Written sometime between 400-700 AD, Beowulf, the basis for the novel Grendel, was rooted in historical fact. When Gardner decided to write Grendel over 1200 years later, he kept some of these themes, twisted some, and omitted others. There are many characteristics of Anglo-Saxon culture exhibited by Gardner in Grendel, however due to the nihilistic view Grendel holds, they are sometimes warped. One common theme throughout Beowulf and Grendel is the idea of wyrd, or fate. In Grendel, the dragon explains to Grendel the lack of free will in the world, saying everything is determined for you. The dragon 's nihilistic view of the world therefore influences Grendel, especially because the only creature to teach him any life lessons is in fact the …show more content…
Due to the perspective switch between Grendel and Beowulf, Grendel sees humans as vicious without values. He watches them kill animals and other humans, not eating them, and sees this as wasteful. Hrothgar 's greed is seen by Grendel, as he builds his kingdom through conquering, and also spends a lot of money on the appearance of his kingdom. Lastly, he sees the destruction of what he feels are the only redeemers of the human race. "So much for heroism. So much for the harvest-virgin. So much, also, for the alternative visions of blind old poets and dragons" (Gardner 90). In Beowulf, Beowulf and his people are seen as vicious warriors, just as in Grendel, but they are also seen as moral people. In Beowulf, it explains how Beowulf 's heart was not "savage, But guarding God 's gracious gift, his strength, Using it only in war, and then using it Bravely . . . (Beowulf 2180-83). This example shows that Beowulf did have values, and was not just a vicious warrior. One thing that is completely absent from Grendel is Wergild. Grendel sees the humans just wasting lives (killing animals and humans and not eating them), not respecting the lives of one another as well of those of animals. This really bothers him, and he goes so far as to hate that fact that he even shares a similar language to them. In Beowulf, however, there is evidence of wergild, "If glory is what he seeks: not killing …show more content…
Accomplishments were remembered if they were great, and the concept of Momento Mori ( 'remember death ') became popular. It was fastened around the belief that one was made immortal through his (or her) accomplishments. This is present in Grendel in the Meade Halls that were frequently mentioned as meeting places. In the Meade Hall in Hrothgar 's kingdom, the Shaper would sing songs that immortalized someone from one time or another. Also, in most real-life Meade Halls, epic poems (like Beowulf) were told, immortalizing real people. Beowulf itself is an epic poem based on a real-life person. Some of the things in the epic are of course fake, but it was orally passed down for years. In the epic, Beowulf is so well-revered by his men, that when he dies his warriors burn ". . . helmets, and battle Shields, and shining mail shirts . . . " (Beowulf 3138-39) along with his body; a hero 's send off. Another major aspect of the society portrayed in both the novel and the epic, is the Boast. Grendel (even though he might not understand why) has discovered the ritual of Boasting, and after the arrival of the Geats, he goes so far as to say that "It would be a shame to miss the boasting" (Gardner 158). A common form of boasting was that of accomplishments, and as Beowulf is dying, he does so, saying "I 've never known fear; as a youth I fought in endless battles.
For ages, humanity has always told stories of the classic struggle between man and monster. The battle between Beowulf and Grendel is a prime example of this archetype, but is Grendel only purely a monster? In his article “Gardner’s Grendel and Beowulf: Humanizing the Monster”, Jay Ruud makes a point that Grendel is a hybridization of both monster and man, particularly in John Gardner’s novel Grendel. In the poem Beowulf, Grendel is depicted as a purely evil monster who terrorizes Hrothgar and his people, but the novel provides a more humanistic backstory to the fiend. Throughout the novel, Grendel tells of his internal struggle between his thoughts of filling the role of the monster versus attempting to make amends with the humans. This conflict
John Gardner’s Grendel brings a new perspective to the the way the story of Beowulf is told and interpreted. (Grendel’s ability to be influenced by the multiple sources around him changes his outlook on life. It also changes the reader’s ideas of who Grendel is as a character as he develops and changes in the book.) Grendel’s ability to be influenced with ease by multiple characters throughout the book shows his true adolescence and nature to follow others. These multiple characters such as the Dragon, the Shaper, and Wealtheow all are able to use their propaganda to instill into Grendel a new value or trait. Grendel’s adolescence therefore results in multiple sources of propaganda being so influential on him as a character. (is the reason why propaganda from many different sources influences him so heavily.)
“Staring at his grotesquely muscled shoulders--stooped, naked despite the cold, sleek as the belly of a shark and as rippled with power as the shoulders of a horse--I found my mind wandering...He was dangerous” (155). Even from the first day Beowulf showed up at Hrothgar’s kingdom, Grendel knew he was dealing with something worse than a hero. Once they finally start to battle, the monster in Beowulf is fully revealed to Grendel and Grendel sees again the stupidity and meaninglessness in the human’s definition of a hero.“Grendel, Grendel! You make the world by whispers, second by second. Are you blind to that? Whether you make it a grave or a garden of roses is not the point. Feel the wall: is it not hard?...Hard, yes! Observe the hardness, write it down in careful runes. Now sing of walls! Sing!” (171). Beowulf forces Grendel to make a fool of himself and unlike Unferth who longs for a heroic death, Beowulf knows he is going to win and has no desire to die. His mindset of victory, groups him with monsters who have one goal, to kill and never be killed. This shatters the Anglo-Saxon ideals of heroism and in Grendel’s death, when he is surrounded by oblivious creatures who don’t have a purpose, the meaninglessness of it all, including the meaninglessness of heroic deeds becomes evident to the
It is the jealousy of Unfurth to Grendel, the hatred of Unfurth to Beowulf, and the conflict between Beowulf and Grendel that give the book Grendel and the poem Beowulf the theme that everyone has a story. All their differences tie the characters together and when things connect it creates a good balance in the story. The amount of tension that is caused by these characters creates the makings of a good story.
Grendel in the Epic of Beowulf is portrayed as a monster, a creature that has no thoughts on who he kills.While in the movie Beowulf and Grendel(Gunnarsson 2005); he is much more human-like. In parts of the movie, thoughts are led to believe that in fact he is not out to kill random people he only harms those who have “hurt him”.This, in fact, leads to believe that Grendel from the film really wasn’t the bad guy:it shifted towards the fact that Hrothgar was the bad guy for killing Grendel 's father This ties to the fact that as we modernize we tend to need a reason to do things, most people will not endure things if in the end the end result they won 't benefit from it. Nevertheless, the film has changed the perspective and/ or natural view that one as a reader would have taken from the
Throughout John Gardner’s Grendel, and Seamus Heaney’s Beowulf, many events and situations make it clear that the stories talk about the same character. Throughout Beowulf, Grendel is seen as a demon that lacks any real motive for his crimes, by the end of Grendel the this side of his is shown after his transformation from innocents to evil. The one key trait that can be seen throughout both Grendel and Beowulf is irrationality. This trait of irrationality is caused in the stories by many of the same reasons as in real life. In John Gardner’s Grendel and Seamus Heaney’s Beowulf, Grendel’s constant perception fluctuations reinforce the themes of irrationality that cause him to act the way he does.
Beowulf destroys Grendel’s philosophy though. “As you see it it is, while the seeing lasts, dark nightmare-history, time-as-coffin; but where the water was rigid there will be fish, and men will survive on their flesh till spring. It’s coming, my brother. . . . Though you murder the world, transmogrify life into I and it, strong searching roots will crack your cave and rain will cleanse it: The world will burn green, sperm build again.” – (Gardner 170). Beowulf is saying to Grendel that whether you look at life with a sneer way like the dragon or try to dream up a better world like the Shaper. It does not mean anything because there is a lot more going on in the world then just Grendel so philosophize on whatever you want but in the end life goes on no matter
Although Grendel is depicted as a hideous bloodthirsty beast because he eats the Danes at Heorot continuously, he has some characteristics of a human gone wild. Grendel possesses the ability to feel human emotions such as envy and fear. When the Danes were having a feast in Heorot, Grendel “had dwelt for a time in misery among the banished monsters, Cain’s clan, whom the creator outlawed and condemned as outcasts”(104-106). He feels envy towards the Danes for making him an outcast of society. He was jealous of the Danes that were having a great time together while he had to live a life of misery alone. Grendel feels fear as well as envy because “he was overwhelmed, manacled tight by the man who of all men was foremost and strongest in the days of this life”(787-789). During the battle between Grendel and the hero Beowulf, Grendel was unprepared for Beowulf’s fighting tactics. He, who usually is victorious after each attack in Heorot, did not expect to be defeated by Beowulf, which is shown because “his fingers weakened; it was the worst trip the terror-monger had taken to Heorot”(764-765). When Beowulf leaves his weapon and decides to wrestle Grendel, Grendel realizes that he is no match for Beowulf’s strength. He feared death just as human are afraid of death. An ordinary person would want to flee if he or she was being wrestled to the ground and about to die. Grendel felt like fleeing but Beowulf did not want to lose any opportunities to kill the villain and thus does the deed in one go. When he realizes that his end was near, “the dread of the land was desperate to escape, to take a roundabout road and flee to his lair in the fens”(761-763). Just as humans in their psychoanalytic development, Grendel had a fight or flight response. When he knew that he was going to die he immediately chose the flight response in which he could not do because Beowulf was much more powerful and aggressive. He does not let Grendel escape. Grendel’s pain is all the more acute because he is brought so close to mankind and yet always kept at an unbreachable distance from society.
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.
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.
Grendel represents Paganism. The killing of Grendel and his mother, represents the ending of Paganism and the beginning of Christianity. The cause of Beowulf’s pride and self-centered personality may come from the belief in the afterlife. Literary critic, Alfred Bammesberger supports this claim by stating, “The poem focuses on the royal glory… on the heroic achievements of Beowulf” (Bammesberger). All glory would carry over into the afterlife, meaning that the deeds that he performs will follow him into the afterlife. All the conflicts come back to those beliefs. In addition, Beowulf displays characteristics of pure pride, as well as carelessness, while battling the external conflicts which leads to his death. To conclude, “Beowulf” has many distinct conflicts and even more hidden meanings and
Grendel’s alienation from society motivates his cruel behavior, but Beowulf’s idolization leads him to be revered for the same actions. In Anglo-Saxon culture, social standing was determined by family. There was an idea that a person’s place in society was predetermined by God, and fate
“In my youth I engaged in many wars”, Beowulf boasts to his warriors, which is certainly true. Throughout his life, he faces many deadly foes, all of which he handily defeats, save one. His story focuses on the most challenging, as well as morally significant of foes, Grendel and the dragon. These creatures reveal much about society as well as Christian virtue at the time. Even after Grendel and the dragon are defeated physically, the two monsters pose a new threat to the hero on a higher plane. Beowulf is not only at risk of losing his life, but his humanity, virtue, and even spirituality.
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.