Beowulf and Frankenstein

Throughout many old works of English literature there are many different perspectives on the origin of evil. In Beowulf, Grendel is a monster who was exiled from society for being a descendant of Cain. As a result he has been considered an outcast by society and thus acts malicious against society. In Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, Victor Frankenstein breaks the natural order of life when he manages to discover the secret to creating life and succeeds in creating a living human. However, upon realizing that he has created a monster, Victor flees and abandons his monster. This feeling of abandonment, lack of compassion, and requirement for love is what ultimately causes Victor’s creature to transition from good to evil and seek vengeance upon society. In Beowulf, one is introduced to Grendel, a malicious creature who has been isolated from society and God for being a descendant of Cain, the oldest son of Adam and Eve, who murdered his brother Abel. From the very moment of his birth, it was chosen whether he would be considered good or bad in the eyes of God and the rest of society. The following quote signifies how society and the author viewed Grendel as evil, “Conceived by a pair of those monsters born of Cain, murderous creatures banished By God, punished forever for the crime of Abel’s death. The Almighty drove Those demons out, and their exile was bitter, Shut away from men; they split Into a thousand forms of evil-spirits And fiends, goblins, monsters, giants, A brood forever opposing the Lord’s Will” (lines 20-29). Thus the very creation of Grendel may explain the authors perspective on the origin of evil and it seems that in Beowulf, the author uses Grendel to justify that some may be born naturally evil and that one does not choose to be evil or become evil. From his very creation, Grendel was isolated from society and was viewed as naturally evil and in retaliation acted out of spite and anger. “The monster‘s Thoughts were as quick as his greed or his