Grendel's Human Nature

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,” 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.

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.

Grendel Grendel was the monster that was killing all of Hrothgar’s men. Grendel was evil, smart, and stealthy making him dangerous. Beowulf stopped Grendel but not before he killed many of people. Grendel was a descendant of Cain who was punished for killing his brother Abel. Since Grendel was born from evil he could never be happy which angered him when he heard all the people in Herot having a good time.

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”

Shadow Stalker, God-cursed Grendel, The Captain of Evil, and Monster are all nicknames of one creature. This one creature was named Grendel who brilliantly said “Balance is everything”. For Grendel to figure out that balance, or in other words the yin and yang, is integral to living says a lot about a “murderer.” Grendel cannot live without a hero and a hero cannot live without a challenge. The humans symbolize the hero withstanding the forces of Grendel, while Grendel symbolizes the villain trying to hurt and dismantle the hero. This constant fighting creates a balance between the two forces of good and evil, until one succumbs to the other.

The isolation Grendel had to deal with could represent the struggles of homosexual individuals have especially the idea of being secluded from the main body of society. A keen interest can be noted when “” Also when deciding to not kill the queen, he “concentrated on the memory of the ugliness between her legs (Gardner 110)” and proceeded to laugh. That moment in time could implement his disinterest in a woman or as he reduced her to like a child. Whether or not the character of Grendel is a homosexual creature, there is enough evidence to make a point and the conditions of his situations do hold reasoning on

Up until the end of Chapter 7, Grendel’s actions are influenced by the dragon.  He believes nothing matters, there is no good or bad, and everybody eventually dies. The people of Heort know Grendel as a monster and a killer and he lives up to his reputation. He says he can crush all the men in meadhall in a single night. Grendel states, ”My enemies define themselves...on me” (91).  But Grendel starts to question himself and realizes he needs humans as much as they need him.  Grendel thinks, “What will we call the Hrothgar-Wrecker when Hrothgar has been wrecked?” (91). While Grendel is thinking about what life will be like without him and the men of the meadhall, Wealtheow’s beauty charms Grendel. He says, “She was beautiful, as innocent as

At the end of Chapter 12, Grendel’s last words were “Poor Grendel’s had an accident … So may you all.” (Gardner 174). Such words are meant as a curse to affect mankind. To start off, Grendel’s relationship with humans are not great. For example, when Grendel went to the hall to bring the dead body he found, “drunken men rushed me with battle-axes .. I sank to the my knees, crying, “Friend! Friend!” (Gardner 52). Such can imply that Grendel’s relationship with humans is like battling in war. 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

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.

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

When talking about Grendel, he pretty much goes through a few stages as a little kid and to how he is at the moment. As a kid, Grendel was mostly innocent when he pondered and wandered around his own world that was also an unknown for him, such as the universe. In his “prime”, he discovers a lake of fire snakes, that is full of danger and just treacherous. When he crosses this lake, it shows that he is going into adulthood, pretty much. Also how the encounters has been making impacts on Grendel and changing his personality.

When he is in his cave alone, Grendel states, ““Why can’t I have someone to talk to?” I said. The stars said nothing, but I pretended to ignore the rudeness.” (Gardner 53) While Grendel isn’t completely alone because he has his mother, the difference in language prevents communication or connection that would normally be provided. Since he has no one to talk to, he not only feels alone, but he also is in search for a friend/companion.

When Grendel is first presented, he is described as

Grendel in the novel is more similar than different to "the monster" in Frankenstein because Grendel in the novel is miserable, "the monster" in Frankenstein is alone, and Grendel in the novel realizes who he is or what he wants.