An Analysis of 'Grendel' Based on the Classic Poem 'Beowulf'

In the Epic Poems Beowulf, by an anonymous Anglo-Saxon poet, and Grendel written by John Gardner, Grendel, regardless of what he does, has been seen as unsafe to man. Grendel, perceived as treacherous, is just misunderstood and an outcast to society. The back story of Grendel is crucial to the reader’s understanding of Grendel becoming a monster. Grendel’s life experiences of his environment, men and meeting a dragon contribute to the drastic change.

The novel Grendel, by John Gardner, gives the reader an inside look on the “monster… demon… [and] fiend” (Beowulf, 99) who, in Beowulf (translated by Burton Raffel), seems only capable of destruction, sneaking around in the night and killing soldiers off by the dozen. Grendel is a non-human entity who possesses human characteristics; no one truly knows who or what he is. He is monstrously huge, absurdly strong, and insatiable (he has been murdering for approximately twelve years). He is a “[monster] born of Cain, [a] murderous [creature]” (Beowulf, 105-106). He lives with his mother in a swampy marsh that is secluded by a “pool of firesnakes” who guard “the sunken door” to the strange world of humans (Grendel, 16). Beowulf does not provide any information of where he came from or any history about him, except that he is a pre-cursed, wicked being with no conscience. This seems like a biased assumption because the story

In the epic of Beowulf, one of the warrior’s biggest adversaries is a creature from the swamp named Grendel. Although the character of Grendel is present for only a short portion in the story of Beowulf, Grendel signifies one of the important messages in the text about humanity. In Beowulf, Grendel is called a ‘monster’. However, if observed closely, analyzing the meaning behind the story, it is easy to see that Grendel is not a typical monster, in fact, it doesn’t seem like he is a monster at all. There is much evidence within the short period of the text where Grendel is present, which indicates he is

The book Grendel by John Gardner details the life of the monster Grendel until he is defeated by the hero Beowulf at the end of the story. Gardner paints Grendel in a more sympathetic light, compelling the reader to understand and even feel sorry for the monster. He appears philosophical and curios from the perspective Gardner creates, and the humans seem almost villainous for shunning him when he tries to understand and interact with them. The humans create the monster inside of Grendel by mistreating him, and that monster is tested by heroes like Unferth and Beowulf.

Grendel discovers and begins to gain the understanding/knowledge of different concepts such as power, etc. In addition, he observes how humans interact with one another throughout the twelve years of war; Yet, his attempt to communicate with humans gives him the title horrific monster. This leads to his loneliness and isolation from everyone. Furthermore, Grendel is left without any companion. Grendel can be best described as a monster who has human qualities but can be both rational and irrational. In Chapter 1, Grendel has an outburst because of the ram that appears.. “I stamp. I hammer the ground with my fists. I hurl and skull-size stone at him. He will not budge. I shake my two hairy fists at the sky and let out a howl so unspeakable that the water at my feet turns sudden ice and even I myself am I left uneasy.” This demonstrates how Grendel is hostile and belligerent. His emotions get the best of him and blinds his consciousness and awareness of how harmful he can be towards

deciphered. Beowulf being pure good, and Grendel being pure evil. One of the reasons of

In Grendel, the story is told from Grendel's point of view. Therefore he is not viewed as a killing machine. In Beowulf however, it is the exact opposite. Grendel is seen as a monster who is terrorizing Hrothgar's people. The way Grendel is portrayed in Grendel is different from the way he is portrayed in Beowulf regarding his initiative and purpose. Grendel is portrayed the same in both stories when it comes to his actions and his nature.

In the Old English epic poem Beowulf, the author conveys through the use of vivid diction and imagery, the evil natures of two monsters, Grendel and the dragon, by portraying the dragon as the lesser of the two evils. Both monsters symbolize the evil in human nature as they are enemies who bring destruction and wreak havoc to innocent people. In the Anglo-Saxon society Grendel represents evil, and the sin of man; traits that the Saxons neither valued nor respected, but in fact, feared. Though Grendel appears to be a wicked demon, the reader can infer that he is human, as he is described as a descendant of Cain, an outcast in the Bible. The dragon, on the other hand, is not human, but represents greed and evil or quite possibly, the devil.

The story of Beowulf is a heroic epic, chronicling the distinguished deeds of the great Geatish warrior, Beowulf, who travels across the seas to rid the Danes of the evil monster Grendel, who has been inflicting destruction and terrorizing the kingdom. Beowulf is glorified for his heroic deeds of ridding the land fiendish monsters and stopping the scourge of evil, while the monster, Grendel, is portrayed as a repugnant creature who deserves death for its evil actions. However, many have disagreed with such a simplistic and biased representation of Grendel and his role in the epic poem. John Gardner in his book, Grendel, sets out to change the reader’s perception of Grendel and his role in Beowulf by narrating the story through Grendel’s point of view. John Gardner transforms Grendel, once perceived as an evil fiend in Beowulf, into a lonely but intelligent outcast who is actually quite similar to humans, due to his intelligence capacity for rational thought and his real, and at times irrational emotions. Gardner portrays Grendel as a hurt individual and as a victim of oppression, ostracized from civilization. Although the two works revolve around the same basic plot,, the themes and characters in Beowulf and Grendel are often different and sometimes contradictory.

Children typically bear some physical resemblance to at least one of their parents. The child may have the same skin color, facial expressions or height as his or her parent. Could this be the same for behavioral traits? Are behavioral traits likewise inherited? Or, are they learned? In other words, do behavioral traits come from nature (inherited) or from nurture (learned)? This question can be applied to “Grendel,” a murderous monster a in the epic poem of “Beowulf,” Was Grendel born a monster? Or, was he raised to be a monster? Or, are his monstrous behaviors a result of both nature and nurture? Descriptions of Grendel from the “Beowulf” poem give evidence that his monstrous behavior was a result of both nature and nurture; a

Both the epic poem Beowulf and the novel Grendel depict the same storyline, but from different point of views. Grendel’s personality tends to be much more evil than he himself depicts in the novel. Since Grendel is the narrator of the novel, the audience only gets to know what the story is like from his point of view, which he stretches the truth on numerous occasions. But, in Beowulf, the poem has a narrator and is in the third person omniscient, this means the audience knows how all the characters and feeling, thinking, or saying. Also, the theme nature vs. nurture appears a lot in Grendel which means his viewpoints on certain things are either

1. Grendel is a character in who poses more capabilities than a normal human being. The presentation in the novel portrays him as a demon. The novel makes him look like the devil himself is controlling him. The novel has a hero who is Beowulf. Ironically, Grendel also has his own powers and acts which make him seem like a hero although he is not the main hero in the play. He uses his powers and little intelligence to threaten and instill fear in others, such as Danes, so that he can win. Grandel is not absolutely immortal, but his qualities are beyond those of an ordinary human being which makes him be a hero although he does the opposite of what a hero does and Beowulf defeated him.

The story of Beowulf is a heroic epic chronicling the illustrious deeds of the great Geatish warrior Beowulf, who voyages across the seas to rid the Danes of an evil monster, Grendel, who has been wreaking havoc and terrorizing the kingdom. Beowulf is glorified for his heroic deeds of ridding the land of a fiendish monster and halting its scourge of evil while the monster is portrayed as a repugnant creature who deserves to die because of its evil actions. In the epic poem, Beowulf the authors portrays Grendel as a cold-hearted beast who thrives on the pain of others. Many have disagreed with such a simplistic and biased representation of Grendel and his role in the epic poem. John Gardner in his book, Grendel set out to change the

Merriam Webster defines a hero as a person who is admired for great or brave acts and defines a villain as a character who does bad things. These definitions may not be so indubitable as John Gardner takes a hero and villain to a whole new level in his novel, Grendel. Throughout the years of novels and short stories, heroes and villains have been constructed as strictly good versus evil, but what if there is good in evil and evil in good? Grendel and the epic, Beowulf, revolve around this idea of heroes and villains and good versus evil. Gardner’s twist on the stereotypical hero leads to the true definition of a hero being changed as he creates one who has a nihilistic view on his atypical life.

Evil is a key theme among epics. Grendel, one of the main monsters in Beowulf, gives insight on evil. For nearly 12 years Grendel, the monster, has been entering King Hrothgar’s mead hall unwelcomed. During each visit, Grendel kills the men sleeping in the mead hall, tearing them apart and consuming them. When Grendel enters the mead hall again,