Compare And Contrast Grendel And Beowulf

In both the novel Grendel by John Gardner as well as the epic poem Beowulf translated by Seamus Heaney, the two authors depict Grendel in significantly different portrayals. Gardner’s Grendel is very complex and complicated while Grendel in Beowulf is much simpler in the sense that he is a vicious animalistic monster. The two depictions are essentially opposites in the sense that in Beowulf Grendel is more vicious but in Grendel Grendel is more complex and he changes throughout the novel. It is not clearly stated in either book what Grendel’s specifics are such as what he looks like or what kind of creature he is. The only thing that is known about Grendel’s physicality is that he is very hairy like a monster would be and he has some human-like

qualities such as he stands on to legs.
In Grendel, the reader receives an initial depiction of who Grendel is and what he is like.

He is portrayed as confused and just strolling through life looking for answers and he does not act like the blood hungry beast in fact he is a kind monster. “Ah, the unfairness of everything, I say, and shake my head. It is a matter of fact that I have never killed a deer in all my life, and never will” (Gardner 8). This depicts Grendel as a nonviolent monster that previously would have killed the deer but in Grendel he does not and has no intention to do so. Grendel is a very confused creature in Gardner’s novel, he would ask his mother, “Why are we here?” (Gardner 11) and he would get advice from the Dragon such as, “You are mankind, or man’s condition: inseparable as the mountain-climber and the mountain” (Gardner 73). Grendel is very much aware that most people fear him and he uses that to his advantage. The Dragon tells Grendel, “They would map out roads to Hell with their crackpot theories!...You improve them my boy! Can’t you see that yourself? You stimulate them! You make them think and scheme” (Grendel 72). The about quote in which the Dragon gives advice to Grendel shows that Grendel is far more superior than humankind is. When Grendel and Beowulf meet in the meadhall, Grendel realizes that he has never seen a creature quite as strong and brave as Beowulf in fact he is quite amazed. After Grendel gets attacked he runs into some animals that do not fear him and he says, “Is

this joy I feel” (Gardner 173). Then with his last few breaths he realizes that the animals are standing there and Grendel says, “Poor Grendel’s had an accident, So may you all” (Gardner 174). The death scene in Grendel shows that despite everything that has happened he is happy to leave this world and he can die in peace.
In Beowulf, the reader gets a depiction of Grendel that is a large monstrous creature. This gives the reader the idea that Grendel is driven by nonhuman like qualities such as animal instincts. If Grendel uses his animal like instincts then it can be concluded that he does not have the same thought process as humans do. “Malignant by nature, he never showed remorse” (Beowulf 137). What is being said here is that Grendel is violent and does not care what his actions can lead to. Grendel is not a very complicated and confusing character in Beowulf as he is in Grendel because he has a multitude of animal attributes as well as a grotesque, monstrous appearance, but yet he illustrates a way about him like he is guided by human emotions and impulses. In addition, he depicts more of an internal lifestyle than people would imagine. It can be inferred through the text that beyond Grendel’s aggressive nature against the Danes lies solitude and jealousy. “Cain’s clan, whom the creator had outlawed and condemned as outcasts” (Beowulf 107). Grendel has now been descended from something that embodies bitterness and spite. This quote shows that Grendel is a monstrous, animalistic beast that will terrorize anything or anyone in his way until he is satisfied. Grendel is like a shark, he will eat or destroy anything in his path until it is satisfied.
The differences between the two versions of Grendel are distinctly different but similar in a way. Gardner provided the reader with a complex but yet accurate interpretation of Grendel while showing that is not a vicious as other interpretations of Grendel. Beowulf show Grendel in a different light but yet also accurate. In Beowulf Grendel was portrayed as a more animalistic violent monster that terrorizes everything in its path. Even though these two depictions seem polar opposite there are some similarities. Overall both authors depicted their version of Grendel well and proves the thesis to be correct.