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Compare and contrast grendel and beowulf
Compare and contrast grendel and beowulf
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Comparing and Contrasting the Characterization of Beowulf in Beowulf and Grendel
The tale of Beowulf has become a legend. The epic is one of the first stories written in Modern English and most likely was passed down orally for centuries before. The story details the deeds of Beowulf, a great man of the Germanic tribe of the Geats, who assists the Danes in dealing with monsters of mythical proportions, namely a monster named Grendel, his mother, and a dragon. Grendel, written by John Gardner, offers a modern perspective on the ancient tale. Gardner’s story is written in the perspective of the monster Grendel himself and provides a deeper look into the workings of his mind. Both stories portray Beowulf, although from very different perspectives.
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There are similarities in the portrayal of Beowulf between the two works, but there are also many differences. Beowulf and Grendel have one striking similarity in their characterizations of Beowulf: they detail his superhuman might.
Beowulf tells of Beowulf’s ability to overcome obstacles and obtain victory by exemplifying his strength. For example, during the fight with the large monster Grendel, Beowulf grabs the fiend’s talons. The author writes, “[Grendel] knew at once that nowhere on earth/Had he met a man whose hands were harder” (Beowulf, lines 274-275). Grendel does the same, detailing how the monster suffers at the hand of Beowulf’s strength in battle. The monster says, “Nowhere on middle-earth, I realize, have I encountered a grip like his. My whole arm’s on fire, incredible, searing pain…” (Grendel, p 168). As the battle progresses, both stories tell how Beowulf uses his strength to rip off Grendel’s arm, eventually leading to the demon’s demise. Both tales also detail Beowulf’s boastfulness. In Beowulf, Beowulf introduces himself to the king of the Danes, Hrothgar, by telling of his great deeds, like chasing “Five great giants into chains” (Beowulf, line 154) and “hunting monsters/Out of the ocean” (Beowulf, lines 156-157). Grendel also details Beowulf’s pride. Although in this story he is more humble, he also reveals his great deeds, including his fight with sea monsters, when he “killed them, nine old water nickers, robbed them of the feast they expected…” (Grendel, p …show more content…
162). However, the two stories also differ in their presentations of Beowulf’s character.
For example, Beowulf presents this protagonist as virtuous, the embodiment of heroism. The story weaves Beowulf’s character, tells of how he was “Bold and strong-minded” (Beowulf, line 348) and how he had “driven affliction/Off, purged Herot clean… Ended the grief, the sorrow, the suffering” (Beowulf, lines 348-349, line 353). However, Grendel gives a different image of Beowulf. The writing does not question his might, but it does question his mental state. As Grendel observes Beowulf with the Danes, he says, “I understood at last the look in his eyes. He was insane” (Grendel, p 162). As Grendel fights with Beowulf, he also makes a startling discovery: Beowulf thinks like he does. Throughout the story, Grendel develops an existential viewpoint. He comes to believe that the world is simply a mechanism, and that things only are as he perceives them. During their battle, Beowulf grabs Grendel and tells him of his own similar existential viewpoint. He speaks about how we are all “a few random specks” (Grendel, p 170), even furthering their similarities by calling Grendel “my brother” (Grendel, p 170). Grendel even says, “I understand him all right… Understand his lunatic theory of matter and mind… block and builder, reality as stress” (Grendel, p 172). Grendel’s account differs much from the original story of Beowulf, in that it pictures Beowulf’s mentality as a sort of monstrosity. Grendel
himself even goes so far as to describe Beowulf as having metaphorical dragon-like qualities, saying, “He stretches his blinding white wings and breathes out fire” (Grendel, p 172). This is perhaps the most profound differentiation between the two tales. The original tale describes the struggle as one between hero and monster, while Grendel presents the clash as one monster versus another. Beowulf has been one long studied and read by many generations. The primary character, Beowulf, has often been presented as a superhuman and consequently prideful, but with the dawn of Grendel different perspectives have been offered on Beowulf’s characterization. This includes comparing Beowulf’s mindset to that of a monster rather than a hero. Regardless of the perspectives developed, Beowulf will continue to provide a source of academic analyzation for years to come.
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?
Grendel, written by John Gardner, is a novel based off the early epic poem, Beowulf. Gardner tells the tale in the perspective of the monster, Grendel, who is struggling to understand the purpose of life and his place in the world. In Gardner’s novel, Grendel terrorizes the kingdom of Hrothgar for 12 years, killing men in the night relentlessly. With the descriptions of battles and heroic deeds, Gardener conveys to the reader, the ideals of Anglo-Saxon heroes as courageous, self-righteous, humble, and loyal beings that are humanly flawless. The book Grendel tears down all these fundamental ideologies of Anglo-Saxon heroism by giving Grendel the monster a nihilist perspective that makes heroism sound stupid and meaningless.
Of the many characteristics of a hero, being better than the ordinary man is the trait most easily found when studying a character. Beowulf exhibits almost god-like strength throughout his quest. For example, “He twisted in pain, / And the bleeding sinews deep in his shoulder/ Snapped, muscle and bone split and broke.” (Beowulf 815-818). His strength is once again demonstrated in his fight with Grendel’s mother. After he realizes hand-to-hand combat is futile, Beowulf swings a sword “so massive that no ordinary man could lift/ It’s carved and decorated length.” (Beowulf 1560-1561). Yet another example of Beowulf’s strength is his presentation of Grendel’s head to the Danes. After slicing off Grendel’s head in one blow, Beowulf orders his men to carry the head back to Herot. However, the head of the monster was “too heavy for fewer than four of them to handle” (Beowulf 1636-1637). After arriving in Herot, Beowulf “carried that terrible trophy by the hair,/ Brought it straight to where the Danes sat” (Beowulf 1647-1648). The second trait that demonstrates that Beowulf is better than the ordinary man is his incredible honor. When preparing for his fight with Grendel, Beowulf decides not to use ...
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.
He does not act like the blood hungry beast he is seen as in Beowulf. In
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 epic poem, Beowulf, coming from the years of 600 to 700 AD has been translated in many different styles. In these excerpts by Burton Raffel and Lucien Dean Pearson, provides a clear understanding of this epic poem. Reading the two different translations, Raffel tends to provide the reader with a better understanding of the evil nature of Grendel and the heroic characteristics of Beowulf.
Beowulf outlines turmoil between three opponents: Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the Dragon. These separate discords each serve to fulfill different metaphoric purposes. Grendel’s character epitomizes the adverse persona of how an Anglo-Saxon warrior should not be. His mother represents everything that a woman during the time era should seldom be. Lastly, the Dragon embodies all the values that an Anglo-Saxon king should not dare retain. Without a doubt, the symbolic implications of the monsters in Beowulf bring the context to a new level of understanding.
John Gardner’s Grendel delicately betrays the humanity of a monster. The reader is pulled into the story of Grendel’s life, his rather philosophical journey, and his ultimate downfall. Remarkably, the tale of a creature who, in Beowulf, is a simple force of evil, becomes a complex, storied protagonist. However, this complexity must not be mistaken for righteousness. No, even Gardner’s Grendel remains evil, but in a way that is more relatable, more human. He is cognizant of his wrongdoing, and he even attempts to break his own cycle of destruction, but in the end surrenders to a dark and thankless fate. Grendel’s inherent evil is revealed as he disregards preexisting morals, embraces
John Gardner’s Grendel is the retelling of the heroic epic poem Beowulf; however, the viewpoint has shifted. Grendel is told from the viewpoint of one of Beowulf’s antagonists and the titular character of Gardner’s work—Grendel. In Grendel, Gardner humanizes Grendel by emphasizing parallels between Grendel’s life and human life. Through Gardner’s reflection of human feelings, human development, and human flaws in Grendel, this seemingly antagonistic, monstrous character becomes understood and made “human.”
A writers mind is very intellectual, they tend to have an unparalleled vision within their sense of understanding. The differences of this vision, compared to the levels of understanding, shows itself transversely throughout the novel Grendel and the epic poem Beowulf. Both forms of literature are distinct in the plot and setting, but Gardner’s perceptiveness of Beowulf in his novel differs from the view of the unknown author’s relay of Beowulf in the poem. In the poem, Beowulf is portrayed as an epic hero, brave honorable, and dignified, with vast generosity and munificent loyalty. While in the novel, he is portrayed as an unsettling stranger that connives his way into everyone’s life by his dangerous nature and entrancing stories.
Grendal, a descendant of Cain, is one of the main antagonist of the poem Beowulf. He lives under an inherited curse and is denied God’s presence. Throughout the story Grendal causes enormous grief and fear to the people of Herot. After so much pain and agony the king of Herot, Hrothgar, sends for the protagonist of the poem, Beowulf. He is a Geat and the epic hero of the poem. The wide variety of distinctions between Grendal and Beowulf is what develops the climax of the composition. Beowulf kills Grendal, so he is honored by the people of Herot for his heroic act. Since Grendal and Beowulf play opposite roles in the poem, Beowulf, they let the reader know how contrasting characters can develop the plot of the story.
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.
One aspect that was the most apparent was the fact that he was such an outcast. In Beowulf, Grendel was “…living down in the darkness, growl[ing] in pain…” because he knew that he did not belong with the Danes and other human beings at all (Raffel 6). Similarly, in Grendel, as interested as he was with the humans and their way of life, he still found himself “…back[ing] away till the honeysweet lure of the harp no longer mocked [him]” (Gardner 4). Grendel was constantly distancing himself from the human beings because he knew he did not belong and they were not willing to give him the gift of acceptance into their group. However, this outlook carried through with Grendel between the two stories to portray just how monstrous and estranged he
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).