Contrasting Points of View in Grendel and Beowulf The contrasting points of view in Grendel and Beowulf significantly alter the readers perception of religion, good and evil, and the character Grendel. John Gardners book, Grendel, is written in first person. The book translated by Burton Raffel, Beowulf, is written in third person. Good and evil is one of the main conflicts in the novel, Grendel. How is Grendel affected by the concepts of good and evil? Grendel is an alienated individual who just wants to be a part of something. His desire to fit in causes him to do evil things. Grendel is fascinated by the Shapers poetry. He often returns to the mead hall to listen to it. One night while he is listening, he hears the story of Cain and Abel, including the Danes explanation of Grendel. His reaction to this leads to one of his most dramatic emotional reactions: I believed him. Such was the power of the Shapers harp! Stood wriggling my face, letting tears down my nose, grinding my fists into my elbow the corpse of the proof that both of us ere cursed, or neither, that the brothers had never lived, nor the god who judged them. Waaa! I bawled. Oh what a conversion (Gardner 51)! Grendel then cries for mercy from the Danes. He wants their forgiveness as well as unification with them, which represents the good in him. The Danes reject him by confusing his outburst of sorrow as an attack. After visiting with a dragon that tells Grendel a fictional version of the Shapers tale, Grendel continues to believe the Shapers story. He searches for the goodness in human beings, which was mentioned in the story. He eats people only because it provides a place for him in society, even if it is a negative position (The Two Faces of Grendel, 2). Good and evil is one of the main conflicts in the poem, Beowulf, and ultimately both wipe each other out. Good, is portrayed by God, and evil seems to be what fate has in store for the hero. Beowulf occasionally talks to God and asks God to give him strength before the battle and to give him the valor he needs to overcome his enemy. Evil seems to always get the bad side of things since it always gets conquered by Gods good side. Even though this is true, evil lives the high life for a long time. Grendel, Beowulfs first opponent, killed thousands and thousands of men before he met his match. Evil comes from the monsters. They attack the good side by killing innocent men because they are hungry or just want to defy the laws. Good fights back when the evil creations are killed and all is back to normal. Beowulf is truly good because he helps people when they need it the most and hopes that God is with him even though he doesnt have to do anything to help the people who have an evil creature killing their villages population every night. In Grendel, the main belief is that of existentialism, however, there are also numerous references to Cain throughout the entire book. The basis for his version of existentialism is the following excerpt from the book itself: I understood that the world was nothing: a mechanical chaos of casual, brute enmity on which we stupidly impose our hopes and fears. I understood that, finally and absolutely, I alone exist. All the rest, I saw, is merely what pushes me, or what I push against, blindlyas blindly as all that is not myself pushes back. I create the whole universe, blink by blink. An ugly god pitifully dying in a tree (Gardner 22) One can explain this view of existentialism by considering some simple concepts of existentialism. Existentialists believe that man is forlorn and totally responsible for his actions, and that his choices are important because existence precedes essence. Furthermore, the references to Cain, which represented chaos and the presence of evil, can be found throughout the book. For example, after Cain killed his brother, he drinks his blood. This is typically something that Grendel does after he kills his victims. Additionally, both Cain and Grendel are viewed as outcasts of society who have to roam in the shadows. They are outside looking inside. They are outside threats to the order of society as shown by Grendel with the Danes (Similarities between Grendel and Cain 1). The religious references to Cain, as well as the belief in existentialism are important aspects in Grendel. In Beowulf, the main belief is that of wyrd, or fate, and sources say that Beowulf is a pagan poem adapted to fit ideals of Christianity. The belief in wyrd is one of the most pervasive pagan elements. The Anglo-Saxons believed strongly that their lives were predestined and that powerful supernatural forces acted upon them. The inevitability of this fate is shown many times throughout the poem. When Beowulf prepares to fight Grendel, he abandons his armor and sword saying, Fate ever goes as it must (Beowulf page #). Additionally, although there are Christian overtones, the paganistic point of views are expressed anytime they discuss fate and destiny. For example, Beowulf makes a remark to Wiglaf that fate has swept their race away. But right above that, he tells Wiglaf, I thank our Father in Heaven, Ruler of the Earth-For all of this that His grace has given me (Gardner 109). The epic poem, Beowulf contains definite references to Christianity, but it is also full of Pagan symbols such as that of fate. The character, Grendel is viewed in a different light in the book Grendel. Grendel is pitiful in Grendel, however, Gardner uses this pity to arouse sympathy for Grendel by giving him human traits and emotions and by using first person. This novel is actually narrated by Grendel, which offers understanding of the beasts innermost feelings, as well as evoking sympathy from the reader. In Grendel, the antihero has human traits: he walks on two legs and speaks a language similar to the Danes. He also has strong emotions of fear, anger, and sorrow as well as intellect. Grendel has a sense of alienation and just wants to fit in. The point of view of the book Grendel allows the reader to see another side of Grendel. In Beowulf, Grendel is viewed as the antagonist and the evil villain and is both feared and hated. The reader discovers Grendel as seen through the eyes of his terrified victims. King Hrothgar, leader of the Danes, fears his visits: The renowned ruler, the prince of long famous, sat empty of joy; strong in might, he suffered, sorrowed for his men when they saw the track of the hateful monster, the evil spirit (Beowulf page #). Hrothgar would dread the fatal nights when Grendel would dine on human flesh. The ruler understands that Grendel attacks his men out of spite and jealousy (The Two Faces of Grendel, 1). In reading Grendel and Beowulf, one can find many similarities in the way the events occur in the books, however because of contrasting points of view, the reader gets insight on the entire picture from two different sides. This allows the reader to better understand each book and its contents, such as their beliefs and the concept of good and evil, and acknowledge the ways the character, Grendel can be described. 1. Underline titles of novels. 2. Be sure to cite all of the quotes that you use in your paper. 3. Work on developing your introductory paragraph. A good introduction should be at least four sentences including the thesis statement. The thesis, itself, should be the last sentence in the introduction. 4. Your thesis statement is detailed. However, try to keep the thesis to one sentence and list your points in the order that you will discuss them in your paper. You discuss good and evil first, so that point should be listed in your thesis first. Contrasting points of view in Grendel and Beowulf significantly alter the readers perception of good and evil, religion and the character, Grendel.
Grendel in the Epic of Beowulf is portrayed as a monster, a creature that has no thoughts on who he kills.While in the movie Beowulf and Grendel(Gunnarsson 2005); he is much more human-like. In parts of the movie, thoughts are led to believe that in fact he is not out to kill random people he only harms those who have “hurt him”.This, in fact, leads to believe that Grendel from the film really wasn’t the bad guy:it shifted towards the fact that Hrothgar was the bad guy for killing Grendel 's father This ties to the fact that as we modernize we tend to need a reason to do things, most people will not endure things if in the end the end result they won 't benefit from it. Nevertheless, the film has changed the perspective and/ or natural view that one as a reader would have taken from the
Particularly in chapter 3, Grendel listens as a blind old man, the Shaper, tells the tale of Danish history to Hrothgar. Though what is told is largely fictitious, Grendel cannot help but to feel strangely moved by the brilliance of the Shaper’s story. “Thus I fled, ridiculous hairy creature torn apart by poetry—crawling, whimpering, streaming tears, across the world like a two-headed beast, like mixed-up lamb and kid at the tail of a baffled, indifferent ewe—and I gnashed my teeth and clutched the sides of my head as if to heal the split, but I couldn’t.” (Grendel, John Gardner, pg.44) In this moment, Grendel’s mind is split between what he understands to be true and the truth that is desired. The world is callous and careless, blunt and belligerent; this he knows. However, with the artistic style and formation of the Shaper’s words, he is brought to tears and is captivated by his spiritual and emotional yearnings. Grendel is also overwhelmed with disgust and shame for himself and his vile
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.
Our first character, Grendel, is an exceptionally diverse character. It is implied that in both book and poem, Grendel is a blood-thirsty monster. All Grendel does is go through meadhalls and kill the drunk, often asleep people. But when narrated through the eyes of Grendel, the true nature of this beast is discovered. The author of Grendel entails that Grendel is a depressed and misunderstood monster, restrained to the confinements of his own underwater cave. He is a lot like the monster in the book Frankenstein. Both Grendel and Frankenstein are born with no real purpose to life, going off of what they hear other people say and taking it as the truth. Both monsters, knowing that everyone detests them for being unattractive and different, retaliate by way of murder and mayhem. From the perspective of the people in the stories itself, Grendel is exactly how the narrator in the poem Beowulf makes him out to be. The people, or the thanes, of Hrothgar’s kingdom see Grendel as a demon from hell, representing all that’s evil in the world. He’s a supernatural creature and in this time period anything supernatural that wasn’t human was considered a spirit, a god, evil or, in Grendel...
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
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, written by John Gardner, is a novel based off the early epic poem, Beowulf. Gardner tells the tale in the perspective of the monster, Grendel, who is struggling to understand the purpose of life and his place in the world. In Gardner’s novel, Grendel terrorizes the kingdom of Hrothgar for 12 years, killing men in the night relentlessly. With the descriptions of battles and heroic deeds, Gardener conveys to the reader, the ideals of Anglo-Saxon heroes as courageous, self-righteous, humble, and loyal beings that are humanly flawless. The book Grendel tears down all these fundamental ideologies of Anglo-Saxon heroism by giving Grendel the monster a nihilist perspective that makes heroism sound stupid and meaningless.
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 literature as in life, blood is not only in the body, but symbolizes many other things. The play, Macbeth, by William Shakespeare describes the life of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth and how they become ruthless killers. They are determined to get power and will not stop until Macbeth and his sons are kings. Throughout the Macbeth by Shakespeare, blood is a prominent symbol and represents murder, guilt, and the difference between characters. Blood represents murder when Macbeth returns from war and when Duncan’s guards are killed. Also, blood represents the guilt of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth after the murder of Duncan. Moreover, the difference between Duncan and Lady Macbeth is represented by blood. Altogether, blood symbolizes murder, guilt, and different characters in Macbeth.
After reading the book Macbeth, we found a lot of motifs from this book. However, there is only one motif that really impressed me--- "blood". As we know, from act 1, Macbeth's mind was directed by his ambition, from that on, his mind did not lead his body anymore. In order to achieve his goal--to be the king. He kept to kill more and more people. So the motif "blood" started to showing up since then.
hough the story of Grendel and Beowulf is a good versus evil story in the original epic poem, John Gardner shows another side to Grendel in his novella, Grendel. Throughout this novella, Grendel is seen still as a monster, but a monster with a story to tell. He is a character one can empathize with, especially when he states things such as “My heart was light with Hrothgar’s goodness, and leaden with grief at my own bloodthirsty ways (Gardner 48)” which show that he has a conscience under his fearsome look. That being said, Grendel is influenced by many characters throughout the novella, the two most notable being the dragon and the Shaper. The Shaper was the most influential in Grendel’s story because of Grendel’s first reaction to the
While the classic battle between good and evil forces is a major theme of the medieval epic Beowulf, one may question whether these good and evil forces are as black and white as they appear. Scholars such as Herbert G. Wright claim that “the dragon, like the giant Grendel, is an enemy of mankind, and the audience of Beowulf can have entertained no sympathy for either the one or the other” (Wright, 4). However, other scholars such as Andy Orchard disagree with this claim, and believe that there is “something deeply human about the ‘monsters’” (Orchard, 29). While Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon are indeed portrayed as evil and violent foes, there are parts within Beowulf that can also lead a reader to believe that the “monsters” may not be so monstrous after all. In fact, the author of Beowulf represents the “monsters” within the poem with a degree of moral ambivalence. This ambivalence ultimately evokes traces of sympathy in the reader for the plight of these “monster” figures, and blurs the fine line between good and evil within the poem.
In history, evil men have reigned supreme across many cultures. Some people say that being evil is inherent in every human. If this is true, then writing may be the ultimate way of releasing hatred of the world without hurting anyone. In Beowulf, all of society's evil men can be personified within the demons of Cain. The main demon presented in Beowulf is Grendel. Grendel personifies the exact opposite of what the Anglo-Saxons held dear. Beowulf, the story's hero, is the embodiment of what every Anglo-Saxon strove to become in their lifetime. Grendel is constantly angry, afraid and unsure of himself; while Beowulf is fearless and loyal to his king.
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.
As Grendel drifts through the night he comes across Hrothgar's mead hall and is angered by the Warriors singing during their celebration. As the Warriors all began to sleep Grendel crept into the hall to kill 30 Warriors by snatching them up. "The monster's thoughts were as quick as his greed or his claws: he slipped through the door and there in the silence snatched up thirty men, smashed them” (Unknown 36-39). The evil deed makes Grendel the antagonist based on what the author said. This allows the reader to suggest that Grendel is the evil character and will introduce the good character soon. The cynical deed Grendel had done spreaded around like wildfire and Beowulf heard about what the beast had done and then decides to kill the beast and others.