In the book Grendel, John Gardner conveys Grendel's loneliness by Grendel's attacks on the people showing the lack of companionship drives him to destroying other people through his actions, thoughts and relationships. Body paragraphs: Grendel's loneliness is expressed greatly through his thoughts. The authors describes Grendel's need to jeopardize others people life just because Grendel is unhappy. The quote, "Pointless, ridiculous monster crouched in the shadows, stinking of old men, murdered children, martyred cows" (Gardner 6). This proves Grendel's view of the world is horrid and he has nothing in his life meaningful to him. Grendel believes he has no role in this world and he's always on the outside of everything, and he doesn't really know why he exists. Gardener wants to portray Grendel as an angry, lonely monster at the beginning to give the readers a good understanding of the main character. As Grendel continues his …show more content…
Grendel takes his loss out on the people, by hurting them. His actions speak for his words, “two nights later I went back. I was addicted. The Shaper was singing the glorious deeds of the dead men, praising war. He sang how they'd fought me. 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” (Gardner 123). Grendel’s only thing he has is his power to beat things up and kill things that are happy unlike him. He is an upset person who is jealous of people that are
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 is often described in a negative way. He is reffered to as a demon in the text “from Beowulf”
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.
Grendel was a being sung about in the songs of the shaper, who twisted tales to fit his own means. In the song Grendel was made out to be a wretched monster, without intellect, who only sought to kill. This wasn’t the case entirely. Grendel was determined to enter society, to be a part of their gatherings, instead at every turn he was chased away, cursed, and attacked. He was only a monster to those in the mead hall, a beast who could never be a part of them.
When Grendel is first presented, he is described 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.
Grendel in the novel is very different from the monster in Frankenstein because Grendel wants to and enjoys to humiliate and kill people, the monster in Frankenstein wants to be able to socialize with people without them getting frightened by his appearance. They are alike because they are both alone, they both frighten people with their looks, and they are not welcome in the human world. Grendel in the novel knows he is a fright to people, he is danger. He doesn’t seem to have a problem with that, but at the same time is not proud of it, either. He does like the pain of others, preferably king Hrothgar and his men.
This time however, he is swept away by a person name the Shaper, who Grendel is ultimately scared of, because of the fact that the shaper is very good at changing the view of people very easily. During this same period, Grendel started to become more violent as well, first by attacking the humans. Grendel didn’t like the way Hrothgar lived and made the Mead Hall and in response, Grendel started to attack it at night. He killed anyone and everything that came into his sight, and even ate the humans. Grendel now became a real threat to the humans, which inevitably changed his status from sinister to pure
Grendel begins attacking the humans, “I eat and laugh until I can barely walk, my chest-hair matted with dribbled blood... my belly rumbles, sick on their sour meat” (Gardner 12). Grendel went from crying for his mother when his foot got stuck in a branch to killing and eating dozens of people. Seeing the events that lead up to this how Grendel did helps us further see the transformation he is making. It’s the isolation from the humans that transforms Grendel, “Not, of course, that I fool myself with thoughts that I'm more noble.
He shows no remorse for the violent crimes he commits and acts as the main source of what barbaric truly is to the audience. The author introduces him in the poem by writing, “Grendel was the name of this grim demon haunting the marches, marauding round the heath and the desolate fens; he had dwelt for a time in misery among the banished monsters” (Beowulf 101-104). He is the farthest thing from God and everyone that encounters him can immediately identify him as someone who has no morals. Grendel’s outright defiance of all that is good is what leads him to own his demise because he is the reason Beowulf comes to the Danes.
He asks the cosmos for someone to talk to, but of course receives no answer. Despite his aspirations to philosophical introspection, Grendel is essentially a lonely child looking for a friend. He envies both the Shaper and Hrothgar their companionship, even though he is constantly complaining about their self-deception and futility. Grendel sees the companionship of another as something higher (at least at the moment) than some abstract set of principles by which to live his life. So much for heroism.
He attempts to make peace, his actions are no different than those of others, and he is experiencing resentment. Although there is no excuse for murdering others, Grendel does not kill for the fun of it. His actions are just reactions to emotions he is experiencing. Furthermore, his willingness to make peace emphasizes the remorse he feels for the crimes he has committed. This also shows that he acted impulsively because of his strong feelings of resentment.
This is the beginning of Grendel falling directly into the role that the dragon said he would need to fill. Grendel’s murderous tendencies completely reflect the monstrous side of his personality and the more he kills the more he grows insane, separating from rational, humanistic thought. “I am swollen with excitement, bloodlust and joy and a strange fear that mingle in my chest like the twisting rage of a bone-fire... I am blazing, half-crazy with joy” (168). It is clear that, by the time Beowulf arrives, Grendel has embraced the fact that he is required to be evil, despite the fact that he previously claimed he would oppose that destiny.
To begin with , Grendel seemed to be a creature of free will, there are a number of things to take into consideration ,the first and most important being a matter of his birth .Being born a monster put him at a disadvantage where his appearance was put before almost everything else . Grendel was often judged on his appearance as seen with the reactions of almost everyone who saw him . He often tries to choose his own fate but seems to hold
Grendel in the novel displays the idea that he is far more superior than mankind. He mentions, "I am swollen with excitement, bloodlust and joy and a strange fear that mingle in my chest like the twisting rage of a bonfire" (Gardner 167-168). Grendel knows that that the people fear him because he is different and he uses that to his advantage. The "Monster", Grendel, seems to be fascinated in attacking Meadhall and is not frightened at all. Although he is brave in the novel, Grendel in the epic poem is described in being scared and weak on the attack at Meadhall.
Therefore, ultimately resulting in the use of violence and brutality to restore order and peace once again. Grendel whole existence is shrouded in darkness and mystery, which foster widespread fear among the mass due to their inability to control or comprehend