Grendel was strong and powerful monster. (line 1) He was so strong that he could rip men apart. Most men in the kingdom feared him. He was the most evilest monster in land.(line21-24) Even though many of the men in the kingdom didn’t know about his mother.…
Grendel enters Beowulf's land, determined to kill the people. With all of his effortless kills, he expected an easy victory. Grendel wouldn't fight King Hrothgar because he was said to have God on his side. Having said this, Grendel planned to fight, and kill Beowulf (prince) without and struggle. As Grendel proceeded to the meet hall, he saw all of the soldiers resting in one, laughing he decided to feast on one body and wait until the next day to attack fully. When he does prepare to fight Beowulf, he expected a fast and easy win. What he didn't expect was a harsh, and long battle. As Grendel and Beowulf fought, Grendel learned that Beowulf had the strongest hand on anyone he'd attacked yet. Beowulf pulled back at Grendel's claws with force,…
In the decade of, Beowulf there was different views and beliefs that can be viewed in this century as barbaric and brutal. The Epic of Beowulf and Beowulf and Grendel is a perfect example of the religious differences and views of the people of this particular century. (Gunnarsson, S.) (Heaney, Seamus) In Beowulf and Grendel there was a more pronounced difference in religious views than in the Epic of Beowulf done to try to be more relatable to today's society. The movie Beowulf and Grendel reflects more of a religious conflict between Christianity and Norse mythology than in the epic of Beowulf, this reflects the modernization put into the movie by today’s view of religion.…
Grendel is a monster, no matter what way he is described. A being that brings misery to all . This makes the next statement just captivating: the two Grendel’s in the poem of Beowulf and the novel Grendel, are two completely different beings. In the poem, Grendel is a mindless brute for a hero to slay; in the novel he interprets philosophy and is an unbiased mind viewing mankind .…
While Grendel was beginning his revenge, he was feeling great he couldn’t believe his luck. “ I can hardly believe my luck, and my wild heart laughs, but I let out no sound. Swiftly, softly, I will move from bed to bed and destroy them all, Swallow every last man” (Gardner 168). When Grendel found out it was all a trap to kill him, he thought he would be able to defeat them all. They were just men, he could simply eat them. But when he faces Beowulf he starts to think differently. “ I realize, have I encountered a grip like his. My whole arm was on fire” (gardner 168). When Grendel is seriously injured, he knows he has no chance against Beowulf. When Grendel is about to die a man mentions “ poor grendel’s had an accident” Grendel last words…
The relationships as elaborated in John Gardner’s Grendel also open up a new perspective to how Grendel has “fallen” from humanity into the tragic anti-hero as Gardner takes original characters such as Grendel’s mother and the dragon and transforms them from the original text into life changing characters that have helped develop Grendel’s alienation and hatred towards the world. In the original “Beowulf” not much is given about Grendel’s relationship between his mother and himself, as poem only cites how “sad” and “angry” his mother was once Grendel had died. In giving no indication of the past relationship Grendel and his mother shared Gardner takes the opportunity to develop a complex and layered relationship as Grendel states “She [mother] loved me in some mysterious sense I understood without her speaking it (18).” Ultimately, Grendel throughout Gardner story suggests that although there was no physical nor verbal interaction between the mother and Grendel, they did develop a kinship where Grendel “pities” the lifeless “hag” that she has become (Gardner, 52). However, throughout Gardner’s tale, Grendel often does not reveal his love towards his mother but hides it through various insults and slurs directed as his mother. His false hatred towards his mother is partly because he does not comprehend her lack of human emotions and actions as she throughout the tale emits “strange…
That everything changes according to the way he see things and no one else. Grendel is starting to be aware of the fact that he does not need the rest of the world but himself to survive. When he was hanging on the tree no one helped not even his own mother; that’s when he says, “I understood that, finally and absolutely, I alone exist." Through his mother did safe him deep down inside he alone and wishes he wasn’t alone.…
The question of why we are alive, is a common one. “What is my Purpose in Life?” is asked almost daily by every single person. This question is answered along with many important philosophies being analyzed and discovered in John Gardner’s Grendel. The philosophies of solipsism, nihilism, and eventually existentialism are explored through Grendel, Grendel’s Mother, and the Dragon as Grendel learns more about himself and the world around him. These philosophies are established in the book due to the historical context of the time the book was written.…
In the story of Beowulf, there is a monster named Grendel, who ravages king Hrothgar and the town of Herot. Beowulf isn’t your typical villain. He isn’t brash and is almost unknown. His identity remains a mystery throughout the story, and he uses slyness to elude detection by performing his grueling tasks at night. This villain has striking similarities to that of the recent terrorists attacks. The following quote shows how Grendel’s attack correlates with that of the terrorists. “He found them sprawled in sleep, suspecting nothing, their dreams undisturbed. The monster’s thoughts were as quick as his greed or his claws: He slipped through the door and there in the silence snatched up thirty men, smashed them unknowing in their beds and ran out with their bodies.”…
“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…
When Grendel is listening in on the sharper’s songs at the mead hall he is caught by surprise, but when he thinks it his life is over he notices the dragon’s gift. The dragon’s gift made Grendel immune to all the Dane’s weapons and flooded Grendel’s head with ideas of power. As Grendel retaliated he abandoned his last “seed” of goodness as he slaughtered the Danes without remorse because in those moments, Grendel’s last “seed” of goodness was lost as he begins to believe that his purpose is to kill the Danes is a good thing to…
To begin with, Grendel’s last words are “ Poor Grendel’s had an accident,” I whisper. “So may you all” (Gardner 174). Grendel is cursing the animals around him. For instance, when Grendel illustrates that he doesn’t like animals. This is when he has several incidences with the animals. Likewise, Grendel yelled “I smile, threatened by an animal already dead, still climbing” (Gardner 140). Grendel felt threatened by the animal, therefore he had to kill the goat. The goat trespassed on Grendel’s rock, making Grendel dislike the goat because the goat wouldn’t leave his rock. Also, Grendel implies “Why can’t these creatures discover a little dignity”(Gardner 6). The animals bother Grendel a lot of times. Grendel is just trying to be alone. He doesn’t…
For example, he includes “It didn’t matter what they did to each other. It was slightly ominous because of its strangeness-no wolf was so vicious to other wolves”(Gardner 32). This is when Grendel began to see mankind's brutal characteristics as they slaughtered each other. In his death bed Grendel continues to progress before he dies. He curses everyone, including animals by stating “So may you all”(Gardner 174) suffer from a tragic ending as he has. He turns into the ultimate nihilistic once he damns everyone; but it’s ironic due to the fact his victims have felt just as he…
A brave and noble character in an epic poem admired for great achievements or affected by grand events.…
Grendel is one of the three major antagonists in the poem "Beowulf". We are told he is a monster and a descendant of the biblical figure "Cain" early on in the text. "Till the monster stirred, that demon, that fiend/Grendel who haunted the moors, the wild /Marshes, and made his home in a hell./Not hell but hell on earth. He was spawned in that slime/Of Cain, murderous creatures banished/ By God, punished forever for the crime/ Of Abel 's death." (Lines 101-108).…