Grendel Character Analysis

Grendel. One of John Gardner’s best novels based on the epic poem, Beowulf. It talks about a war between Grendel and the humans, the Danes, their king Hrothgar and a stranger who appears at the end of the novel, Beowulf himself. Grendel lived with his mother in a cave, isolated from the rest of the world. With time passing by, he became curious about the outside world, so he started to go out to explore, seeing new fascinating things, meeting with the humans which made him even more curious about them, leading into him spying on them during the nights. This turned Grendel into a great observer of human nature and behavior with a high level of insight. But the question is, what exactly did he think of what he observed?

Ernest Hemingway suggests “All things truly wicked start from innocence.” Aside from being cursed by God for being in the lineage of Cain, Grendel was “innocent.” Grendel was merely trying to discover his role in society. After his run-in with the humans and his philosophical conversation with

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

Grendel must be considered evil, because of his destructive tendencies. In chapter 1 of the novel, the arrival of spring weather allows Grendel to remember the various acts of violence he has committed throughout his realm. “It was just here…..I tore off Athelgards’s head. Here, I killed the old woman with the iron gray hair” (Gardner 7). This shows the readers Grendel’s evil tendencies from

Grendel exhibits human feelings and characteristics in many ways. Although Grendel is a monster “forced into isolation by his bestial appearance and limited imagination” (Butts) he yearns to be a part of society; he craves

Grendel is characterized as a lonely creature who is trying to figure out the meaning of life around him. Grendel is an unhappy soul because he feels useless in society and doesn’t want to accept his given role. Throughout the novel Grendel feels as if he has no friends and nobody else accepts him but his mother. Humans have always been a problem in Grendel’s life and they affect how he lives life each day. Grendel is not an evil creature, he is just unhappy because of the way he is treated. We should sympathize for Grendel because he is suffering on Earth and he does not know what to do about it. The author shows that Grendel is in a place where he needs love and does not get punished because he uses his emotion to escape from his punishment.

Grendel is put off as an evil monster, but not all monsters start out evil. Yes, he lives in a lair underneath of the earth but, why were the Danes being so loud that he could hear it that low in the ground? They say in line 20-22 that Grendel was, “Conceived by a pair of those monsters born of Cain, murderous creatures banished by God.” Just because he was a descendant of Cain, it doesn't mean he is evil. Grendel was courageous but an evil kind of courageous. I if the Danes hadn't made him angry, maybe they would still be alive.

In Seamus Heaney’s translation of Beowulf, Grendel is nothing but an evil fiend that needs to be slain, “a fiend out of hell, began to work his evil in the world” (Heaney 9). Grendel is portrayed as an evil monster that has only been wreaking havoc and terrorizing a kingdom for an extended amount of time because it thrives on the pain of others. Seamus states, “Malignant by nature, he never showed remorse” (Heaney 10). Grendel is made out to appear as little more than a monster, “insensible to pain and human sorrow” (Heaney 11). He is portrayed to have little to no human qualities, to be the furthest thing from

Grendel was a character that was widely misunderstood in the book Grendel by John Gardner he was portrayed in the book as a gruesome beast when in reality all he had wished his entire life was to fit in. Throughout this story Grendel feels he has no friends in the outside world and no one to accept him besides his own mother. He doesn’t want to accept his role in society of being the Great Destroyer described to him by the dragon. Man creates a huge problem in Grendel’s life and has had a major effect on the way he lives with man. Grendel in his heart never truly wanted to be destructive; it was the rejection of mankind that changed his view on his life.

Anyone who defends Grendel or his behavior is guilty of agreeing with a terrible crime and sin in the sight of many. Grendel had but one mission and one purpose: to terrorize and murder. He fulfilled it well.

Grendel, is thus seen as the descendant of an individual who epitomizes resentment and malice in Beowulf. The author states Grendel lives in exile and is seen as “mankind’s enemy”(Raffel, 22). Grendel is the representation of all that is evil and he is declared to be the “shepherd of evil and the “guardian of crime”(Raffel, 33) by the Danes in Beowulf. The author describes Grendel to be an evil, cruel, apathetic creature who’s pleasure lies in attacking and devouring Hrothgar’s men. The author describes Grendel’s malice by painting a gruesome picture of Grendel’s countless attacks on the mead hall in which he exhibits Grendel as a heartless, greedy, and violent being who mercilessly murders the men at the mead hall by tearing them apart, cutting their body into bits and drinking the blood from their veins. The author describes Grendel’s greed by stating Grendel’s thoughts were as “quick as his greed or his claws”(Raffel, 21). He describes Grendel’s as having eyes that “gleamed in the darkness and burned with a gruesome light”, swift hard claws and great sharp teeth which paints a picture of Grendel’s frightening appearance in the reader’s mind. In contrast to the traditional story of Beowulf, Grendel in John Gardner’s novel, Grendel is not depicted as a monster but as an intelligent creature capable of human thought, feelings and speech. John Gardner portrays Grendel as an outcast

In the epic Beowulf, the concept of simplistic duality is expressed very heavily throughout. This is not the case in the movie, “Beowulf & Grendel”. In an era where moviegoers want their films to mirror the original plot, why would the director of the movie decide to make such a shift? The answer lies in our culture. Because our culture differs from that of the Anglo-Saxons, the concept of simplistic duality has become atypical in today’s media.

Out of the depths of hell conceived from the spawn of Cain came a monstrous creature named Grendel. He was a lonely creature knowing no love; only evil. He would screech in pain to the happiness that came from harmonious music that radiated from the almighty god who created the earth. This was the same almighty god who had banished them to the depths of darkness; forever to be punished for the death of Abel.

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

     Good and evil is one of the main conflicts in the poem Beowulf. 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 Shaper’s poetry. He often