The Metamorphosis of Grendel
The majority of John Gardner's Grendel revolves around a monster-like character named Grendel. The reader is allowed access to Grendel's subconscious and inner monologue, giving one the sense of a very close relationship with the main character. This tends to beguile one into sympathizing with him and thinking of him as a protagonist because historically in literature the main character of a novel has always been the "good guy." However, he proves himself to be very much the anti-hero in the novel many times over. Grendel's social contact with the world is extremely limited, but his persona is greatly influenced by each brief encounter with another character.
The first major influential character Grendel encounters is The Shaper, a blind old wise man. The first mention of him is in Chapter 1 when Grendel is attacking Herorot. While all the town's men, women and children are frozen in awe and horror, The Shaper is able to think quickly and jump out the window of the building he was in and run away. Grendel admires him for his ability to think and act quickly, as well as for possessing vast knowledge he can only dream of ever acquiring. Grendel wishes he had the mind of the Shaper and begins to feel jealous, so he subconsciously tries to become more like him. The Shaper's songs teach Grendel a lot about the humans in the surrounding regions and how they think and live. Everyone loves and respects him, which makes Grendel want to be like him even more. As he realizes the Shaper's popularity and goodness, he begins to realize why people don't like him. Grendel spends a lot of time thinking and realizes the flaws in his character, subconsciously deciding that he doesn't really care if the humans hate him because he isn't a human and doesn't have to live by the same standards or expectations as they do. He was born a monster, and as a monster he has a job to do: to "frustrate all established order" and terrorize the humans.
In Chapter 5, we meet the Dragon for the first time. Prior to seeing the Dragon, Grendel's mother was the only thing he had seen that was more powerful than him.
Archetypes refer to the persistently recurring symbols or motifs in literature. The term itself has its origins in ancient Greek and continues to play a prominent role in analyzing literature. Archetypal images and story patterns encourage readers to participate ritualistically in basic beliefs, fears, and anxieties of their age. These archetypal features not only constitute the eloquence of the text but also tap into a level of desires and concerns of civilization. The Anglo-Saxon poem, Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney, integrates many of the common archetypes that still exist today. The outcast archetype is one that particularly expressed the desires, anxieties and values of the people who lived during the Beowulf era. Grendel, a character of monstrous appearance and hazily human emotion, is portrayed as the principal outsider in Beowulf. The incorporation of a banished character against his fellow society effectively expressed the anxiety and fears that the Anglo-Saxon culture felt towards seclusion and abnormality, caused by a societal absorption in family lineage and traditionalism.
John Gardner's revolutionary style is not encompassed by a single genre; instead, he mixes first-person narrative and several different literary styles to give the "Ruiner of Meadhalls" a unique voice. The use of first-person narrative is essential to convey Grendel's spiritual growth. Were it not for Grendel's often self-deprecatory tone, which varies from mocking - "big shaggy monster intense and earnest, bent like a priest at his prayers" (72) - to bitter and cynical - "I, Grendel, was the dark side. The terrible race that God cursed" (51) - Grendel would be impossible to relate to. Even Grendel's bouts of insanity - (whispering, whispering. Grendel has it occurred to you my dear that you are crazy?)" are easily understood.
Perhaps he would actually like to live a normal life with the humans. “Some evil inside myself pushed out into the trees, I knew what I knew, the mindless, mechanical bruteness of things, and when the harper’s lure drew my mind away from hopeful dreams, the dark of what was and always was reached out and snatched my feet.” (Gardner 54) It seems as though Grendel would like to change things if he could, but some outside force will not allow it. Even if this is true, Grendel is still inherently evil. Despite whatever dreams he may have. The reader simply cannot ignore the fact that he still does evil deeds with evil intentions. He is seemingly unable to feel love, or at least disinterested in it. He enjoys torturing and killing humans and rarely shows mercy. Due to these facts, it is impossible to say Grendel is a hero in this
This ‘beast’, the protagonist of the story, fights an internal struggle, of which is a part of the Hero’s Journey. Grendel is unable to decide what to make of himself and of the world surrounding him. He has only ever known the world as wild and mechanical, yet he is charmed by the artistic brilliance of the Shaper’s words. Grendel ultimately meets a brutal yet peaceful demise. Standing on the face of the same cliff he found himself in the beginning of the novel, surrounded by mindless eyes, he states, “Poor Grendel’s had an accident. So may you all.” (Grendel, John Gardner, pg.174) Previous to this, he questions if what he is feeling is joy. The reader is lead to believe that Grendel must feel nothing but peace. This, is the concluding moment of his
In John Gardner’s Grendel, the Shaper is an important contributing character that carries the plot in a historical sense. During the first encounter between the monster and the humans, Grendel hears of the stories and tales the Shaper is singing about in Hrothgar’s mead-hall. Throughout the story the Shaper tells about Danish history and the creation of man’s existence and Grendel is fascinated by this. After listening to the Shaper’s stories, Grendel starts to realize that what he is saying is not true, “I too crept away, my mind aswim in ringing phrases, magnificent, golden, and all of them, incredibly, lies,” and starts to question what is true and what is not (Gardner 43). The Shaper’s eloquent tales had a large effect on Grendel, “He told of an ancient feud between two brothers which split all the world between darkness and light. And I, Grendel, was the dark side...I believed him! Such was the power of the Shaper's harp!” (Gardner 52). Gardner’s writing of Grendel sheds light on a whole new side of Grendel, as opposed to the monstrous being in Beowulf; so much so that we can see a divide in G...
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.
One of the prevalent themes John Gardner mentions in the story of Grendel is that perceptions of reality between people are different. Gardner reveals to readers throughout the novel that words, events, experiences, and beliefs forge character’s realities. In Grendel perception of reality greatly affects people’s actions, their viewpoints towards life, and decisions. For example, Grendel’s perception of reality is that the world is solely mechanical and is created with his words.
The classic struggle of good versus evil is taken from a different perspective in Grendel, a story in which John Gardner demonstrates that neither one can exist without the other.
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
John Gardener’s Grendel is another version of the epic Beowulf, except in a differing perspective. This story is retold from the viewpoint of Grendel. Gardener wants us to empathize with Grendel through his own thoughts and emotions. The way one sees the monster in Beowulf is completely different than how one would think of him in Grendel. One is forced to view someone else’s opinion versus getting to form an opinion for oneself.
Symbolism can mean and represent a wide variety of ideas, moments and memories in everyone's lives. In the novel The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, colors, names and objects symbolize different personalities, and ideas of the characters. Some of the symbols are more obvious and easier to pick up on than others.
...ies, she goes back to the piano and finds two songs. She begins to play “Pleading Child,” the song that caused the breaking point of her relationship with her mother. This song, with its fast and aggressive melody, best represents the mother’s aggressive attitude towards her daughter. Then Jing-mei plays the song next to “Pleading Child,” called “Perfectly Contented.” It turned out to be lighter and slower. It is a much happier song. Jing-mei’s determination to be herself, “Perfectly Contented,” corresponds with this song. “And after I played them both a few times, I realized they were two halves of the same song.” (499). Like the ying-yang and the songs, Jing-mei’s relationship with her mother may seem disastrous and apart, but together they share a strong bond that makes them whole. Even though the two disagree, like the songs, they form one beautiful song.
With the introduction of the Shaper, Grendel’s ideals are transformed by another’s words. The Shaper is able to show Grendel that he can have an identity and not just be a mere obstruction in the dark. The Shaper created his own theories and stories about life and fed them to the people in a way that enabled them to follow what he said as truth. The Shaper gave the Danes a purpose by telling them what great feats they had overcome and his words excited and encouraged the men to become even more magnificent. The more Grendel listens to the Shaper’s songs, the more apparent it is that Grendel is captivated by the Shaper’s perspective on life. The Shaper’s songs tore at Grendel because he wanted to believe in everything said, but felt ashamed to live his life believing in lies: “I listened, felt myself swept up. I knew very well that all he said was ridiculous, not light for their darkness but flattery, illusion, a vortex pulling them from sunlight to heat, a kind of midsummer burgeoning waltz to the sickle” (Gardner 47). Grendel wanted to believe in the Shaper and his theories but he knew that in the end they were all lies meant to deceive, to fool, and to ensnare the listener. It was the Shaper’s skill and imagination that stirred him, but as much as Grendel wanted to accept the Shaper’s tales, he knew they were not the truths he was looking
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.
Jing-Mei was forced to take piano lessons; this only further upset her as she felt that she was a constant disappointment. Her mother was mad at her on a regular basis because Jing-Mei stood up for herself and explained to her that she didn’t want to be a child prodigy.