Grendel vs. Born of Man and Woman

Grendel and Born of Man and Woman were similar in surprisingly many ways. The biggest point of comparison between these two works is the human/monster ambiguity that is present. Both of them make if difficult to decipher whether or not the main character is really human or not. They each have very human-like characteristics, but there are many things that point to them each not being human. For instance, Grendel is obviously not human by the way humans react to him, and from the description of his mother, it can be gathered that she is not human at all, shedding doubt on his humanness. The character in Born of Man and Woman is also seen as not human by those people who witness him. He also says he "drips," meaning bleeds, green several times. This is obviously not a human characteristic. Each case could be argued either way for the two of them, though it is clear they are not normal humans.

One of the first similarities that was easily distinguished was the voice of the two works. Both are in the first person point of view,and each narrator is talking to themselves. They are recording what is happening to them and describing the world around them as well. However, the diction of these two characters is quite different. In Born of Man and Woman the main character speaks in a more primitive, childlike way, as if he has little intellect. In Grendel this is not the case at all. Grendel speaks surprising well, considering he had a mother who did not even talk. He seems smart and uses language well to describe his life.

Another similarity is that Grendel and the other unnamed narrator are easily sympathized with. They are both easy to sympathize with because they are not so different from people, but they are different enough that they are rejected by people. They both admire normal people and long for their companionship. They are very lonely characters because they obviously do not fit it with other people. They wish they could be normal and join the others,