Grendel's Creature In Beowulf

In Beowulf, Grendel the dragon is looked at in a very negative light, as an evil character. This is due to the strong descriptive words that the author uses, such as: “a powerful monster…in darkness…growled in pain” (pg.41 L. ). These words paint a clear picture of Grendel, and it supplies you a feeling for how evil the beast truly is. The epic states that Grendel was “spawned in that slime” (pg.41 L.), giving a very dark image of what he was conceived into. Grendel is a character of true evil.

Neither Grendel nor the humans tried to understand the other, and they hated each other because of it. This is an idea that everyone can connect with as people act first and do what they think is best without trying to understand how others may feel. For example, Athens attacked a small island called Melos in 415 BCE. Athens took over during war to gain a strategic advantage, and this was very much the start of the debate “might over right.” Now, many think that Athens did not take into account the opinion of Melos when they conquered them. Today we do many of the same things, attacking and conquering others, like the American Indians, without seeing anything wrong with it. This is the true power of the book as it tries to inform the reader that you have to fully understand something before you make a brash decision to

In the story Beowulf, the character Grendel is highly misunderstood. Grendel was born in the wild marshes outside of Herot. Being raised in such harsh conditions, Grendel grew to hate the Danes and God. As a descendant of Cain, he was banished as a small child and forced to live in exile with his mother. He is portrayed in the poem as a horrendous beast with human characteristics, but looking closer to the text, he is a human out-casted and raised to be a monster. Although Grendel is written as a monstrous villain who kills with no remorse, he is actually a complex human with a repressed anger exploding in bursts.

Grendel's self image changes throughout the story because the effect that some characters that they take upon Grendel’s personality. Grendel’s mother has had an effect on him through the story, he's had a soft spot when it comes to his own mother. For example, “ Of all the creatures i knew, in those days only my mother really looked at me” (Gardner 17). Grendel is hideous, no one really pays attention to him. He's too ugly too look at, people get scared when they see him because of the way he looks. Although, he feels loved by his mother, that's always there for him when hes has no one to turn too. He says “ She loved me, in some mysterious sense I understood without her speaking it” (Gardner 17). She the only person that helps him when he's

Grendel is seen as a monster that terrorizes the village in the eyes of the people. He doesn’t fit into their society and has no way of knowing how to fit in. He has no companion, except his mom, and was prone to anger and indiscriminate violence.

Many time we are asked why we do the things we do. What is our motivation for the things we do? Does someone tell us it do it or do we do it because it’s fun? You can find motivation in many strange and different things. Motivation can be derived from family or friends, personal interest, and even conflict. In Beowulf, there are fights with three different monsters. Beowulf, the hero, has different motivations for fighting each monster. Beowulf didn’t have to fight any of these monsters, but he choose to. During the epic poem, Beowulf, Beowulf’s motivations for fighting the monsters are duty, glory, and sacrifice.

The “Monstrous ogress” was “savage in her grief,” and her actions become even more beastly than her sons (Beowulf 1258-76). Women in this Germanic Warrior society were meek, so the actions of Grendel’s mother greatly contrast with the typical behavior of a woman in this time period. Grendel’s mother’s gruesome actions are beastly in nature, but her emotions of outrage and grief for the murder of her son are human. Once again, Beowulf’s victory of the savage monster shows the overall theme of good winning against evil.

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

Always we portray Grendel as the monster and destructive character. However, in the novel by John Gardner that is a different case. We see Grendel as a emotional and sympathetic character. For example, Grendel states, “It wasn 't because he threw that battle-ax that I turned on Hrothgar. That was mere midnight foolishness... It wasn 't until later, when I was full-grown and Hrothgar was an old, old man, that I settled my soul on destroying him—slowly and cruelly” (Gardner 30). This quote is justifying that fact that Grendel is not such a monster and his actions were mere foolishness. So to elaborate even though Grendel maybe destructive he doesn 't do the things he doesn 't do these things for fun or to be devious he is just foolish. He really doesn 't want to actually hurt anyone. Another example that Grendel is not a monster is that he states in the novel, “And so begins the twelfth year of my idiotic war. The pain of it! The stupidity!” (Gardner 5). This quote is very straightforward and simple although we can get so much from it. For instance, this quote is conveying that Grendel hates fighting with the humans and he is suffering from it. 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.

She then tries to avenge his death by brutally killing many men of Herot. She, like her son, causes much distress for the kingdom. On lines 441-445, citizens of the kingdom as of Beowulf’s help. The quote says, “Our only help, Again, lies with you. Grendel’s mother Is hidden in her terrible home, in a place You’ve not seen. Seek it of you dare! Save us.” (pg. 52) Beowulf is very aggravated by what Grendel’s mother is doing therefore, he travels to kill her too. A mighty and dangerous battle between Beowulf causes great confliction for the epic hero. During the time, it had seemed that Grendel’s mother was about to win victory over Beowulf. That is until Beowulf used his mighty sword, killing Grendel’s mother. The fact that Beowulf is willing enough to kill Grendel’s mother shows how determined he is to be classified as a

In “Beowulf,” there are many concepts of good and evil portrayed in the epic poem by an unknown author. Beowulf brings good to the Geats. The people would say he was a gift from the Gods to battle and demolish the evil. The monsters, however, cause trouble to the people and bring out the evil in everything. These elements of good and evil help define this an epic poem.

To begin, when Grendel is first introduced he is alone, watching and casting questions towards a ram and the sky, however he receives no answer. This is a first look into the mindset of this descendent of Cain, Grendel has no one to speak to. Later on, when his mother is introduced, it is revealed that she is incapable of verbally speaking with her son. This lack of communication creates a canyon between Grendel and his mother, one that no bridge can cover. There is no mother or God to guide or teach him the ways of socialization, and so, he is isolated; watching the lives of others through a crack in a wall. He is, as the shaper sings, “The terrible race cursed by God”. (Gardner 51) Similar to how Grendel was abandoned, the Monster of Frankenstein was dealt a similar fate. From the moment the Monster opened his eyes, his creator refused and rejected him. Dr. Victor Frankenstein had created a

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. It leads gradually to his increasing isolation (Gardner par. 15 line. 1-2)”. Since Grendel can not talk to his mother because of her speech impairment nor the dragon because of the intelligence gap and the dragon’s dark philosophy he has no one to turn to after his peers and society reject him. This leads his murder spree and eventually his

In Beowulf, Grendel’s mother a monster, who is given the qualities of a women and represents women who are not submissive to their husbands. “Grendel’s mother, monstrous hell bride, brooded on her wrongs.”(Beowulf, page 56, lines 58, 59). In this quote Grendel’s mother is described as “monstrous” or in other words evil. She is portrayed as a crazy monster who has no control over her own actions. Since she does not have a man to control her she is portrayed as ruthless and wild. She is given a bad image because she does meet the standard society put for her; she does not have a husband. According to the article “The Social Centrality

The Upbringing of an individual can cause the impression in behaviors and personality of that individual. The way in one is perceived can also cause a reaction. The classic novel of Beowulf and the spinoff novel Grendel by John Gardner both contain the same characters and creatures that can be viewed differently because of how they were developed and ultimately which novel defines them.