We have all seen villains in literature and in movies. Villains have been interpreted in many ways such as being malicious and terrorizing citizens, although that is not always the case. In Beowulf, Grendel is the villain throughout the entire poem, he is ruthless and shrewd, and has plans to petrify Hrothgar’s kingdom. In class, we defined a villain as “a person, place or thing, ruthless and cunning, motivated by deceitful and selfish desires whose thrill seeking detailed plans lead to the destruction of society”. In the poem, Grendel shows the qualities of being a villain, he is ruthless, cunning, and motivated by underhanded narcissistic desires and plans to lead the destruction of society. Grendel has made a point that he is the villain of the poem. In many ways, he has shown that he is merciless and wily throughout the entire poem. Before Grendel’s first attack, he had a cunning quality about him, the narrator noted “Then from the moor, in a blanket of mist, Grendel came stalking” (710-711). Grendel made his way to Heorot in the dead of night, when everyone was asleep, stalking through the night. The poem shows that Grendel is ruthless because he slaughtered thirty thanes the first night of attacks by …show more content…
After the first night, Grendel murdered thirty men, the narrator tells the reader, “the very next night he committed a greater murder, mourned not at all for his feuds and sins- he was too fixed in them” (135-137). The author tells the reader that Grendel is a decedent of Cain “after the Creator had condemned him among Cain’s race – when he killed Abel the eternal Lord Avenged his death.” (106-107). Grendel was miserable and the happiness from Heorot, only made it worse “Thus this lordly people lived in joy, blessedly, until one began to work his foul crimes – a fiend from hell.”
I am Grendel who once lived at the Danish neighborhood ruled by the righteous king Hrothgar who was just and fair in his kingship. I came from Cain’s ancestry. According to the bible, Cain is popularly known by Christians as the first person to commit murder. I was in isolation from humans because I came from a cursed lineage. I could not change the perception Hereots had about me as an evil monster. I did not prefer to be from Cain’s bloodline. People thought I was evil because I came from Cain’s lineage and as a result, they deemed me an outcast and did not want to associate with me.
Rudd cites various sections of the poem, describing Grendel as a “night-monster of the border lands” (Rudd 3), and the translation of the poem says that Grendel was, “...Conceived by a pair of those monsters born Of Cain, murderous creatures banished By God…” (Raffel 42). Rudd also gives evidence for Grendel being seen as demonic, and reasons that Grendel attacks the Danes out of “...not mere thirst for gore, as we might suspect… but rather… envy of the Danes’ happiness- and envy was a chief characteristic of the medieval devil.” (Ruud 5). He then ties this devilish persona to Grendel’s humanistic aspects, stating Grendel has a heathen soul, and therefore he must be human. Ruud also notes, however, that there are critics who question the validity of portraying Grendel as this three-sided figure, asking questions such as, “How can Grendel be a devil when he has a physical body? How can he be a man when he is so manifestly bestial?” (Ruud 7). Ruud believes that the original poet of Beowulf is doing this for effect rather than consistency, but a more reasonable explanation that encompasses all three characteristics is that Grendel represents the evil in
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.
There are many characters that are involved in the novel, Grendel by John Gardner, which have meaning and we can identify ourselves with them. For example, Grendel is the main character. I will be writing about Grendel because I think he is the most important character of this novel. I like Grendel because he seems like if he was human but, is really an intelligent monster who eats people. What I dislike about Grendel is that he observes people. I don’t like the fact that Grendel basically spies humans. Since, the author identifies the three stages in his live being: childhood, adulthood, and his battle with Beowulf. Grendel is characterized as innocence but, in the other hand as a monster. Grendel was big in size, and had the strength of many. But he was not brave at all. He is described as a large figure with the strength to pick up the weight of a grown man and consume him whole. 1 But, Grendel is shown as somewhat of a
Throughout the novel Grendel by John Gardner, the monster Grendel has many different encounters that change his view on the world. Whether it was through nihilism, existentialism, or idealism Grendel was influenced in many ways by all of them. The monster Grendel starts out as an existentialist, but morphs into a nihilist after he talks to the most nihilistic character in the book, the dragon. Influenced through nihilism, existentialism, and idealism Grendel is reshaped and sculpted into a new thing entirely.
Grendel then began to show even more human traits than before. He became envious their happiness and starting becoming the cruel one. He started torturing and killing humans quite frequently. He starts to enjoy being cruel during his first raid. “I felt a strange, unearthly joy. It was as if I’d made some incredible discover, like my discovery long ago of the moonlit world beyond the mere. I was transformed” (79). This kind of cruelness came easily to Grendel, not unlike the humans had watched for so long. Grendel slowly becomes more and less human. He starts to lose his humanity but shows off just how human he is. Grendel becomes what he hates the most, cruel and pointless. Though Grendel enjoys the human’s suffering, it only makes him feel worse. “I feel my anger coming back, building up like invisible fire, and at last, when my soul can no longer resist, I go up - as mechanical as anything else - fists clenched against my lack of will, my belly growling, mindless as wind, for blood” (Gardner 9). Grendel falls into the trap and start to enjoy the suffering of others. While this isn’t a problem at first, Grendel eventually realizes just how pointless this is. How pointless everything is. Grendel sees that the world doesn’t do anything for anyone. He won’t be given anything and he probably won’t ever be happy. As a result, Grendel learns to live with this hatred and continues
Despite her evil actions, it is evident that there is less malice in her than Grendel and she is less of a symbol of pure evil than he is. For example, her attack on Heorot is somewhat appropriate and could be considered honorable by the standards of warrior culture, as it marks an attempt to avenge one’s son’s death. In fact, the motive for her attack is similar to Beowulf’s motive for his attack on her: avenging the death of a loved one. One of the most interesting aspects of Grendel’s mother’s attachment to this vengeance-demanding code that the warriors follow is that she is depicted as not entirely alien or monstrous. Her behavior is not only comprehensible but also justified. In other ways, however, Grendel and his mother are indeed portrayed as creatures from another world. One aspect of their difference from the humans portrayed in the poem is that Grendel’s strong parental figure is his mother rather
Dictionary.com defines evil as “the wicked or immoral part of someone or something.” Within the novel, Grendel by John Gardner evil is inescapable as this topic is discussed throughout the novel. Though the story holds a resemblance to its inspiration of the epic Beowulf in its portrayal of Grendel, it fails to highlight the underlying evil within the Anglo-Saxon’s and their values. Gardner’s novel reveals that evil is everywhere as it is seen in not only Grendel's but also in human lives and is presented in a more complex way than the epic as both have their own dark sides.
87-91). Hearing all the jubilation that he cannot share in makes Grendel bitter. Because nothing that can be done to make Grendel’s resentfulness subside, he “[wages] his lonely war, inflicting constant cruelties on the people, atrocious hurt” (ln. 164-166) to make himself feel better. Every day he finds satisfaction in killing and eating the men who fall asleep in the hall after they have drunk and partied the evening away. Causing harm to human society is Grendel’s means of compensating for his loneliness.
His contemplation results in the ADD TRANSITION. As Grendel acquires knowledge of the story of Cain and Abel, he discovers himself in a new light: as a dark evil creature. The Shaper explains “an ancient feud between two brothers which split all the world between darkness and light. And I, Grendel, was on the dark side...terrible race God cursed. I believed him. Such was the power of the Shaper’s harp” (Gardner 51). The ‘power’ of the Shaper’s songs, full of creatively crafted words, emphasizes that the Shaper possesses the ultimate power to convince Grendel that he is created from darkness. The ‘darkness’ referred to in this statement represents the evil of humanity such as violence which serves as the primary reason for Grendel’s purpose to kill. Although Grendel is categorized into this evil since he’s a descendant of Cain, at this point, his actions do not embody qualities of evil. Grendel’s realization of the darkness within himself alters his perspective of his purpose in life as the creator of the world into a monster cursed by God into isolation. Grendel is easily convinced by the new knowledge provided by the Shaper due his lack of full maturity. In accordance to maturing teens, Grendel also has not completely transformed into an adult so is more facile to
In Chapter 8, Grendel exclaims, “I’m a machine. Like all of you. Blood-lust and rage are my character,” (Gardner 123). This profound statement establishes a connection between Grendel and the ambiguous “you,” the reader. The monster, though he confesses to his wrongdoing, asserts that readers are no better than he. Countless bible verses reiterate this concept: “For all have sinned,” (Romans 3:23) “[Humans] are all. .impure with sin,” (Isaiah 64:6). Gardner’s reminder to readers of mankind’s predisposition to sin earns pity for the monster. He expands on these sympathies by describing the nature of Grendel’s lonely existence. “But there was one thing worse,” Grendel states after discovering the dragon’s charm, “no weapon could cut me,” (Gardner 75). In this moment, nihilism overcomes Grendel; if fighting poses no danger, it has no purpose, and neither does he. Any reader who has had an experience which challenged his or her values cannot help but feel empathetic towards the purposeless creature. Perhaps more piteous, however, is the suggestion that Grendel has no choice in being “the dark side. . the terrible race God cursed,” (Gardner 51). The dragon condemns Grendel as “the brute existent by which [humans] learn to define themselves,” telling him that it is worthless to better his character (Gardner 72). It is not until after
Part of the development of a human being involves acquiring the ability to classify good and evil as well as distinguishing right from wrong. It has become an inherent trait that is invariably used in our everyday lives. In John Gardner’s novel, Grendel, the main character, Grendel, seeks to find the meaning of life. Through his journey, a depiction of the forces of good and evil is revealed. Aside from being a novel about the search for the meaning of life, Grendel also suggest society’s good and evil have a meaningful and imbalanced relationship where good prevails evil yet facing evil is still critical.
While the monsters of the poem are the antagonists of the poem, the author still manages to make the reader feel traces of sympathy for them. Grendel’s human depiction, exile and misery tugs at the heart of readers and indeed shows a genuine side to the figure, while Grendel’s mother and the dragon are sympathetic mainly because they were provoked into being attacked over things they both had a deep affection for. Their actions make us question whether they are as evil as they seem.
Time after time he charges into Herot Hall, slaughtering the warriors like sheep, and feasting on them. Denmark trembles in fear and grief as Grendel terrorizes their land. The people live in fear for their family and friends. Grendel is the Anglo-Saxon embodiment of what is dark, terrifying, and threatening. Grendel is an enemy of God. He can not know God’s great love. He is a powerful ogre that resides in the dark, wet marshes. He is a shadow of death that grows impatient with the Danes. He delights in their slaughter. No crime or savage assault would quench his thirst for evil. For evil can never be quenched. Grendel is a shepherd of evil and a guardian of crime. Grendel exhibits his envy towards the warriors as Cain did to his brother. Jealousy breed loneliness.
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.