The Halo Effect In Grendel's '

The story “Grendel” portrays our main character, Grendel, as a kind and naïve creature with a heart of gold. While growing up isolated, Grendel did not have many interactions between any human like creatures. Grendel’s lack of interaction with humans in due course stunts many social skills it will take Grendel to make companionship with the humans. According to research, humans are born with a sense of moral obligation to do what is right rather than wrong, but, “…we also need society and parental nurturing to intervene.” (Born good?), Paul Bloom, a professor of psychology, at Yale University explains. As the story progresses Grendel becomes increasingly fascinated with the humans or the Dane civilization. As he encounters the humans, he soon

(Gibson 300). With this halo effect, biases that are made at Grendel’s character are based off his physical state and behavior. “…[T]o some extent, a bias to favor the self – where the self could be people who look like me, people who act like me, people who have the same taste as me – is a very strong human bias. It is what would one expect from a creature like us [humans] who evolved from natural selection, but it has terrible consequences.” (Born good?). As in the story “Grendel”, the Danes treat Grendel with no respect or open-mindedness, because of his appearance and immediately attack him. “Fontaine (2000) argues that defining personality becomes a dangerous task, and may lead to misconceptions through external effects that mistake personality with reputation…” (da Silva 188). The predisposed opinions the Danes have about Grendel will lead them to treat Grendel the way he was viciously dealt with throughout the story. These biased perceptions the Danes have towards Grendel, have consequences as Mr. Bloom speaks of. The consequences include repercussions from Grendel, as he learns to embrace his monstrous identity and kill the humans without hesitation nor remorse.

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