and had a lot of extravagant and heroic doings of Beowulf. The first scenario that I’m going to discuss in the movie and story of Beowulf is The Battle with Grendel. In the movie Grendel attacked Beowulf in the Heriot while everyone was dancing and singing.

    Read More

More about Grendel Vs Beowulf Research Paper

Open Document