Compare And Contrast Beowulf And Grendel

Beowulf, an epic poem written in England in the 8th century, introduces us to a character known as Grendel, a vicious beast who terrorizes a village in Denmark. In 1971, an American author named John Gardner reintroduces the character, this time re-telling the story from the monster’s point of view. In both stories Grendel is portrayed in many similar, but also many different ways. When reading the two stories we instantly recognize similarities in the way that Grendel is depicted. Both describe him as a seemingly vicious monster, who becomes infuriated anytime he sees others displaying any form of happiness or merriment. They each recount numerous instances in which the monster breaks into the meadhall of the Danes and terrorizes them. Each author describes how terrified the people are of Grendel and how a hero named Beowulf seeks to destroy him and liberate them of their curse. While the basic storyline and character description appear similar, each author writes from a completely different standpoint when it comes the emotions and intentions of the beast. The original writer of
Beowulf depicts the creature as a ravenous, animalistic-type beast. He is apparently driven by an animal-like instinct as he ruthlessly attacks the Danes. He unsympathetically rips apart his victims and drinks their blood, enjoying the taste of their flesh. The readers are unable to sympathize with the character and he is considered to be the antagonist of the story. In Grendel, however, Gardner approaches the beast in a completely different manner.
In Gardner's novel, Grendel speaks from a first person point of view and we discover that he is not so much the brutal and heartless beast that everyone believes he is, but rather a perpetually misunderstood, lonely creature. In this story the monster is given more of a personality and humane quality. He struggles to understand the human race, when every attempt is instantly shot down because of the fear he instills into every creature he comes across. In Grendel, Grendel is nothing more than a misguided being who is trying to find a purpose in life and acts violently as a result of fear. Readers are able to more closely identify with Grendel in this story and cannot help but to empathize with the monster whenever he is victimized by others. In this novel he is considered as the protagonist of the
story.