The Characters Of Grendel's 'Loud In Beowulf'

Part A

{1} Grendel, it seems, actually didn’t have too much exposure to humans before the start of the poem. He “hunted the moors” (17), likely subsisting on animals he had killed. The reasons why he started killing humans aren’t entirely clear; he had “growled in pain, impatient / As day after day the music rang / Loud in that hall” (2-4). He could also come across as merely curious, as he was “wondering what the warriors would do in that hall” (31-32). This raises a noteworthy attribute of Grendel – though he is often animalistic, he frequently is described as thinking, wondering, or otherwise displaying a human-like nature. The humans think of him not as a raging beast, but as a calculating criminal. But how calculated were these crimes? Grendel doesn’t seem to have planned his war on Herot, especially not that first night. The statements “[Grendel’s] Thoughts were as quick as his greed of his claws” (35) and “delighted with his night’s slaughter” (40) give the

Beowulf carries audiences to a world of terror, courage, loyalty, and vengeance, with fantastical enemies and a triumphant hero. In modern entertainment, this story under different guises still appeals to us. For example, comparisons could be drawn between Tony Stark and Beowulf. He is to American society what Beowulf was to Anglo-Saxan. A self-described genius, billionaire, playboy philanthropist, Tony Stark represents the ideal American - he’s charming, strong, witty, and most importantly, successful. Sure, he can also be very vulnerable and human (modern audiences like to watch the hero break before he wins), but in the end he’s the hero, and heroes always triumph. For example, in one scene, a plane has exploded, and Tony is inexplicitly able to save every person that fell. The audience doesn’t care about the heavy suspension of disbelief - we love when the hero