Grendel's Heroic Acts In Beowulf

There are two sides to every story. The events may be the same, but the tone in which the story is told shapes the reader’s understanding of the events. This idea is never more evident than through the disparity between Burton Raffel’s translation of Beowulf and John Gardner’s Grendel. Both novels are based on the idea of Beowulf killing Grendel. However, the two different points of view telling the story create vastly different novels. Beowulf highlights the heroic and positive world in which Beowulf lives. Whereas Grendel elucidates on the miserable life that Grendel is circumscribed to. The consistent variance in tone skews the events in two completely different directions. The tone between Beowulf and Grendel differ in

This led Grendel to have conversations with two very influential people who made Grendel into Grendel which were the shaper and the dragon. The shaper told Grendel a bunch of lies and Grendel knew that they were lies but they sound so good he let the shaper continue to tell them. The shaper told Grendel lies but the Dragon had the most negative effect on Grendel. The dragon act like he had some “power” and he knew everything so he told Grendel how the humans felt about him. The Dragon got a lot of humor from Grendel’s face when he found out how they felt. After hearing that Grendel didn’t want to scare the humans anymore but dragon encourages him to. Once he left from his talk with the dragon he felt uselessness until he realized he had some kind charm which protected him from getting hurt. Being invincible caused him to get a little cocky in a sense he said, “I am Grendel, Ruiner of Meadhalls Wrecker of Kings!” (Ch.6, pg.80) Though he could destroy any humans all he ever wanted was a

The purpose of the vows/promises in this poem is to show that that whoever is making the vow is a courageous and glorified man. This poem is said to display a code of honor and action. During these times people believed that fate or Wryd controlled their futures, so if a man made promise

Everyone has a motivation behind their actions. Motivation can be affected by emotion or willpower. Many people get their motivation from what they want to accomplish. There is reasons for motivation behind actions in books, poems, and in everyday life. In the epic Beowulf, Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon all have a broad variety of motivations for what they do.

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 novel Grendel and the epic poem Beowulf the reader receives a better experience through a first person point of view. In John Gardner's Grendel which is written in first person the reader is constantly engaged. The authors use of first person provides the reader of Grendel’s thoughts and emotion. While, in the epic poem Beowulf which is written in 3rd person does not give the reader any personal connection.

The poem does not give this insight of what happens before, or from Grendel's point of view. Seeing this scene in the movie gives the audience a better understanding of why Grendel and also his mother attack the Danes. Later in the movie Beowulf says, "He's no more human than you and I", which is true. If the Danes didn’t kill Grendel's father, the outcome of the story could have possibly been changed because Grendel would have had a different life and not seek revenge on the Danes, specifically the one who Grendel had seen kill his father. In the poem Grendel fights Beowulf, rather than avoiding Beowulf most of the time in the movie. In the poem, Grendel is seen as an evil monster that kills and eats the Hrothgar warriors and cannot be penetrated by weapons, rather than just human, or troll, like the movie. When the battle with Grendel occurs in the poem, it is said that Beowulf had cut off his arm to defeat him. While in the movie, Grendel finds himself stuck hanging, and must cut off his own arm to escape from Beowulf and his men. Both the movie and poem result in the death of Grendel, eventually leading to the revenge of his mother.

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

Grendel, the offspring of Cain the outcast, is a demon. He is a scaly creature that lives in a swampy area. He is a reptilian human, with spikes on him. He is a human-like figure, in which the way he stands. He stands on two feet, and has arms. In the book Beowulf removes Grendel’s arm and shoulder, defeating him. This must mean he has a shoulder blade and can walk like a human. He also has razor-sharp talons as it says in the book “Venturing closer, his talon was raised to attack Beowulf where he lay on the bed” (Heaney 51). One night when he is prowling around, he hears the King and his kinsmen singing out to the Lord. He hears the songs of how great God is, and is outraged. As the outcast of God, Grendel despised of God. The songs and happiness, pushes him over the edge. He plans the downfall of the hall, in spite of their songs. He will attack at night, as everyone sleeps, and butcher them dead. He sneaks in at night, watching over the guards, ready to pounce. He rips apart the men eating them alive. “Suddenly then the God-cursed brute was creating havoc: greedy and grim, he grabbed thirty men from their resting place and rushed them to his lair” (Heaney 11). This shows just how When the king awoke the next morning he grieved for his men, but little did he know Grendel would attack every night for 12 winters. Once again Grendel sets of for a night of ravishing, but the king has a plan. He has set out more guards to keep watch over the kingdom, as he sleeps. When Grendel

Grendel and Beowulf are being compared to the nine noble virtues. The nine noble virtues explains what a hero should be and what characteristics make them noble. The characteristics are what you expect from a hero. Courage, Truth, Honor, Fidelity, Discipline, Hospitality, Self-Reliance, and Perseverance are the Nine Noble Virtues. According to the Vikings, these traits are what make a hero noble. Grendel and Beowulf have some of these virtues. Grendel and Beowulf are similar in some ways through the virtues. Beowulf portrays the Nine Noble Virtues better than Grendel because of his Courage, to stand up against Grendel. Truth, he believes what is right is the right thing to do. Honor, he sticks to the idea that he is good, and that Grendel is and will always be evil. Fidelity, he will always fight for his kingdom and his friends. Industriousness, he fights hard against Grendel and works hard to defeat him. Self-Reliance, he doesn’t rely on weapons or other people to fight Grendel. And Perseverance, Beowulf defeats Grendel, and never gives up. Grendel only has five of these nine traits while Beowulf has seven out of the nine. Meaning that Beowulf is nobler than Grendel.

In the novel, Grendel, the sheltered and abnormal creature that is Grendel adopted a solipsistic view and became overwhelmed by the underground world he had grown accustomed to after experiencing an interaction with man for the first time. After years of exposure to solely the underground world, Grendel emerged from his cave and found the real world. Upon his first interaction with man, Grendel had an immediate sensation that "there was something wrong" (21). From the moment Grendel first encountered man there was an installation of a barrier between the two. The clear distance that was created contributed to Grendel's solipsistic view because it caused him to be isolated from this newly found world which led to his belief that the outside world was meaningless

Grendel immediately cleared the fortified route to the Herot with gigantic métier and brutality. Grendel's strides were clearing. With each step, the animal's tremendous, calloused feet in every practical sense flew, in a consistent movement. "His eyes sparkled in the dimness, seethed with a shocking light". Before any of the troopers had the chance to be awoken, Grendel soaked the life of a Geat. Destroyed like a sensitive bread, the body was drained and altogether ate up. "The plenitude before me is flawless, a grand delicacy, unkept and delightfully vulnerable" Grendel evaluated identifying with his extraordinary fortune.

Ane Balkchyan Mrs. Mueller English III Honors 24 November 2014 The Misunderstanding of Grendel Throughout many works of literature, authors highlight the values of a culture or a society by using characters that are alienated from that culture or society based on several factors, which include gender, social status, race, and even appearance. One writer who has done this is John Gardner, the author of Grendel. Grendel is the retelling of a portion of the epic poem Beowulf.

Sit back and think of what a monster looks like for a moment. Are you thinking of Godzilla? Something hiding under your bed? Or maybe even a killer clown? But did you ever think of yourself? In the story Beowulf, there is a confliction between the people being a monster and Grendel. While Grendel does express many horrific acts so do the people in the story. Grendel's horrific acts, ripping Grendel's arm off, and protecting the people are different views that are seen throughout the story. Grendel is the real monster is this story.

Beowulf is an epic story that relates well to the time that it was introduced by having the stories of the epic battles and the defeats of the treacherous monsters that kept everyone entertained during this era. Not only does Beowulf represent the era well, but it also has very interesting characters, themes and symbols that help teach us lessons that are very much so needed in today's society.