Grendel went answer and was soon greeted by an angry mob. Grendel’s mother was quite tired of all the raiding of meadhalls and she did not approve of Hagelin, Hjalmarsson and Rask. So one night when she saw a group of warriors looking for her son and his friends, she lead them to her home. She hoped that a stint in jail might straighten Grendel out and help him reevaluate his life choices. Grendel and the other three ran out the back door, but the mob caught up to them and took them to Herot.…
It gives the reader the feeling that he does not possess the same thought processes as humans do; therefore, he is characterized as a monster. However, in this novel, Grendel’s point of view and thoughts are more developed and deeper than how he is portrayed in Beowulf. The readers get a glimpse of the story through his eyes and it may change their view of Grendel. He is a solitary and disoriented creature who is misunderstood by humans and all those around him. He looks for a place to belong and his quest is to know who and what he…
Grendel is the horrid creature that lives in the lake near Heorot Hall. Heorot is a mead hall of King Hrothgar. Citizens go there do drink, eat, laugh, tell stories, and do whatever they please. The creature (Grendel) is known to be the descendant of Cain, which is one of the reasons for all of his hatred. Grendel terrorizes and consumes the occupants of the mead hall. Another reason for his disgust towards the people of Heorot is that he was rejected from the community of people that occupy Heorot and the adjacent area. The main reason for Grendel’s attack on the mead hall is that he envious. The people of Heorot get to enjoy there delicious foods and intoxicating liquor, while Grendel has to live out in the cold forest and hunt for his food. Another reason for his attacks is that he just has a natural hatred for humans due to Cain’s sin and his family lineage makes him hate. In this story, lineage is extremely important, due to the time period that this story was based on. Grendel displays quality of a traditional villain.…
Gears operate properly when each particular section is correctly in place so, the smallest defect can cause the gears to malfunction and generate chaos within the entire system. Correspondingly, Grendel in the novel and the monster in Frankenstein resemble these defects. Their being amongst their surrounding societies makes them realize what outcasts they are. Grendel in the novel is somewhat similar to the monster in Frankenstein because both are pained to not being able to accommodate with people, both are rejected by people, and both compare their situations to the stories of those cursed in the bible.…
“Poor Grendel’s had an accident, I whisper. so may you all” (Gardner 174). I think it is Grendel’s hatred of the society of mankind that develops throughout the novel, leading to his ultimate curse he lays upon them with those words. “I knew I was dealing with no mechanical bull, but with thinking creatures, pattern makers, the most dangerous things i'd ever met” (Gardner 27). This quote is an example of why I think Grendel's last words refer to a curse to mankind. Grendel believes mankind are the most dangerous and terrifying creatures out there and deserve to be cursed as they have treated him so bad. For example “But they were doomed, I knew, and I was glad. No denying it. Let them wander the fogroads of Hell” (Gardner 53). Grendel wishes…
In the poem Beowulf one of the characters Grendel has displayed evil among others and injustice throughout his life which has lead Beowulf to want to defeat Grendel and end him once and for all. His powers although scary, are plain. His background unknown, until the book begins and we find out who the real Grendel lying beyond the shadows is.…
Grendel’s goodness is continuously suppressed by the misunderstanding of humans. When Grendel first encounter’s humans, the humans immediately mistake Grendel for a bloodthirsty monster because of his appearance. In the beginning when Grendel is still developing his moral and spiritual understandings of the world,…
A Misunderstood Little Monster: Grendel of Beowulf Oftentimes, those who are seen as monsters may turn out be misfits, lonely, misunderstood and cast out of society. In the epic poem Beowulf, the sympathetic portrayal of the monster Grendel serves as a reminder of society’s cruel and unforgiving treatment of outcasts. Grendel, lonely and suffering, lashes out at any opportunity he comes across, putting all his aggression into his attacks. Indeed, he is first introduced as “living down/ In the darkness” (ll.23-24), a pariah who “[haunts] the moors, the wild / Marshes” (ll.39-40).…
The character of Grendel in John Gardner’s is more appealing than the “monster” in the novel Frankenstein by Mary W. Shelley because they both use of first-person point of view, they both show how the characters grow, and they both have difficult situations in the end.…
Grendel, arrives to the porch of Herot, as his demon like appearance is exposed due to the glimmering overhead light shining upon him. He hurriedly grips the door handle and tears the door straight to the floor. The collapsing door and Grendel’s stomp into the grand entrance was as loud as thunder. Straight ahead of him, lay the warriors, sleeping like rocks. The walls of pure gold were so shiny, it was as if it was reflecting off the warriors skin. A sense of pure joy fills his mind, and his mouth forms a slight smirk, as he gazes over each and every one of them, knowing their lives will be vanished,and accomplishing more of his malicious schemes. He approaches a soldier, and begins to tear each of his limbs, and in the air permeated the sound of snapping bones and the shrieks of pain coming from the soldier. Grendel gulps the blood pouring out of the mans body, and finishes by gnawing on every square inch of his being with his sharp fangs. He is too amped up to stop here, as he continues to deteriorate every square inch of flesh and bones of these innocent warriors. A warrior shrieks as Grendel’s humongous, green, scale like feet move towards…
A home is a place where one lives and feels most comfortable. In John Gardner’s Grendel, the dragon is a character that has a large influence on the way Grendel thinks towards the end of the novel. He also is responsible for Grendel’s decision to attack the Scylding people, and eventually this decision led to Grendel’s “unexpected” death. The dragon impacts the Anglo-Saxon people because his words influence Grendel to raid the Scyldings, he impacts Grendel by presenting a different outlook on life, and the character reflects the meaning of the book because he believes everybody has a set role in the world and they cannot change that.…
Who determines what is right or wrong? Who determines what is evil and what is not? In John Gardner’s Grendel, the main character wonders if he is truly evil and the purpose for his existence. He starts as a poor, lonely creature, but after an encounter with a dragon, his mindset changes. He experiments with different philosophies in order to define his existence. Consequently, he becomes an intolerably evil creature that shows no remorse for his actions. He intentionally deceives the Danish people, disrespects others, and kills for sport. Grendel is evil according to the Old and New Testament teachings of the Bible.…
I will begin my story from the point of my arrival in Denmark when my initial engagement takes place: I began my terror long ago when I sat in the darkness yelling and growling in pain of the happiness and joyousness coming from Hrothgar and his men yet, they still challenge me, after seven years they still celebrate and boast and laugh with their music. I, Grendel, through my great strength and immunity from the weapons of humanity, vow to plague the mead hall. I stayed in the darkness consumed with impatience, bitterness, and jealousy of listening to loud, joyous music coming from the hall; songs of rejoice make my hands scratch and claw at the top of my head. The king of Denmark shall flee in terror as my wrath is cast upon the people of the mead hall. After the laughter and the celebration were finished that night I came out of hiding from the marsh hidden in the darkness. I attacked from the front of the hall, destroying all in my path and devouring all those who stand in my way. The pathetic humans tried without success to prevent my massacre. Their weapons are primitive, worthless against my flesh. I hurled myself towards the crowds, devouring the humans who stood in my way. I hold my brutal and violent acts, those of jealousy and envy; just as the acts of my descendant Cain, in the highest regard as a force of sheer and utter destruction. I will prevail, of this I am sure.…
The Anglo-Saxons were a people who inhabited Great Britain from the 5th century. They included people from Germanic tribes who migrated to the southern half of the island from continental Europe, and their descendants; as well as indigenous Romano-British populations who adopted Anglo-Saxon culture and language. The earliest phase of English literature started with Anglo-Saxon literature of the Angles and Saxons (the ancestors of the English race) much before they occupied Britain. English was the common name and tongue of these tribes. Before they occupied Britain they lived along the coasts of Sweden and Denmark, and the land which they occupied was called Engle-land. These tribes were fearless, adventurous and brave, and during the later years of Roman occupation of Britain, they kept the British coast in terror. Like other nations they sang at their feasts about battles, gods and their ancestral heroes, and some of their chiefs were also bards. It was in these songs of religion, wars and agriculture, that English poetry began in the ancient Engle-land while Britain was still a Roman province…
Anglo-Saxons brought their society (kings, thanes, ceorls, slaves), religion, legends, stories. They also brought their outlook on life (loyalty, feuds, exile) and their language.…