The movie basically told us the opposite of what was true about him. We would have never known this stuff if the author wouldn’t have written in the stream of consciousness. Grendel had many feelings that we did not know about in Beowulf that we learned about in the book. In the movie we got the idea that he was a horrible monster who didn’t care about anything or anyone. Beowulf told the story from the dans point of view not Grendel’s. So by John Gardner choosing to use stream of consciousness we really saw who Grendel was. Grendel seems way more human in the book rather than the movie. “I laughed my ankle was numb; my leg was on fire to the hip” (page 21). Only a real human could feel pain and sorrow like…
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 a fictional character, designed by John Gardner. Throughout the book Grendel develops new philosophies as he continues to explore the world and encounters new surroundings. Solipsism is an idea that everything is created out of your own mind, that your mind is the only thing to actually exist. Nihilism is the thought that life is meaningless. Solipsism is developed after Grendel explores his new world for the first time. Nihilism is created in Grendel after he has a discussion with a Dragon who tells him the world is pointless. Grendel shows Nihilism and Solipsism throughout the story.…
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…
In writing from Grendel’s perspective, I think Gardener is trying to makes us sympathize with Grendel. While reading the story from Grendel’s point of view we can see that he also felt fear at some point in his life. Like when he caught his foot in the crack where two old treetrunks joined Grendel says “I shrieked in fear; still no one came.” In Grendel’s story he says men are dangerous thinking creatures, “Suddenly I knew I was dealing with no dull mechanical bull but with thinking creatures, pattern makers, the most dangerous things I'd ever met”. In his story we can see that they were the ones that made him a monster because they could not understand him. They just saw that he was an ogre an assumed he was a monster, so they attacked him…
Continuing, this now leads to the next point. That is, the curiosity found in Grendel helps to prove his actual morality. This is shown through his observance of animals, nature, and humans. The first example of this can be located on page six. Here Grendel is speaking of watching a bull go about it’s daily business. The bull mindlessly stares off into the distance, simply enjoying the cool breeze. With this, Grendel is agitated. “Why can’t these creatures discover a little dignity?” he ponders to himself. All throughout the recollection of Grendel’s life, he frequently mentions stopping to watch the sky and life around him. In a like manner, Grendel has also observed the humans. He found himself interested in the human impact on the environment…
Both characters, Grendel and the monster, can’t be associated with people. Both are grotesque, alarming creatures. Both are sentient, they cannot become a fellow comrade to their surrounding societies despite their depression and loneliness. Both want nothing more than companionship with someone other than Grendel’s mother and Victor Frankenstein, but they are aware of how utterly impossible…
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.…
In the first chapter of Grendel, I believe that Grendel is more animal than human. In Grendel he is portrayed as a sensitive, intelligent, and immature creature.Grendel is more animal than human because he does act like an animal. For instance, When Grendel states “I cry and , and hug myself, and laugh, letting out all the salt tears…”(Gardner 6). Even animals have feelings. I feel Grendel is not welcomed within society. He feels as though he has worthless. As an example, “Pointless, ridiculous monster crouched in the shadows...”(Gardner 6). He hides in the shadows as he looks for his prey not being welcomed by anyone else. Grendel feasts upon other animals and humans. He eats more cattle than anything. For example, “Cows have more meat and,…
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…
Grendel, generally seen as a monster or giant, is one of the main antagonists in the popular Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf. Portrayed as the epitome of evil, Grendel brutally attacks the meadhall of the Danes for twelve years before being defeated by the epic hero Beowulf. Gardner, through his book Grendel, creates a new point of view of these events through Grendel eyes, as Grendel learns about the humans and how they seem like wild animals in their actions. In Grendel by John Gardner, Gardner reveals that “Man must have evil so that he may have good to balance…” through the use of juxtaposition and aphorisms (Gardner 6).…
In the novel Grendel, John Gardner, through Grendel’s character, portrays the universal struggle all humans face to find meaning in life. Grendel, just like everyone else wants to find his meaning, and purpose. Though he struggles, Grendel is ultimately trying to find himself in all of the things that he does.…
In the novel Grendel, by John Gardner, portrays Grendel's characteristics altering as he meets new characters; throughout his journey to mankind. Mankind teaches him vast new knowledge he's never understood. His nihilistic and solipsism is formed through the characters in the novel; envy and anger are also shown. He plays big roles in terrifying the Danes and somewhat of the Geats; they mold him into the monster they fear the most. The characters, shaper, man, and the dragon shape Grendel into the monster he so desires. They teach him of lies, false glory, brutality, never ending violence, and wisdom.…
Grendel views the world as an open space of “nothingness” to which he entered, to which the nothingness where it must end. He comes to the realization that his own, along with every other individuals existence is merely just a flash in time, "in a billion billion billion years, everything will have come and gone several times, in various forms" (page70). He possesses the belief that all men are mechanical. He is given the opportunity to observe and study them, introducing him to the idea of conformity, with the desire that he too can find meaning in this…
Gardner uses the first couple chapters of the novel Grendel to show the reader how Grendel is a big scary monster who has a very sensitive side to himself and is very lonely. When Grendel first encounters men he describes it as: “ I saw men … I found I understood them: it was my own language but spoken in a strange way. (Pg.23)” This quote from the text shows Grendel's first realization that he wanted to fit in with these men and noticed that humans and him were not that different at all. This realization set the tone for the story and showed that the monster in all reality just wanted to be accepted.…