In society, there have always been different roles in defining the boundaries between right and wrong; Monsters take a big part of that role. In Jeffrey Cohen’s “Monster Culture,” Cohen explains seven theses which provide a clearer explanation of how monsters take a part in establishing these boundaries. The oldest Anglo-Saxon story written- “Beowulf”- provides three different monsters which all connect to Cohen’s seven theses. In the older version, however, the monsters do not relate to humans in any way, except that they are enemies. The modern version of Beowulf portrays Grendel’s mother to still be evil but also have relations with the humans in the story. The older version of Beowulf incorporates a monster named Grendel. After Beowulf …show more content…
Though they are very different, they both fit aspects of Cohen’s 5th theory- “The Monster Polices the Borders of the Possible.” In the modern version when Grendel is killed by Beowulf, Grendel’s mother kills 20 of Hrothgar’s men for revenge “twenty dead Thanes in all, their bodies ripped into pieces, are hanging by their feet from the rafters” (Film Script 60). When Beowulf adventures to Grendel’s mother’s cave for revenge, the story has a complete twist. Once Beowulf gets into her cave, he finally meets the monster. In the older version of Beowulf, Grendel’s mother is not given many physical characteristics. In the modern version, Grendel's mother is beautiful, “Her long hair is now silken, her skin like golden milk…she has transformed into beautiful goddess of shimmering golden flesh” (Film Script 70). Beowulf pledged that he would slay Grendel’s mother for what she has done, but he is unable to kill her. Grendel’s mother is a seductress; She brings out the greed in men. “Beowulf is intrigued...seduced” (Film Script 69) then “Fear has paralyzed the great warrior. All he can do is stare into the eyes of his enemy... She has hold of him” (Film Script 71). Grendel’s mother offers Beowulf royalty as long as she can have a son in return. Beowulf’s mind is taken over by greed and desire for women, money, and royalty. He accepts the deal with Grendel’s mother. Beowulf has ventured
The philosophies expressed in the Beowulf epic complement the exploration of existentialism throughout the modern work, Grendel, by John Gardner. Both works portray different perspectives of the same story, involving the same characters; Beowulf, the ancient Anglo-Saxon hero who destroys Grendel, and Grendel, the monster who terrorizes Hrothgar’s hall. Beowulf and Grendel act as archetypes that explore humanity’s perception of the world. In the Anglo-Saxon epic, Beowulf and his companions represent good, and the monsters, including Grendel, represent evil. When Beowulf kills Grendel, the world is less evil, but since Beowulf’s companions die in the struggle, the world is also less good. Ultimately, the two forces of good and evil will destroy each other, but the story maintains that God will interfere and save mankind from destruction. In Gardner’s story, the progression of society begins when mankind creates a monster and then creates a hero to fight the monster. Once the greater power of the hero had been established, once the conflict’s resolution strengthened society’s power, than a greater monster developed ...
“The only motive that there was was to completely control a person… and keep them with me as long as possible, even if it meant just keeping a part of them.” Using this statement, Jeffrey Dahmer offers his insight about what made him the cruel, demented being people have known him to be for the last 25 years. Many questions still remain, however. How do we, in society, define the term “monster”? What makes a monster? What shapes our perceptions of monsters, and how do these perceptions change over time? Several centuries passed between the time of Grendel from the epic poem, Beowulf, and the Milwaukee Monster, Jeffrey Dahmer, for instance. Grendel is a creation of the Anglo-Saxons, whose culture
Despite numerous cultural and technological advancements, life in modern America continues to bear resemblance to the Anglo-Saxon world. Although it may take time and some loss of pride to admit it, since characteristics of human nature have stayed the same, from work place to personal relationships, the similarities between the two worlds are uncanny.
The battle with Grendel’s mother differ from the battle with Grendel because when Beowulf fought with Grendel he used no weapon “my hands alone should fight for me” line 174. On the day of the battle, when Grendel saw Beowulf he was scared for the first time “ Grendel's one thought was to run from Beowulf, flee back to his marsh and hide there.” line 278 But when Beowulf fought with Grendel’s mother, at the beginning Beowulf was fighting for his live “ For the first time in years of being worn to war it would earn no glory” line 484 Beowulf was losing , she was to fast and “no sword could slice her evil skin.” He needed his weapons fight for him, and Grendel’s mother was not scared of his strength as Grendel
In literature, monsters are often used to symbolize characteristics in humans. In the poem Beowulf, monsters are used to symbolize destructive behavior in humans. In the case of Hrothgar and Beowulf, their pride causes them to become selfish. Pride often makes people lose focus of their priorities and that can make their selfishness get out of control, and lead to destructive behavior.
Ethics is a wide field of philosophical study to which the core of every question within falls to one side of a blurred line. On the right, is good; the value which is popularly believed to be the correct alignment for which a person should live their life according to. On the left, is evil; that which is the cause of most human misery, and prevents peace on earth. In John Gardner’s book Grendel, the retelling of the ages old story Beowulf, further blurs the line between good and evil. Circumstance and perhaps a confused view of reality allow the monster, Grendel, to conceivably defend his evil beliefs. In order to better understand evil, using Grendel as a guide, I intend to attempt to justify it.
There are three prominent monsters in the Beowulf text, Grendel, his mother, and the dragon. While the dragon proves to be the most fatale of foes for Beowulf, Grendel and his mother do not simply pose physical threats to the Germanic society; their roles in Beowulf are manifold. They challenge the perceptions of heroism, a sense of unrivalled perfection and superiority. Moreover, they allow the reader to reconsider the gender constructs upheld within the text; one cannot help but feel that the threat that these monsters present is directed towards the prevalent flaws in Beowulf’s world. Moreover, what makes these monsters is not their physical appearance; it is what they embody. Both Grendel and his mother have humanlike qualities yet their monstrous appearance arises from what their features and mannerisms represent. The challenge they pose to societal paradigms makes them far more terrifying to our heroes than any scaled flesh or clawing hand. These monsters provide the ‘most authoritative general criticism […] of the structure and conduct of the poem’. Their presence provides contrast and criticism of the brave society (Heaney 103).
In the Anglo-Saxon poem Grendel’s mom is described as a giant swamp like monster and could not be penetrated by a regular sword. According to Beowulf the Anglo-Saxon, “it was then he saw the size of this water-hag, damned thing of the deep…He dashed out his weapon, not strinting the stroke, and with such strength and violence that the circled sword screamed on her head a strident battle-song. But the stranger saw his battle-flame refuse to bite or hurt her at all; the edge failed his lord in his need.”(Ln.1517) In the movie Beowulf Grendel’s mother is a very seductive monster that appears to be very beautiful, Beowulf’s sword goes right through her skin. They then engage in sexual intercourse. One could assume Grendel’s mom is anything but a “hag.” According to Beowulf Gets a Modern Makeover. “In the film, Angelina Jolie plays Grendel 's monster mom as a babe, not a hag.” In the movie Beowulf Grendel’s mother kills Beowulf’s men before he fights the dragon. However in the poem it never happened because she was dead. According to Georgette Lewis-Brown, “The wrath of Grendel’s mother is more pronounced in the movie as she slaughters many of the men while Beowulf sleeps and has a nightmare about
In most novel and movies monsters are known to be evil, committing numerous crimes against humanity and are normally the ones that we don’t sympathize with. However, this novel carefully shows the reader that monsters can be good creatures, with a decent heart and act based on the actions of others. The novel shows how the monster should be pitied, rather than criticised. Mary Shelley's “Frankenstein” manages to create sympathy for the creature through speech, actions and mistreatment the creature suffers.
The second encounter occurs when Grendel’s mother comes to avenge her son. While still embodying the quality of evil, she more specifically represents revenge. “His mother moreover, [e]ager and gloomy was anxious to go on [h]er mournful mission, mindful of vengeance [f]or the death of her son” (Beowulf, book 20 lines 26-29.) When Beowulf was swimming down to her lair, Grendel’s mother quickly swam out and attacked him, dragging him deep into her cave. The attack went on for several minutes before Beowulf found a way to successfully defeat the revenge-seeking
Another instance that Beowulf proves himself to have monstrous qualities is through the shoes of Grendel’s Mother according to Monster Theory. When Grendel’s Mother came to Heorot to avenge her son’s death she crossed territory that was not in her domain. In response, Beowulf killed her. In Thesis V: The Monster Polices the Borders of the Possible, Beowulf was a symbol of limitations of how Grendel’s Mother could act while grieving for the loss of her son.
Since the beginning of time, fairy tales, stories and legends have shared a common theme where good and evil are played against each other. In the story of “Beowulf”, translated by, “Burton Raffel”, there is a hero who plays as a good character, and there is also a demon who rules the dark side. The hero Beowulf, agrees to take a journey to conquer the evil monster Grendel. But when Beowulf is trying to defeat the beast, Grendel fights back, causing integrity and generosity to vanish. The common theme in various tales like in Beowulf is, good vs. evil.
In the beginning of the novel, we find that that a mysterious creature attacked Hrothgar, the king of Danes and his army. In response to the situation, Hrothgar decides to call Beowulf who happens to his nephew. In this account of the story Beowulf is the hero to the Danes. He defeats the monster and it's mother. In contrast, in the novel Grendel, Grendel tells the story from his perspective. He describes to the how he wanted to be friends with the humans. In hi attempt to communicate, he is unsuccessful and finds himself being attacked. After trying several more times to befriend the humans, he deices to carry out his plan of being what society ‘wants’ him to be.
While the classic battle between good and evil forces is a major theme of the medieval epic Beowulf, one may question whether these good and evil forces are as black and white as they appear. Scholars such as Herbert G. Wright claim that “the dragon, like the giant Grendel, is an enemy of mankind, and the audience of Beowulf can have entertained no sympathy for either the one or the other” (Wright, 4). However, other scholars such as Andy Orchard disagree with this claim, and believe that there is “something deeply human about the ‘monsters’” (Orchard, 29). While Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon are indeed portrayed as evil and violent foes, there are parts within Beowulf that can also lead a reader to believe that the “monsters” may not be so monstrous after all. In fact, the author of Beowulf represents the “monsters” within the poem with a degree of moral ambivalence. This ambivalence ultimately evokes traces of sympathy in the reader for the plight of these “monster” figures, and blurs the fine line between good and evil within the poem.
The story of Beowulf is a heroic epic chronicling the illustrious deeds of the great Geatish warrior Beowulf, who voyages across the seas to rid the Danes of an evil monster, Grendel, who has been wreaking havoc and terrorizing the kingdom. Beowulf is glorified for his heroic deeds of ridding the land of a fiendish monster and halting its scourge of evil while the monster is portrayed as a repugnant creature who deserves to die because of its evil actions. In the epic poem, Beowulf the authors portrays Grendel as a cold-hearted beast who thrives on the pain of others. Many have disagreed with such a simplistic and biased representation of Grendel and his role in the epic poem. John Gardner in his book, Grendel set out to change the reader’s perception of Grendel and his role in Beowulf by narrating the story through Grendel’s point of view. John Gardner transforms the perceived terrible evil fiend who is Grendel into a lonely but intelligent outcast who bears a striking resemblance to his human adversaries. In Grendel, John Gardner portrays Grendel as an intelligent being capable of rational thought as well as displaying outbursts of emotion. He portrays Grendel as a hurt individual and as a victim of oppression ostracized from civilization. The author of Beowulf portrays Grendel as the typical monster archetype as compared to John Gardner’s representation of Grendel as an outcast archetype.