How Does John Boyne Present Gretel's Character

Although he describes her as a “life-bloated, baffled, long-suffering hag” (11), Grendel realizes that “she would gladly have given her life to end my [his] suffering… with useless, mindless love” (102). He also believes that “she must have some human in her” (11), furthering Grendel’s character as one that derived from humankind at the very least. The novel acts as a witness to the fact that Grendel did have a childhood. Although his childhood brought on some struggles, this is a part of all life, including that of people. He finds his purpose in life when “at an early age [he] is forced to deal with a brutal and meaningless reality” (Butts) and he begins he finds his purpose. Throughout Gardner’s novel, Grendel tries to learn “how best to deal with the world” (Butts). As Grendel grows up, he learns from and is influenced by many different people who act as his teachers and role models. These interactions are Grendel’s closest alternative to the relations that the average human has. Grendel has three unique influences in his life: his mother, the Shaper, and the dragon. Grendel views his mother with disgust and she provides the inspiration and motivation for him to do better with his own life. The Shaper’s influence brings out Grendel’s ability of

Grendel is an unreliable narrator in John Gardner’s book Grendel, which describes his life journey to find truth about humanity and himself. Grendel does not display the qualities of an impartial, authoritative, and unbiased narrator in the story, but instead gives the reader cause for suspicion in his narration of events. Firstly, Grendel is inherently biased as a narrator because it comes from the first person point of view. Grendel has a bias to favor himself more positively in the events that transpire over the course of the novel. He displays personal interest and is directly involved in the conflicts that arise. Moreover, Grendel antagonizes and tortures the humans over the course of twelve long years and can lessen his guilt by being deceptive to the reader. He diverts blame for

            There is a stage in everyone’s life where they feel they are not accepted by someone or something. Whether it is because of one’s age, appearance, or emotional and mental stability, a sense of disproval and isolation appears to be glaring through the eyes of society. Throughout Grendel’s life, he is shunned from humanity for he was viewed as something of destruction and harm. However, not one person ever took the time out to see Grendel’s true personality or really discover what he was all about. When facing the realities of the cruel world, Grendel found himself severely struggling with some psychological deficiencies. After performing multiple psychoanalysis tests on Grendel’s behavior, his

It is quite clear that Heaney’s choice of diction is far more complex and sophisticated than Raffel’s choice of diction, which is very simple. Heaney uses many words that may be hard to comprehend due to the fact that they are not often used in conversations or even in many other writings. An example of a word that Heaney uses in his translation that may not be understood right away is “prowler.” This word, which means stalker, is a word that may not be comprehended by someone with a weak vocabulary. It intensifies the story greatly, however, by allowing the reader to visualize Grendel sneaking up on his prey, showing that he has a deceitful personality. Raffel, on the other hand, simply describes Grendel’s actions. He skips from Grendel being a “powerful monster” to him growling due to the excessive noise from the hall. Grendel’s personality is not explained or stated as in Heaney’s translation. By Raffel missing this little piece of information about Grendel, the reader has an easier time comprehending what is currently occurring, though it is slightly less informative.

Anxiety is portrayed throughout “Grendel” is multiple parts of the novel, Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard once stated “Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom.” This means that you feel anxiety because you recognize that you and you alone are responsible for your actions. This produces the two-sided feeling of simultaneous dread and exhilaration. The most noticeable view of this portrays itself at the end of chapter nine with Grendel feeling immense dread as he stumbles through the forest. In this moment, Grendel wants to go through time to see the dragon. Everything alive is asleep or dying. He is waiting for winter to move on, so everything can be alive again. Grendel yearns for life to show itself again come spring due to that his life

Another part of the text which is evidence to Grendel not being the monster he is made out to be, is the relationship dynamic between Grendel and his mother, and also his mother’s actions after his death. The actions of Grendel’s mother are not those of a monster, but those of any normal woman who has children. After her son was killed (murdered and then part of his body was taken as a trophy), she just wanted to seek revenge. “But now his mother/ had sailed forth on a savage journey,/grief-racked and ravenous, desperate for revenge.” (1276-1278). Grendel’s mother displayed the emotions of complete sadness and despair over her son; it seems more of a human response rather than that belonging to a monster. Considering that the bond of a mother and son is supposed to be the strongest bond of all, her actions after his death are in a way justified. It is easy to see that the character of Grendel is much more than just a monster through his mother’s subsequent actions of taking down Grendel’s arm from hanging in Heorot, and feuding (in her own way she was trying to feud, to obey the code as it was in this time. When she went to Heorot to seek her revenge, she did not

In the story, Grendel reminisces about the time before he became a monster. His tone is almost nostalgic. The story reads, “I used to play games when I was young—it might as well be a thousand years ago. Explored our far-flung underground world in an endless wargame of leaps onto nothing, ingenious twists into freedom or new perplexity, quick whispered plottings with invisible friends, wild cackles when vengeance was mine.” Grendel is remembering the childhood that he had. His tone indicates that he misses his childhood; the time before he was a monster. The opposing side may think that Grendel’s flashback to his childhood may not mean anything; that it doesn’t show any reason to sympathize with him. However, this quote clearly implies

In addition, Grendel’s mother plays a big role in the novel and the relationship between Grendel and her seems complicated. In Grendel, Grendel calls his mother mean names such as fat, but Grendel does love his mother. The only reason why he can not show her any affection, she does not speak the same language he does. This explains why she stared into his soul at often times because it was her way of showing him affection. She would also do things like smother him in her and although he did not like it, he took it because he knew this was one of her few ways of showing him she loved him.

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.

Grete’s isolation from society stems from her passion and interest for her loved ones. Grete spends all her time at home caring for her family members. Kafka describes her as “perceptive; she had already begun to cry when Gregor was still lying calmly on his back”

In "Gretel in Darkness" Gretel is reciting the poem. It is written in the first person. In this poem Gretel is overcome with certain darkness in her life. Something is haunting her from the past. Gretel describes an experience that she and her brother have shared together. The experience is Gretel killing the witch, saving herself and her brother, Hansel. At first it seems life is perfect and all troubles are forgotten, but the memory seems to haunt Gretel. Gretel is alone, suffering,

Grendel's Mother, then, appears as the face of vengefulness. This fault is not so common a powerful occurrence as guilt; emerging only when faced with grief and loss and the desire for retribution. Grendel's Mother is described as having “scavenged and gone her

Near the end, Griet’s identity has gone through the process of a young maid to a mature lady. At first, Griet’s opinion held no importance. She does not have a say in anything. This is evident when she says, “ ‘ What would I think, madam?’”(157). Griet has certainly developed an opinion, but not the courage to speak it in front of others. She is aware of her status as a maid. This changes throughout the course of the novel. Griet does develop the courage to take the decision of her life as well as carry it out. “ ‘I did not pick up the knife. I turned and walked from the room’”(215). This quote illustrates Griet’s ability to make and carry out decisions. She is not going to tolerate any wrong accusations, and she has learned to take a stand for herself. This change occurs due to Vermeer and his art. Somewhere in between, Griet realizes that she has had enough, and she’s not going to let anyone come and accuse her of doing something she didn’t do. Vermeer and his paintings made Griet feel that she does hold importance, and no one has the right to accuse her wrongfully.

Gretel’s depressing thoughts give the feeling that her family, especially Hansel, have abandoned her. When she goes to her brother for support he is not there to help her. “No one remembers. Even you, my brother, summer afternoons you look at me as though you meant to leave, as though it never happened” Gretel says (Gluck 13-16). Maybe not physically, but mentally and emotionally, Gretel feels that her brother isn’t there for her because he doesn’t feel haunted by the incident with the witch like she does. Gretel is overwhelmed and caught up in this whirlwind of emotions where “she feels as though the events that occurred in those woods are weighing down on her and as though she never really got out of that hell at all” (Bufka). Her loneliness truly comes out when Hansel seems to want to leave the house and leave the incident in the past to move on while she is desperate for his help.

In novels, the author creates a focus on a relationship - between enemies or friends, a parent and child, or husband and wife. In the two texts, The Book Thief, and The Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas this is a aspect that is featured in both, the relationship between children. The Book Thief focuses on the relationship between Liesel and Rudy, two of the characters. In The Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas the relationship that is focused on is between Bruno and Shmuel. The following paragraphs discuss the similar situations, and themes that connect the two relationships together.