Compare And Contrast Grendel Vs Beowulf

Every great hero needs a great villain. Thus Grendel was created to rival Beowulf. With most heroic stories, only the hero’s vision and ideals are shown. The novel Grendel, on the other hand, shows the reader the true feelings of the villainous monster, Grendel. But, the two Grendels, the version in the novel and the version in Beowulf, have several differences. The version of Grendel in the novel is more intricate than the version of Grendel in Beowulf because Grendel in the novel searches for meaning in his life, Grendel in Beowulf is portrayed as only a monster, and Grendel in the novel has emotions and has sympathy for mankind.

A question asked by many, but is truly unanswerable: What is the meaning of my life? The version of Grendel in

the novel consistently searches for the meaning of his life. Unlike the Grendel in Beowulf, he questions what his purpose is and what he is meant to do. Grendel asks his mother, “Why are we here?”(Gardner 11)Although he learns what he is destined to be from the dragon, Grendel is not content. He still questions his existence. He doesn’t understand why he is improving man. While the novel Grendel is pondering life, the Beowulf Grendel is destroying man. He lives in the darkest place in the world, “Till the monster stirred, that demon, that fiend, Grendel, who haunted the moors, the wild Marshes, and made his home in a hell Not hell but earth” (Beowulf 16) He is not shown to have any other thought as to his purpose, only that he hates man and wants to destroy them all. He doesn’t question his existence, he simply doesn’t care why he was created or not, he just wants to kill man.
Most villains are monsters, creatures that wreak havoc on metropolises and worlds.

They have one goal, destroy. The Beowulf Grendel is exactly that, a monster. He ruthlessly attacks mankind, again and again, slaying whoever he pleases. His acts are merciless, “He slipped through the door and there in the silence Snatched up thirty men, smashed them Unknowing in their beds and ran out with their bodies.” (Beowulf 36) Grendel ruthlessly slaughtered the men, and there was no one to stop him. Nothing gets in his way from the destruction of mankind. The Grendel in the novel however, is more of a trickster then a demon. Although he does kill many men, he is shown to have feelings, as well as some mercy. Grendel cries to his mother, “Please Mama!” (Grendel 19) When Grendel gets trapped in that tree, you see his fear and his misery. Hopelessly dying alone, Grendel evokes some sympathy from the reader, whereas the monster Grendel is still a villainous beast. Grendel almost kills Wealtheow, but stops himself, “I changed my mind. It would be meaningless, killing her. As meaningless as letting her live.” (Grendel 110) He showed mercy to her, when he had never before shown mercy to anyone. He realized how pointless killing her was. His mercy showed him that he was more than just man’s

destroyer.
A perk of being human is having emotions. Emotions are used to express ourselves. In literature, a characters emotions are used to show their true nature. In the novel Grendel, Grendel has a vast range of emotions, one of which being empathy. He is empathetic to mankind and its constant struggle to survive. He says, “But they were doomed, I knew, and I was glad.” (Grendel 53) He pities them, although he doesn’t always show it. He realizes how much they are like him, searching for meaning in a meaningless world. But Beowulf Grendel had only one emotion. Hate. He wanted the complete and udder destruction of mankind, “On murder that crime could never be enough, No savage assault quench his lust for evil.” (Beowulf 51) He didn’t care at all for the human race. He didn’t care what they did, he just wanted them all dead.
The two Grendels are so very different, despite their similarities. Yes both are villains, but the novel Grendel is more human than monster. His empathy and ideals match mankind’s empathy and ideals. Beowulf Grendel is a monster filled with evil.