Beowulf‚ an epic poem written in England in the 8th century‚ introduces us to a character known as Grendel‚ a vicious beast who terrorizes a village in Denmark. In 1971‚ an American author named John Gardner reintroduces the character‚ this time re-telling the story from the monster’s point of view. In both stories Grendel is portrayed in many similar‚ but also many different ways. When reading the two stories we instantly recognize similarities in the way that Grendel is depicted. Both describe
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In both stories Grendel is portrayed as a bad guy. In Grendel‚ Grendel can talk and basically just wants a friend to torment‚ while in Beowulf he doesn’t talk and is defeatable when fought. In the story Grendel‚ you can tell by the way he talks that he is fueled by killing. It gives him a certain rush that serial killers get while killing. I was able to understand Grendel in a way because he was lonely‚ scared and found something to do‚ which excited him; but all he really wanted was a friend. In
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Beowulf is a classical english story about a viking warrior who fights monsters written roughly 1000 AD. Grendel is a derivative novel written in 1971 by John Gardner. While the two works contain roughly the same events‚ how those events are portrayed is vastly different. I have read parts of each work during the last few weeks. The main difference between the two works is how the portray the monster‚ Grendel. While both works feature Grendel as a monster who is immune to swords and engages in
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In Grendel‚ the story is told from Grendel’s point of view. Therefore he is not viewed as a killing machine. In Beowulf however‚ it is the exact opposite. Grendel is seen as a monster who is terrorizing Hrothgar’s people. The way Grendel is portrayed in Grendel is different from the way he is portrayed in Beowulf regarding his initiative and purpose. Grendel is portrayed the same in both stories when it comes to his actions and his nature. Grendel’s initiative in Grendel is mainly self defense
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Compare and Contrast Essay With the two stories about the Grendels one from Beowulf and the other one from the book Grendel by John Gardner. They are both very similar but also they are very different. Here are something that make them different the Grendel from Beowulf is alone and murderous. He is also very confident in his strength and power. It is said that he was‚ “shut away from men” (line 25). Throughout the story they talk about how he was a murderous creatures banished by God and also
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characters Beowulf and Grendel share pages in both the Old English epic poem Beowulf and in the novel Grendel‚ it is in the contemplative glances away from the pages that the similarities come to an abrupt stop. When considering the traits of the characters Beowulf and Grendel‚ their idiosyncrasies and actions whittled down to analytical musings‚ it can easily be said that the two are polar opposites in every sense of the word. If Beowulf is the warrior‚ then Grendel is the coward; if Beowulf is the
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In both works‚ Beowulf and Grendel‚ Grendel himself is generally given the same connotations. He is given kennings‚ called names‚ referred to as the evil spawn of Cain‚ and even viewed as a monster; but why? Why in both books is he a wicked‚ horrible‚ person who is harshly excluded from everyone? After stumbling upon John Gardner’s book‚ it was halfway expected that some excuse would be made for Grendel; that he wasn’t really the inexorable monster the thanes in Beowulf portrayed him as. But all
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The epic poem Beowulf does not portray Grendel in a fair manner. One of the main characters in the epic poem is called Grendel. Grendel is a monster who lives in a cave with his mother. He hates his mother and thinks that he is the most intelligent species and no one else’s life has meaning. Grendel in the epic poem is portrayed as a monster who only kills and cannot think for himself. John Gardner‚ an author of the book Grendel felt like the epic poem was one sided and Grendel did not get to share
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Grendel and Cain In the story of Beowulf you get a glimpse of many different themes throughout this epic. Those themes range from good and evil to those of death and glory. The story itself depicts a period in history when life was lead "blind" through the teachings of the book of the lord and his spoken words. At this same period in history traditional pagan religious practices and beliefs have slowly given way to the ideals and philosophy of Christianity. Many of the themes held within the pages
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Josh Lee Dr. Weibly English IV 4 November‚ 2012 The Distinguished Characteristics of Beowulf vs. Grendel In Beowulf‚ the hero defeats the “corpse-maker”‚ Grendel. Of Beowulf’s three battles‚ the fight with Grendel has the most significance. Both Grendel and Beowulf emerge unexpectedly‚ foreigners who respectively destroy and restore to make dramatic changes to the peace of the Spear-Danes. Beowulf also proves his heroic nature in terms of personality‚ such as his loyalty and love for fairness
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