Rhetorical Comparison of Beowulf and Grendel
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.
Grendel is a fruit of humans meanness and inconsideration. Grendel isolation and separation from the rest of the world marked his existence. Loneliness can be good for self reflection but it can welcome evil thoughts In the novel by John Gardner , Grendel is very emotional and philosophical unlike how is he is portrayed in beowulf as a bloodthirsty monster. The narrator of
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Beowulf and grendel shows that the tone of a narrator dictates the audience comprehension of the plot. For instance “the a godly curse brute was creating havoc; / greedy and grim,he grabbed thirty men/ from their resting places and rushed to his lair… blundering back with the butchered corpses (line 120-125) to portray to the audience on how evil Grendel is and his atrocious behavior. While in Grendel the author asserts (insrt quote) to show grendel compassion in order to get empathy from the audience.The novel and the poem both tell story but from a different perspective. The poem would appeal to a ( type of audience) while the novel would appeal to a skeptical audience that's in need of background information in order to judge from right and
John Gardner’s Grendel brings a new perspective to the the way the story of Beowulf is told and interpreted. (Grendel’s ability to be influenced by the multiple sources around him changes his outlook on life. It also changes the reader’s ideas of who Grendel is as a character as he develops and changes in the book.) Grendel’s ability to be influenced with ease by multiple characters throughout the book shows his true adolescence and nature to follow others. These multiple characters such as the Dragon, the Shaper, and Wealtheow all are able to use their propaganda to instill into Grendel a new value or trait. Grendel’s adolescence therefore results in multiple sources of propaganda being so influential on him as a character. (is the reason why propaganda from many different sources influences him so heavily.)
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?
One night, as Grendel was sleeping soundly in his home in the swamplands, he was suddenly awakened by the sound of music. The music angered Grendel because he had been up late the night before entertaining his monster friends and was in need of his beauty rest. So he headed out the front door and headed to see what the commotion is all about.
Throughout John Gardner’s Grendel, and Seamus Heaney’s Beowulf, many events and situations make it clear that the stories talk about the same character. Throughout Beowulf, Grendel is seen as a demon that lacks any real motive for his crimes, by the end of Grendel the this side of his is shown after his transformation from innocents to evil. The one key trait that can be seen throughout both Grendel and Beowulf is irrationality. This trait of irrationality is caused in the stories by many of the same reasons as in real life. In John Gardner’s Grendel and Seamus Heaney’s Beowulf, Grendel’s constant perception fluctuations reinforce the themes of irrationality that cause him to act the way he does.
Grendel as a character is very intelligent, he is capable of rational thought at all times. Because of this, at sometimes during the story I would forget Grendel is a monster, the way he acts in his thoughts and actions I would mistake him for a human; at times I was even feeling bad for Grendel because he is a very lonely person who tries to understand all of the meaningless of the world around him. Grendel can never get to close to
One aspect that was the most apparent was the fact that he was such an outcast. In Beowulf, Grendel was “…living down in the darkness, growl[ing] in pain…” because he knew that he did not belong with the Danes and other human beings at all (Raffel 6). Similarly, in Grendel, as interested as he was with the humans and their way of life, he still found himself “…back[ing] away till the honeysweet lure of the harp no longer mocked [him]” (Gardner 4). Grendel was constantly distancing himself from the human beings because he knew he did not belong and they were not willing to give him the gift of acceptance into their group. However, this outlook carried through with Grendel between the two stories to portray just how monstrous and estranged he
He does not act like the blood hungry beast he is seen as in Beowulf. In
From this novel, the audience is able to get into the mind of this monster and feel his pain, loneliness, and misunderstanding as well as come to realize that Grendel is no monster at all, but rather he represents a reflection of man. Although you could argue that man is a monster himself in this story through the merciless and barbaric actions of the humans, especially Beowulf. Beowulf is represented minimally throughout the story, whereas in “Beowulf” he is shown with much more valor. However, In Gardner's Grendel, Beowulf is depicted as a cruel and narcissistic man. For example, Grendel describes Beowulf as a irrational and greedy man, “He’s crazy. I understand him all right, make no mistake. Understand his lunatic theory of matter and mind, the chilly intellect, the hot imagination, blocks and builder, reality as stress”(Gardner 172). Beowulf does not possess the same qualities in Grendel has he does in the epic poem, “Beowulf.” This is due to the contrasting perspectives of the same character in each book. Like the narrator in Beowulf, Grendel is biased because of his intuitive dislike for humans as well as Grendel’s knowledge that Beowulf is seeking to destroy him. Grendel is also an outcast and monitors the day-to-day lives of the Danish people. His opinions of the people are formed based off of what he observes, sees, and hears. This gives Grendel’s opinions of the
Grendel exhibits human feelings and characteristics in many ways. Although Grendel is a monster “forced into isolation by his bestial appearance and limited imagination” (Butts) he yearns to be a part of society; he craves companionship while he is isolated. With his “ear pressed tight against the timbers [of Hart]” (43), he watches and listens to the humans and what goes on in Hart, the meadhall of King Hrothgar, to feel like he is a part of civilization. He also has feelings in relation to specific humans. Just like the citizens of Denmark, he is extremely affected by the Shaper and his songs that are “aswim in ringing phrases, magnificent, golden, all of them, incredibly, lies” (43). Grendel is profoundly “moved by the power of the Shaper’s poetry” (Butts). Queen Wealtheow shows Grendel the feminine, sweet, and kind side of life. “She had secret wells of joy that overflowed to them all” and her peaceful effect on those around her is a main cause of Grendel’s almost obsessive fascination with her and in turn, drives Grendel to feelings of rage. Grendel’s humanlike feelings show that his personality is similar to that of a human, helping those who read his story to relate to him.
In the epic poem Beowulf, the monster Grendel is depicted as a villainous beast with an unquenchable thirst for human flesh and blood. Grendel, written by John Gardner, though, offers a more nuanced depiction of the beast by describing the events in Beowulf through Grendel's narration. Throughout the story, Grendel adopts various romantic characteristics and beliefs including isolation, individualism, and mysticism. These romantic characteristics, though, foster Grendel's murderous intentions and in turn gives him an anti-hero persona. Nearing the end of the novel, his romantic antihero trends transforms his life into a never ending limbo.
When Beowulf is mentioned he is described with positive words like, “marvelous tales” (379), “hero”(399) “fine-forged mesh” “gleaming”(). In contrast, when Grendel is being discussed he gets words like, “gruesome day”(442), “glut himself. “( 443) “gorged and bloodied”(447) “gloating with my raw corpse … in a cruel frenzy, fouling his moor-nest”( 447-450). This shows how highly Beowulf is thought of and how terrible a monster Grendel is. Because Grendel is the epitome of evil Beowulf asks to “purify”(431) Heorot of Grendel’s presence. If Beowulf was sent by God then Grendel is the Devil. Beowulf shows that he is the hero God sent by using words that pertain to Him such as, “Now Holy God has, in His goodness, guided him here” ( 381-382) “ heaven’s dome”(414) “purifying Heorot”(431) “just judgement by God”(
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.
The point of view in which a story is written, when compared to a story about the same event in another point of view, can completely change the way the reader interprets it. Grendel is told from the perspective of Grendel. Beowulf is written in third person omniscient. From the point of view of Grendel he is made to seem to be a child. When you look at Beowulf, Grendel is described as a monster. As people read these stories, they either think of Grendel as this horrible monster or as this innocent little kid, depending on which perspective is being read.
Grendal is known as a monster and portrays one of the many villains in the poem. He is referred to as the "guardian of his sins". Grendal depicts a heathen the physical image of man estranged from God. Basically, Grendal reflects a physical monster, an ogre who is hostile to humanity. Grendal’s constant visits to Hrothgar’s mead hall for bloody feasts made him feel powerful over God’s humanity. Unfortunately, the night Beowulf lies in wait for him, he assumes that his bloody feasts will continue and Grendal gives no attention to his method of attack. Grendal is then killed.
The author of Beowulf demonizes Grendel by depicting him as being purely a monster as compare to John Gardner who depicts Grendel not as a savage monster but as an intelligent being who has human like qualities and characteristics. In the traditional story Grendel is depicted as a blood-thirsty fiend driven by his greedy animal instincts. ...