Compare And Contrast Grendel And Beowulf

724 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Grendel in beowulf analysis

Beowulf and Grendel The epic poem Beowulf is an amazing story about heroism, bravery, and courage of man named Beowulf who rids a town of a monster who has been killing its people for over twelve years. While the author of this poem is unknown, he does an amazing job providing the reader with vivid details and an overall good story of the journey and life of Beowulf whom fights three monster to save the lives of others. The first monster Beowulf fights is Grendel, Grendel is monster who kills just to make others unhappy. While reading the story of the battle between Beowulf and Grendel, the reader learns of many similarities and differences between the two characters.
Throughout the story, Beowulf is described as the perfect hero with a big heart and great courage. Beowulf exemplifies the all the traits for the perfect hero during the three battles he encounters in the story, both in young and old age. During his youth, he is said to have the strength of thirty men and courage greater than any other person alive. A mix of these two traits help to shape Beowulf into the amazing warrior and hero he is in the story. The reader first learns about his strength when the story of the swimming …show more content…

Grendel being the anti-hero of the story and then Beowulf being the hero of the story. Both are very strong, Beowulf having the strength the thirty men and Grendel being a huge monster protected by a curse. However, Beowulf is a very selfless man whom shares his treasures to the soldiers who accompanied him in his battles. When offered the chance to become king, Beowulf refuses because the heirs of the throne had not served and died. With that being said, Grendel is very selfish monster whose motive was to darken the happiness and stop the celebrations of the people of Heorot. Beowulf is also a very loyal man while Grendel is loyal to no

Show More
Related

  • A Comparison of Grendel in Beowulf and John Gardner's Grendel

    740 Words  | 2 Pages

    In both works, Beowulf and Grendel, Grendel himself is generally given the same connotations. He is given kennings, called names, referred to as the evil spawn of Cain, and even viewed as a monster; but why? Why in both books is he a wicked, horrible, person who is harshly excluded from everyone? After stumbling upon John Gardner's book, it was halfway expected that some excuse would be made for Grendel; that he wasn't really the inexorable monster the thanes in Beowulf portrayed him as. But all it really did was make him worse. What is the message we are being sent about Grendel?

    Read More

  • Elements Of Evil In Beowulf

    702 Words  | 2 Pages

    In times before printed books were common, stories and poems were passed from generation to generation by word of mouth. From such oral traditions come great epics such as England’s heroic epic, Beowulf. In Beowulf, the monster Grendel serves as the evil character acting against the poem’s hero, as shown by his unnatural strength, beast-like qualities, and alienation from society.

    Read More

  • Beowulf And Grendel Comparison Essay

    712 Words  | 2 Pages

    Grendel in the novel Grendel by John Gardner, and Grendel in the poem Beowulf, which has an unknown author, presents two different views of the same character due to the perception differences of Gardner and the unknown author. Grendel in Beowulf and the story of his namesake both have notable similarities and differences that make each distinctive from one another.

    Read More

  • Beowulf: The Exemplary Hero of Geat

    906 Words  | 2 Pages

    Beowulf is one of the most iconic and influential heroic journeys of all time. Beowulf, son of Ecgtheow, is a Geat and like no other warrior ever seen before. He is the strongest man alive. He has the strength of thirty men in his arm alone. When Beowulf was only a boy, he had battles with his friends and swam for miles with his sword in his hand and armor on the rest of his body. When he battles Grendel's mother, it is said that Beowulf is underwater for nearly half a day. Aside from being a great warrior, he is also very smart and modest about his strength. When Beowulf arrives in Heorot, he is confronted with opposition. The king, Hrothgar allows Beowulf to fight because has known Beowulf's father, Ecgtheow, and Hrothgar saved him from

    Read More

  • Beowulf And Grendel Comparison

    954 Words  | 2 Pages

    Andy Stanley, author of Louder Than Words: The Power of Uncompromised Living, wrote, “Your character is not stagnant, it is either developing or deteriorating.” While his book was primarily focused on middle-aged humans, Stanley’s quote can easily be used to depict Grendel’s extensive inner journey in Grendel by John Gardner. Grendel was a one who raised himself through years of relentless observation of his surroundings. He was immature, unsure of what life was beyond his mother, and uncertain of what he was and how he fit into the world. He lived with no intention. Thus, it was not until Grendel was introduced to the Shaper, the dragon, and Beowulf that he began to evolve and then drastically devolve. Grendel, while vilified in the epic Beowulf, was the victim in his own story. His character was so

    Read More

  • Abigail Compare And Contrast Beowulf And Grendel's

    1287 Words  | 3 Pages

    Now, both the Captain and Grendel have those who continue to shape their own worlds which they affiliate with, for Grendel the first is the Shaper, a muse, on who tells songs of glory. He is also a liar. In Grendel's eyes this man shapes people's perspectives through lies and deception, however even Grendel cannot help but fall victim to the stories become entranced with his tales. Grendel is once again torn. Grendel has been enlightened, the beauty of the Shapers tales sweeping him up, and laying out a new past which Grendel knew never occurred. This confused Grendel, knowing the deceitful and false nature of the stories yet all the while fascinated by its beauty, and ability to convince as he listened Grendel began to focus on his monstrous

    Read More

  • Grendel And Beowulf Compare And Contrast

    844 Words  | 2 Pages

    Beowulf and Grendel from the book are significantly different from Beowulf and Grendel(Gunnarsson,2005) from the movie.(Heaney,2000) Beowulf and Grendel from the book are one dimensional characters, and the Beowulf and Grendel from the movie act more complex than in the book. The Beowulf from the movie expresses the cultural belief of morality when he changes throughout the movie of how he feels about Grendel while Grendel from the movie shows the cultural belief of prejudice.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Grendel Vs Beowulf

    766 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the epic poem Beowulf, Grendel, a monstrous being, is portrayed as a demon as opposed to Beowulf which shows Beowulf as a hero. John Gardner’s novel Grendel is a novel that is written in the point of view of Grendel rather than Beowulf. From all the descriptions given in Grendel, Gardner tries to portray Grendel as more humane than the actual humans, portrayed as more good than bad, and also a sacrifice himself for humans. Throughout Grendel, there are some messages that show how humans at the time acted.

    Read More

  • Grendel And Beowulf Comparison Essay

    473 Words  | 1 Pages

    Like we all know there are always two side to every story. The story might be the same, but the tone of each narrator make the story unique and shapes the readers understanding of the events. Both novels are based on the story of beowulf killing Grendel and the various element that brought us to that event. Nevertheless the two divergent point view telling the story create an extremely different novels. In Beowulf the author describe Grendel as a descendant of Cain the first murderer in the Bible. Grendel as a monster that goes around causing havoc for no particular reason.While in Grendel he is perceived as different creature looking to be welcome and understanded but his mistreated by the humans.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Leadership In Beowulf

    630 Words  | 2 Pages

    “He twisted in pain, and the bleeding sinews deep in his shoulder snapped, muscle and bone split and broke.” The folk epic Beowulf was translated by Burton Raffle. Beowulf and the monsters are the main characters. Grendel is a vicious monster that has been killing everyone in Hrothgar kingdom for 12 years. Beowulf heard about these horrible actions and he came to help Hrothgar. He killed Grendel and his mother. 50 years later, Beowulf came to help again to kill a dragon; however, Beowulf was old and not as strong as he was when he was younger. Beowulf was defeated. Beowulf followers, The Geats, had ran frightened by the dragon except for Wiglaf, he stayed and killed the dragon, because he remembered the promise they had made to Beowulf to repay his kindness with kindness when the time came with their lives. In Beowulf, the ideal of conduct of the Anglo-Saxon culture is displayed through Beowulf’s bravery, self-confidence, loyalty, and leadership.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Grendel Vs Beowulf

    949 Words  | 2 Pages

    Beowulf is one of the oldest pieces of english literature that is known to this day. Grendel, written in 1971, was written based off this story from the monster, Grendel’s, perspective. Seeing thing from the perspective of the monster, rather than the first person point of view of Beowulf, allows readers to see a new side of the battle between good and evil. In Beowulf, the theme is presented that monsters are destined to be evil, and heroes are destined to have power until their last fight; however, Grendel contrasts this theme by making it clear that monsters become evil by means of isolation and others’ words and actions.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Grendel And Beowulf

    295 Words  | 1 Pages

    Adaptations are a result of change in society, which is apparent between the text of Beowulf and the film Beowulf and Grendel. The appearance of Grendel himself is one of the largest adaptations between the text and film. In the text, Grendel is described as a monstrous creature whose skin is scaly and rigid. Today’s society would not view him as realistic and would fail to have a good understanding of Grendel. Watching the film Beowulf and Grendel introduced adaptations of Grendel himself. The monstrous creature from the text has a plethora of characteristics that reveal him very humanly, looking only as if he is an ungroomed man, in the film. Seeing Grendel’s appearance in Beowulf and Grendel show the “monster” in a humanistic way to

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Grendel And Beowulf

    1071 Words  | 3 Pages

    In both John Gardner’s Grendel, and the poem Beowulf, there are significant differences between characters, and the way they are portrayed in each of the tellings. The interpretation of a hero is usually altered in order to fit the audience, such as, Saddam Hussein in America is made out to be this monster whereas, in his home country Iraq, he is looked at as a hero and idolized by some. In each telling, Grendel and Beowulf have many similarities in how they are described in each writing, but each character is also shown in a different light in each of the writings.

    Read More

  • Beowulf Vs. Grendel

    551 Words  | 2 Pages

    Grendal, a descendant of Cain, is one of the main antagonist of the poem Beowulf. He lives under an inherited curse and is denied God’s presence. Throughout the story Grendal causes enormous grief and fear to the people of Herot. After so much pain and agony the king of Herot, Hrothgar, sends for the protagonist of the poem, Beowulf. He is a Geat and the epic hero of the poem. The wide variety of distinctions between Grendal and Beowulf is what develops the climax of the composition. Beowulf kills Grendal, so he is honored by the people of Herot for his heroic act. Since Grendal and Beowulf play opposite roles in the poem, Beowulf, they let the reader know how contrasting characters can develop the plot of the story.

    Read More

  • Beowulf as an epic

    683 Words  | 2 Pages

    Beowulf’s first accomplishment as an epic hero was his battle with Grendel. Grendel was a huge beast, a descendent of Cain, who ruthlessly murdered innocent Danes because he felt pity for himself. Upon hearing of the Dane’s problem, Beowulf set off to help the Danish without having been called upon. Even though Beowulf had men backing him, He drew battle with Grendel alone and without armor or weapons. Yet, Beowulf emerged victorious with the arm of Grendel as his trophy. Beowulf then went on to kill Grendel’s vengeful mother and a huge fire-breathing dragon who thought it had been done wrong by the Geats. Alas, the killing of the dragon would be Beowulf’s last great battle for the dragon took Beowulf’s life in the struggle for his own.

    Read More

More about Compare And Contrast Grendel And Beowulf

Open Document