When reading a book and watching a movie, do you ever notice the differences that take place between the two? The Beowulf textbook version and Beowulf movie version differ in many ways, one being the characters. The movie displays characters as being more descriptive and the textbook as being more adventurous. Beowulf fought more than one creature; however, the events leading to them have total differences. Even events that are not so majorly different between the movie and textbook affect the outcome of particular scenes. The differences between Beowulf movie and Beowulf textbook that make them both interesting are that Wiglaf helped Beowulf fight the dragon; Beowulf fought Grendel, and Beowulf asked for a castle of remembrance.
Wiglaf
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The cause of Grendel wanted to attack the town was because he didn’t like them having a good time laughing and singing. The effect was Beowulf came to help the town’s king because he had helped Beowulf’s dad long ago. During the textbook fight, Beowulf broke Grendel’s arm off with his bare hands. In the movie, Beowulf was much cleverer and captured Grendel so he could break his arm off with the door. When Grendel arrived to attack in the movie, Beowulf was naked, but in the textbook Beowulf wore a mail shirt at all time to keep him protected. In the movie, Beowulf had a bad dream of an evil woman spirit before Grendel’s appearance.
According to the textbook, Beowulf asked for a castle of remembrance before he died. However, in the movie Beowulf floated off on a boat full of treasure. In addition to, the boat caught on fire and began to sink. In the textbook version, Beowulf died on the san with treasure and told wiglaf how he wanted to be remembered. Also, in the textbook wiglaf poured water onto Beowulf so he could get his last words out. Even when Beowulf was dying he still wanted fame; and for a castle to be made so when someone visited the town they could know his name. Wiglaf stayed loyal to him even when the others were
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 it really did was make him worse. What is the message we are being sent about Grendel?
The book Grendel, written by John Gardner, and the poem Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney, both have very distinct opinions on what role each character plays. The translator of Beowulf and the writer of Grendel follow the idea that everyone has a story. A story is the writer’s perspective on a character’s personality, the way people in the story see and treat the character, and the way it ties the ideas together. There are many examples in these two writings of this concept, but the main instances connect with the lives of Grendel, Beowulf, and Unferth.
When compared the Movie and the Epic have the same story arc (Beowulf and Grendel, Beowulf and Grendel’s Mother and Beowulf and the Dragon). Starting out similarly with Grendel's slaughter of the Danes through Beowulf’s defeat of Grendel. However, turning in the opposite direction when Grendel’s Mother is introduced. Thus interpreting and changing the finer details of said story.
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
Grendel in the novel Grendel by John Gardner, and Grendel in the poem Beowulf, which has an unknown author, presents two different views of the same character due to the perception differences of Gardner and the unknown author. Grendel in Beowulf and the story of his namesake both have notable similarities and differences that make each distinctive from one another.
He does not act like the blood hungry beast he is seen as in Beowulf. In
The motion picture demonstrates Grendel as honest and in this way give the viewers a misconception of all the transgression that he has commited. He is appeared as pure and innocent yet like a youngster. After Beowulf executes Grendel he meets with Grendels mother to thrashing her and all the brutality Heorot has been included in. One of these distinctions happens to be in the poem, Grendel murders the Dane who wronged him and continues to make tracks in an opposite direction from Beowulf, however as Grendel is fleeing Beowulf gets his arm. In spite of the fact that Beowulf gets his arm in the poem but in the movie this scene played out extremely differently. Grendel runs and and Beowulf grabs a rope and Grendel gets stuck on it, Grendel cuts his own arm off with a specific end goal to make tracks in an opposite direction from Beowulf and alternate Danes. In the motion picture Beowulf has no part in removing Grendel 's arm. Also in the poem Grendel is not mentioned as being Beowulf’s son. In both movie and poem Grendel does lose his
The times have changed. As well as the storylines. Movies and books could be titled the same thing but the storyline can be completely different and that is how Beowulf is when portraying the character of Grendel’s mother. Looking at how the storyline has changed when you look at the presentation and actions of Grendel’s mother you can see that reading something you can get an image in your head and then it is taken from you when you see them film. Grendel’s mother has been portrayed very different through the two mediums, the cantos and the 2007 film Beowulf. We have taken a look at and how the storyline is written while focusing on the motivation, physical characteristics as well as the mental characteristics.
No one knows the difference between Grendel and Beowulf. No one knows that Grendel may be a better fighter than Beowulf, but all of that does not matter. To people today, Grendel is seen as evil. “For its grave: Grendel will carry our bloody Flesh to the moors, crunch on our bones And smear torn scraps of our skin on the walls Of his den.” (Anonymous 448-450). On the other hand, Beowulf is known as a man who deeply loves others. “Nor have I seen a mightier man-at-arms on this earth than the one standing here: unless I am mistaken, he is truly noble. This is no mere hanger-on in a hero's armour." (Anonymous 244-251). Therefore, Beowulf is more of loyal and compassionate person than Grendel is.
In life, people are always told to be good. Parents tell their children not to steal, hit, or kick. As a society most people are taught to do the right thing. So, what happens if someone is bad? There are hardly any stories written about the bad person. The epic poem, Beowulf by Seamus Heaney, is written about the “bad guy”. While Grendel, by John Gardner, and also the book that comes after Beowulf, is written about the “good guy”. There are many other differences in the writing styles other then, one book is about the good person and the other the bad. Beowulf and Grendel both use kennings and alliteration, are written in different time periods, and
In the movie, this version of Beowulf does what the other Beowulf would have never done for a monster he just finished slaying. He builds a memorial in honor of Grendel. This shows Beowulf's remorse for killing him. An emotion the Beowulf from the epic didn't seem to have. Beowulf also shows mercy on Grendel's son when Beowulf decides not to kill him. This mercy is something that was not present at all in the epic's portrayal of Beowulf. If a deed would bring glory to the name of Beowulf, then he wouldn't hesitate to do it.
In both John Gardner’s Grendel, and the poem Beowulf, there are significant differences between characters, and the way they are portrayed in each of the tellings. The interpretation of a hero is usually altered in order to fit the audience, such as, Saddam Hussein in America is made out to be this monster whereas, in his home country Iraq, he is looked at as a hero and idolized by some. In each telling, Grendel and Beowulf have many similarities in how they are described in each writing, but each character is also shown in a different light in each of the writings.
This demonstrates a great difference between the two characters. Had Beowulf’s attack not been unexpected, Grendal surely would have used a weapon. Beowulf’s defeat against Grendal sets one of the first stepping stones to his long legacy of heroic deeds.
There are many similarities and differences between the movie "Beowulf and Grendel", to the poem. Major differences between the movie and the poem would be Grendel himself. In the poem, he is described as an evil monster born from two demons. In the movie, Grendel is actually human, but known as a troll to the warriors and Danes. The poem doesn’t give the background of Grendel or show how the Danes killed his father and the possible reason of his revenge, like in the movie. If the witch, Selma, was not included in the storyline of the movie, the audience would not have known key information that she was used to show from more flashbacks. The witch gives more of an idea about Grendel’s past life that could have been the possibility to reasons for his actions. Some major similarities are the battles. Both epics include the battles between Beowulf and Grendel, as well as Beowulf and Grendel’s mother. The end results are the same, leading to their death, but the journey and process to the two tales are different.
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.