Grendel Literary Analysis

In the novel Grendel by John Gardner, the author uses minor characters that each represents and symbolizes different things. These characters include Unferth, Wealtheow, the Dragon, Hrothgar and Ork. These characters have roles that shape and contribute to the rest of the story. All of these characters have parts that in some way are important to telling Grendel 's story even though they do not have a major role.

Unferth is one of Hrothgar 's thanes and is seen throughout the novel confronting Grendel and putting down Beowulf. He is depicted as being self-absorbed and tries to make himself noticed by attempting to become a hero. An example of this is when he tries to fight Grendel in the mead hall, "Tell them in Hell that Unferth, son of Ecglaf sent you. Known far and wide in these Scanian lands as a hero among the Scyldings" (82). This quote shows that he is very self-absorbed and believes that he can do what ever he wants without considering the consequences. Another role of Unferth is to make Beowulf seem more glorious and brilliant to the reader. Unferth confronts Beowulf about a swimming match and tries to make Beowulf less admired by recalling that he had lost,Say friend, are you the same man that went swimming that time with young Breca-risked your lives in the middle of the winter for nothing-for a crazy meadboast? We heard about that, Nobody could stop you-kings, priests, councilors-nobody. Splash! Uh, uh, uh! The sea boiled with waves fierce winter swells. Seven nights you swam, so people say. And at last Breca beat you, much stronger than you were. He proved his boast against you - for what it may be worth. (160)In this quote Unferth tries to make Beowulf seem weak and powerless. Beowulf tells the group what really happened and that he had really won and not Breca. Unferth 's actions contribute to how Beowulf is presented and how the reader feels about him. Beowulf disproving Unferth makes Beowulf seem more honest and heroic.

Hrothgar is another character that is seen more frequently in Grendel. Hrothgar has a role of taking in Wealtheow and being her husband. He is seen more frequently but his role is limited and is not clear in the novel even though Grendel refers to Hrothgar frequently. Hrothgar is characterized as being neutral, meaning not good and not bad. He is represented as a leader of the Danes (enemy of Grendel). At page 109, when Grendel was going to kill Wealtheow, Hrothgar did nothing to stop it (even though Grendel changed his mind). This shows that Hrothgar does not really care for his wife.

Wealtheow 's role in Grendel is to be Hrothgar 's wife and be the queen. She is represented as being a pure innocent person who has no evil. In the novel she was given up by her brother to Hrothgar to be a servant, "I offer you my sister, Let her name from now on be Wealtheow, or holy servant of common good" (100). This quote shows Hygmod (Wealtheow 's Brother) surrendering his sister to Hrothgar as a gift. Hrothgar accepts Wealtheow to be his wife and the queen. Hrothgar does not truly care for Wealtheow, since he did nothing to protect her when Grendel had planned on killing her. Grendel decided to not kill Wealtheow because her goodness and beauty overtook Grendel and made him change his mind, "I changed my mind. It would be meaningless, killing her. As meaningless as letting her live. It would be, for me, mere pointless pleasure, an illusion of order for this one frail, foolish flicker-flash in the long dull fall of eternity." Although this is not one of Wealtheow 's quotes, it shows that her beauty and pureness was enough to stop Grendel from brutally murdering her. This quote also adds to how she is characterized as being beautiful and innocent.

The Dragon is a character who knows everything; past, present, and future. His role in the novel is to tease Grendel and occasionally scare him. He also answers Grendel 's questions, but not the way that Grendel expects him to. The Dragon puts a spell on Grendel so that he would terrorize the Danes right after Grendel decided he would give the Danes a break and stop bothering them. The Dragon is characterized as being an evil person and having no good intentions.

Ork represents a priest or holy person; he had encountered with Grendel only once. When Ork meets up with Grendel, he is very respectful and asks no questions. Ork 's role is to respond to what Grendel was asking of him about the King of Gods. Grendel was lying about being The Great Destroyer, but Ork is blind and had no way of telling if the person he was talking to was really who they said they were. Ork responds by giving his theories about the King of Gods,The King of Gods, The King of Gods is the ultimate limitation, and His existence is the ultimate irrationality. For no reason can be given for just that limitation which it stands in His nature to impose. The King of the Gods is no concrete, but He is the ground for concrete actuality. No reason can be given for the nature of God, because that nature is the ground of rationality (131).

From this quote we can conclude that he is characterized as being religious and that he believes god with a strong passion. Ork is seen again at the end of the novel when Beowulf comes. He is disappointed that the Great Destroyer (which he did not know was Grendel) could not take care of their problem. This shows that Ork is also characterized as being respectful towards others.

The minor characters in the novel Grendel by John Gardner are essential to telling Grendel 's story. Although many of these characters are not often mentioned, they still play an important part in the plot and they represent or symbolize something that adds to other characters.

Word Count: 1,005Works CitedGardner, John. Grendel. New York: Vintage, 1989. Print.

Cited: ardner, John. Grendel. New York: Vintage, 1989. Print.