Grendel Vs. Beowulf Essay

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.

Both of the pieces of literature, Grendel and Beowulf, contain the same story; it is just told from different viewpoints. Beowulf is an epic oratorical poem depicting the heroic Beowulf defeating the hideous creature that haunts the halls of Herot. Grendel, however, allows the reader to be able to experience the story from Grendel’s point of view. Though the books depict the same creature who possesses the same qualities, within Grendel, he is given more human characteristics and this makes the reader feel as though they are reading about a different being.

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.

“I won’t shift afoot when I meet the cave-guard.” This quote shows the courage and bravery of a warrior during this time. In the Anglo-Saxon Beowulf and John Gardner’s Grendel, the difference in the point of views give a change to the author’s style and the narration of the two writings. The difference in literary purpose behind the two writings affects the motivation and the language.

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.

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.

As a “bloodthirsty fiend,” Grendel was the first of the foes Beowulf battles. (line 407) He is “a powerful monster,” who “was spawned in... slime.” (lines 1, 19) He is a descendant of Cain, and chose to sacrifice the Danes to no one but himself. Grendel is “set on murder.”(49-50) Nothing can “quench his thirst for evil. (lines 52-53) Grendel stalked Herot and set his wrath loose on all who came to the hall. His mother, the “she-wolf” lived in an underwater cavern. (line 572) She is the “water witch,” one that no one’s “sword could slice her evil skin.” (lines 493, 496-497) Both characters are demons living only to hate, and cause terror in the hearts of those who know of them. The third villain comes much later than the first two. The dragon is Beowulf’s last enemy, and last battle. The beast poured out fire and smoke, and was one who “coiled and uncoiled” at the sight of a human. (line 673) The dragon menaces Beowulf’s kingdom and as an old man he is forced to fight the beast. The antagonists are evil and uncaring of human life, each choosing to end it when they please. They are bad and it shows.

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

Many works are so inspiring, they are retold time and time again, sometimes in fresh, unheard ways. The ancient poem, known as “Beowulf,” is a complex epic detailing the arrival of the title character, Beowulf, and his battles with three otherworldly monsters. Grendel, a novel written centuries later by John Gardner, takes that story and turns it on its head. Grendel, a character filled with introspective thoughts, is one of the three monsters that Beowulf appears to fight. While telling the same story, the two texts have many differences, but often manage to get the same emotion evoked from the audience.

Similarly, Grendel in Beowulf was also a creature that was horrific in nature – full of destruction. The contempt towards festivities and joyous music may have derived from the isolation Grendel experiences. After all, he was described as one who is part of “Cain’s clan, whom the creator had outlawed and condemned as outcasts” (9). There was the same reaction of bitterness present in Grendel as in Frankenstein’s creature: both were castaways which led them to be emotionally-driven in anger. Because of his resentment, “the God-cursed brute was creating havoc: greedy and grim, he grabbed thirty men from their resting places and rushed to his lair…blundering back with the butchered corpses” (11). Grendel is nothing more than a misunderstood creature. Having hurt feelings, he too resembles a human being; any person who faces seclusion from his or her friends, family, or society as a whole would be full of frustration, sorrow, anger, and loneliness. This negative response towards emptiness brings out the inner monster in us.

The narrator of “Beowulf” introduces us to the monster that is Grendel in the very first lines of the poem. The speaker describes “a fiend from hell” and speaks of “a cursed creature” whom God has condemned as he is “the kin of Cain”. Grendel’s description immediately aligns him with sin and the darkness of human nature found in the old biblical tale. As the poem goes on Grendel attacks Hrothgar’s hall because of the singing of praise to God. Grendel cannot bear to hear the praise as he is said to “live in the land of monsters since the Creator cast them out” (pg. 39).

Initially we see the infuriation that infests Grendel and the instant revenge and destruction he conveys upon Beowulf’s kingdom.Revenge almost motivates and acts as a fuel to the fire Grendel is experiencing .We are introduced to the character of Grendel in line 86 of the poem and we are given an immediate explanation of what type of creature he is , a monster , a demon. ‘Then a powerful demon, a prowler through the dark nursed a hard grievance ‘

More often than not, the line that separates man from monster is blurred. This is evident in the existence of Grendel, one of the many antagonists to the main character in the anonymously-written epic poem, Beowulf. The poem depicts Beowulf, a strong and eager youth, arriving in the land of King Hrothgar and the Scyldings in order to try his hand at defeating the awful beast Grendel, who has been terrorizing the Scyldings and their mead hall, Heorot, for over a decade. Grendel is described in the most horrific terms, but as to exactly who or what he is, we are never given a definite explanation. He is clearly far from human, with immense strength and clawed hands, yet there is something of his history that suggests less monstrous beginnings. Given Grendel’s introduction into the poem, found in lines 86 through 114 of Beowulf, it can be inferred that he was once a man who lived a life very similar to the one he now torments, but his time in exile left him forsaken by both God and his fellow man, thus making him into the monstrous figure that we see portrayed in the epic of Beowulf.