How Is Grendel Influenced By The Dragon

In the novel Grendel by John Gardner, written in 1971, there are numerous concepts of the human nature portrayed and discussed. With the progression of the novel, the humans become develop to be described as increasingly careless, vicious and futile. Starting with Grendel 's first encounter with the humans to the death of the protagonist, Gardner illustrates an unusual view of the humans and their interactions with one another. Grendel begins as a creature similar to the people he observes, with many shared characteristics and thoughts, even though not all of the their actions are understood. His lasting wish is to be accepted into their society, as they accompany each other and he suffers of loneliness.

When shown that our world is but a loop, we choose to continue. When shown that everything we do is simply the same struggle, over and over, forever the same waste of time, we don’t break away. We still go down this path of the least resistance, because we believe that that’s the way the world is. No matter what we as human beings do in life, we seem to be forever trapped in cycles, whether it be a cycle of work, a cycle of love, or any other type. But why do we follow monotonous cycles in life and even conform to such cycles?

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.

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.

Grendel remains in an inner conflict with his beliefs throughout the entire story. He is directed by two compelling desires in which play a role in introducing him to the divergences between good and evil. The Shaper convinces him with his meaningful music, whereas the dragon persuades him through his ideology of nihilism. Both the Shaper and the dragon play a part in influencing his views on the human society.

The Green Knight and Grendel are two characters that represent the face of evil and horror. Grendel is the typical monster. He is massive and malicious. On the other hand, the Green Knight is innovative and capable of living decapitated. Both being similar in the fact that they are meant to portray the same type of character (antagonist), they are different in the way they challenge the protagonists and how they grow as characters.

Grendel: A Demon of Depravity Evil exists naturally within us, it always has and always will. And while it may not be a finite item, that we can touch and see, the beings that possess it are. Arguably the most critical concept in John Gardner's epic, Grendel, evil, as a character trait, is well adopted by the text's main antagonist, Grendel. Not a human but a self-conscious being, Grendel is portrayed as one of the most vile beasts depicted in literature, as he initiates scenes of blood-curdling murder, feeding a ruthless addiction all the while. Despite carrying out such heinous acts, the reader may find himself caring for Grendel, possibly routing for him at points as he battles with the Thames and even his own thoughts.

In the novel Grendel, the Shaper’s messages connect strongly with human society as to how people influence each other. Nowadays, many leaders such as the President of the United States who convinces people to do many things. For instance, in the states, we can find a modern day shaper, Donald Trump. He is trying to convince people to “kill evil", by sending his messages via Twitter. This can also be found in Grendel, in which the Shaper shows that humans need a message that convinces them to fight evil.

In the poem Beowulf, there is a contrast between good and evil. This distinction is presented through the monsters Grendel and his mother, in parallel to the hero Beowulf. The themes of evil and monstrosity are therefore used in the story, as a way to create the notion of Grendel and his mother as monsters. Beowulf therefore appears as a character representing good. Although Beowulf shows traits of abnormal power, like Grendel and his mother, his motifs are interpreted differently.

The character I was assigned from Mr. Halliday was BeoWulf. BeoWulf is a mighty and fierce warrior. He hears the news that there is a monster attacking people in the Land of Dane, and no one has been able to fight him, and whoever tries they end up dying. So then he thinks that he should be the one and then he Call’s to the Adventure, so then Beowulf argues with his father about going to the Land of Dane, but his father thinks that it is too dangerous, but despite the fact of his father, BeoWulf scurries to kill the evil monster, whose name is Grendel. He goes to the land of Dane to fight Grendel, and ends up defeating him.

Grendel is a human-eating devious creature that seeks revenge on the Danes. Throughout the story Beowulf by Tom Shippey, Grendel is known as a very dangerous creature. Many people see him as a threat and they are very scared of him. Every night he seeks revenge on the Danes for the misery they have put him through his whole life. When Beowulf comes in to be a hero and save the day tells told Hrothgar “That I, alone and with the help of my men, May purge all evil from this hall” (165-167).