Often, we can often see how subjective misinterpretation affects the way others determine who you are viewed as and whether or not they choose to accept who you are. In the novel Grendel by John Gardner, Grendel the narrator, who lives in a place where he is simply dismissed as a monster, constantly having an inner turmoil between the conflict of good and evil, and his intentions being misconceived by the human. Grendel is depicted as a destroyer, but in reality is considered an anti hero. While Grendel may be called a monster, in reality he is just a confused creature lacking proper guidance in which causes him to be misconceived frequently by society. Grendel does portray the characteristics of an antagonist such as terrorizing Hrothgar's …show more content…
The first example is the meeting with the dragon. The conversation with the Dragon foreshadows Grendel’s decision of being an anti hero, The Dragon seemingly knowing Grendel’s troubles, decides to deprave and completely tear apart the good within Grendel. Grendel begins to fit the trait of an anti heroism through desperation of wanting to change himself even if it can lead to harming others. The Dragon teaches Grendel that his only purpose in life is by thwarting every fixed system and to fundamentally act as an adversary against humanity. The Dragon also explains to Grendel that without his existence then there would be no human advancement, “Can’t you see that yourself? You stimulate them! You make them think and scheme. You drive them to poetry, science and religion, all you makes them what they are for as long as they last”(Gardner 72-73). The discussion with the Dragon, gives Grendel a reason to exterminate others rather than for self complacency. Another example is his view of the Sharper’s song, Grendel becomes addicted to the Sharper’s song, which creates a sense of sorrow and desperation for acceptance. He tries to change his ways by reproaching and rethinking the ideals of mankind, however he is eventually turned down, which forces Grendel to willingly accepts himself as the descent of Cain from the song of the Sharper . Grendel personally envies the sharper and tries to be like him, “Yet he, the old sharper, might make it true, by the sweetness of his harp, his cunning trickery. It came to me with a fierce jolt that I wanted it”(Gardner 55). After frequently listening to more of the sharper’s song, Grendel begins to learn more about humanity and how they react and live their lives. This causes Grendel to spend time to realize the flaw of his persona and decides to accept the fact that humans loathe him because he is different and
“I wanted it, yes! Even if I must be the outcast,” (55). This is after Grendel has listened to the Shaper’s story about Cain and Abel. Grendel learns that he is the cursed descendant of Cain and is forever destined to be a monster. At first, he didn’t want to believe that is was true but after a while, he gladly accepted the role thus creating his own meaning. “I was Grendel, Ruiner of Meadhalls, Wrecker of Kings!” (80). This is when Grendel is experiencing his newfound invincibility to the humans and their weapons and he is tormenting them. After he visits the dragon in Chapter 5, Grendel has a renewed sense of confidence of who he is - which is a monster. In Chapter 6, he continues to terrorize the Danes and pursuing his monstrous desires. Grendel is acting upon his role as the monster because after speaking to the dragon, he realizes that nothing can stop
...n very human feelings of resentment and jealousy. Grendel was an unstable and saddened figure because of his outcast status. Though Grendel had many animal attributes and a grotesque, monstrous appearance, he seemed to be guided by vaguely human emotions and impulses. He truthfully showed more of an interior life than one might expect. Exiled to the swamplands outside the boundaries of human society, Grendel’s depiction as an outcast is a symbol of the jealousy and hate that seeks to destroy others' happiness and can ultimately cripple a civilization. This take on the outcast archetype ultimately exposes the Anglo Saxon people’s weaknesses, their doubts and anxieties towards the traditional values that bounded nearly every aspect of their life.
Good vs. Evil in John Gardner's Grendel? & nbsp; John Gardner's novel Grendel gives the reader a new perspective on the classic "good vs. Evil" plot. From the start of the book the reader can tell that there is something very unique about the narrator. It is evident that the narrator is a very observant being that can express himself in a very poetic manner. The story is one the reader has most likely seen before, the battle between the glorious thanes and the "evil" beast. In this case, however, the "beast" is the eyes and ears of the. reader. This, of course, forces the reader to analyze situations in the book in the same way that Grendel does. By using this viewpoint, author allows his readers to see the other side of the coin. Therefore, Throughout the course of the novel the reader is able to understand how important to Grendel in defining the human. & nbsp; Grendel's first encounter with the human beings that he literally defines is not a pleasant one. After accidentally trapping himself in a tree he is discovered by a group of thanes out on patrol. Grendel expresses absolutely no hostile intentions towards these "ridiculous" (ch. 2). pp.24) creatures that "moved by clicks." (ch.2, pp.24) The thanes do not understand what Grendel is and are very uneasy about the whole situation.
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.)
What's the difference between good and evil? In John Gardner’s classic tale Grendel the line between good and evil is exceedingly blurred. Gardner does a phenomenal job of forcing the reader to question who the real hero of the story is. So is Grendel evil or simply misunderstood? To answer this question one must look at his basic character traits. Grendel is an unloving creature, he enjoys killing and torturing humans, and when he shows any sort of mercy, he later regrets it. Due to these facts it is impossible to label him as “good”.
Throughout John Gardner’s Grendel, the audience bears witness to a creature who has been ostracized by the world around him. Throughout his journey, the stories protagonist tries to live out his own life the way he wants to, despite being labeled as evil by those around him. Due to this constant criticism by his peers, he develops an inferiority complex that he desperately tries to make up for as the story progresses. Throughout his development, Grendel very rapidly moves past his existentialist beginning, through a brief phase of forced skepticism, and into a severely nihilistic point of view.
Many of the characters in Grendel have direction and purpose in their lives. Wealtheow is self- sacrificing, and Hrothgar is out for personal glory. Unferth and Beowulf spend their lives trying to become great heroes so that their names may outlast their flesh. The dragon believed in nihilism, and the Shaper used his imagination to create something to believe in. Some of the characters’ philosophies may not have been commendable, but Grendel could not find any direction or purpose for his life whatsoever. Grendel looked for the intervention of a power higher than himself to lay the truths of the world upon him, an experience that the Romantics would characterize as an experience of the sublime. John Gardner portrays Grendel as someone who wants to find a philosophy, whether his own or someone else’s, that fits him and gives him an identity or a reason to live. By looking at the text from this perspective we can see how Gardner believes people should pursue, or rather, embrace a power greater than themselves.
Grendel, as a character, has a much more complex identity than just a monster and a human. Some, such as Ruud, classify him as a mixture of three different characteristics, but alone, they tend to conflict with each other. By making the connection that Grendel represents immorality, the previous idea makes more sense, while simultaneously incorporating more aspects of the character into the analysis. In either case, Grendel represents much more than meets the eye, and provides a fascinating insight into
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
This illustrates an inner problem of a suppressed evil side to society. Beowulf and other men that battled Grendel had trouble defeating him with weapons. They all had to tussle with Grendel and everyone except for Beowulf failed at this challenge. Symbolically meaning that that evil side to society will always be there no matter how much people try to fight it. Grendel also plays the role of envy. Imagine him being an outcast with no joy in his life hearing the mead-hall at night and all the laughter, he must have felt envious and longed to be a part of that world. Another symbolic role is revenge. Upon learning that Beowulf has hurt her only child Grendel’s mother becomes angered and seeks revenge. Her and Beowulf battle it out and the mother loses the battle. Relating this back to Cain, Grendel’s mother wants to kill Beowulf and get revenge and just like Cain, she faced her punishment, for her it was
In John Gardner’s novel Grendel, Grendel purveys erroneous intelligence during his journey of escaping isolation and searches for his moral purpose of existence, while facing the challenges of freedom. The philosophy of existentialism underlines an individual’s own righteous development’s taking dominion over his or her actions of self-determination and intellect. Grendel epitomizes the core of fraudulent existentialism and imprisons himself with insanity due to the confusion of outsider beliefs and principles, which lead to his chaotic downfall of coming to the knowledge of truth. Because of the Shaper’s and the Dragon’s influence, Grendel’s immoral boredom, and the
We as humans tend to act how we are perceived, and the same goes for a creature with consciousness as Grendel’s. For example, a cheerleader will typically be labelled “pretty but dumb”, and vice versa for “geeks” or “nerds”. “We tend to evaluate others on their appearance and then move on to treat and interact with them based on these first impressions.” (Wolffhechel 1). With this characterized generalization made towards humans, individuals tend to opt out of disproving these denunciations, willing allowing others to believe what they would like. Self-body image is influenced by many things, “Cash (2004) mentions that the body image develops based on personal experiences, physical characteristics, culture, and personality attributes. However, appearance is dynamic and changes throughout life, being influenced by genetics, nutrition, health, illness, medical, and surgical interventions (Allport, 1966; Harris, 1997).” (da Silva 188). The traits we have affect our social interaction with others as they judge us and view us. In the story, Grendel has an idea of the person he wants to become, but the external forces, the Danes, have a large impact on him, molding him into the “monster” they want him to become. The views the Danes share about Grendel, in the long run will make Grendel see himself as a monstrous creature. “Moreover, while these moral aspects can be theoretically
John Gardner’s Grendel portrays a monster searching for his purpose in life. The characters know the meaning of their lives, but Grendel tries to discover his role and what life has to offer him. Grendel discovers his identity through other characters’ actions and beliefs. In Grendel, John Gardner illustrates the contrasting views of each character to show their view of society and the influence they have on Grendel.
A being cursed for evil goes through life looking for meaning. How can a monster of biblically banished descent be challenged with ideas of morality. In John Gardner’s postmodern novel Grendel, Grendel, explores and speculates on the meaning of life, humanity, and existence while being cursed to life as a monster. Due to his own bleak existence and the observations he has made of mean, Grendel views life as meaningless. Even though he is a descendent of Cain, the distinction between good and evil is blurred in Grendel’s perspective. How can a monster view morality when he is the wicked one yet he watches humans kill each other for bloodshed? Grendel is trying to make sense of an absurd world while the different theories shape his own identity.
Grendel is the embodiment of all that is evil and dark. He is a descendant of Cain and like Cain is an outcast of society. He is doomed to roam in the shadows. He is always outside looking inside. He is an outside threat to the order of society and all that is good. His whole existence is grounded solely in the moral perversion to hate good simply because it is good.