Another basis for the argument that Grendel is not evil is the fact that he does not mean to intentionally harm people for no reason. On pages 78 and 79, he says, “Then, little by little, I understood. I felt laughter welling up inside me - at the dragon-charm, at Hrothgar’s whispering and trembling by the meadhall door, at everything - the oblivious trees and sky, the witless moon. I’d meant them no harm, but they’d attacked me again as always.” At this time, Grendel had just met the dragon and he was now coming to terms with what he had said. Grendel simply defends himself, he does not attack until he is attacked first, which is why one can draw the conclusion that he is not evil. This strategy of only attacking when attacked goes hand-in-hand with the philosophy of ethical egoism, which can be defined as the theory that one ought to do what is in …show more content…
For example, on pages 83 and 84, he says, “An evil idea came over me - so evil it made me shiver as I smiled - and I sidled across the table.” In this part of the novel, Grendel is talking to, and basically torturing Unferth. Grendel is aware of his evil ideas, and they make him shiver, thus proving that Grendel is clearly not proud of his thoughts. While this may seem like proof that Grendel is evil, it is quite the opposite. This is proof that Grendel is not evil because, one who is evil is defined as one who is “profoundly immoral and malevolent.” Grendel’s consciousness of his poor morals show that he is not immoral, he simply has poor behavior.
Conclusively, the inquiry in the Teo Te Ching, which asks, “Between good and evil, how much difference is there?” applies to Grendel because, although Grendel may not be a heroic, or even a friendly character, there is no evidence to conclude that he is evil.
What's the difference between good and evil? In John Gardner’s classic tale Grendel the line between good and evil is exceedingly blurred. Gardner does a phenomenal job of forcing the reader to question who the real hero of the story is. So is Grendel evil or simply misunderstood? To answer this question one must look at his basic character traits. Grendel is an unloving creature, he enjoys killing and torturing humans, and when he shows any sort of mercy, he later regrets it. Due to these facts it is impossible to label him as “good”.
He doesn’t believe that he has done anything wrong, therefore he doesn’t believe that he is a bad person. In the novel Grendel, Grendel states that, “I saw, is merely what pushes me, or what I push against, blindly—as blindly as all that is not myself pushes back. I create the whole universe blink by blink… (Gardner, 22)”. This internal thought from Grendel at the beginning of his story shows his belief that he holds the power to choose his future and that he creates his own reality. He truly does believe that despite his killing nature and that he is not technically human, he can still live among them and rise above his original reputation. In his encounter with the dragon in chapter 5, Grendel is told that, "My knowledge of the future does not cause the future. It merely sees it” (Gardner 63). What the dragon says in this instance sticks with Grendel in the sense that even though he is drawing away from his existentialist views, he still knows that he controls himself. Him accepting this strikes as somewhat half existentialism and half nihilism due to the character arc taking place. In addition to the evidence of existentialism in the novel itself, there is also many instances within literary criticism that suggest Grendel’s
One night, as Grendel was sleeping soundly in his home in the swamplands, he was suddenly awakened by the sound of music. The music angered Grendel because he had been up late the night before entertaining his monster friends and was in need of his beauty rest. So he headed out the front door and headed to see what the commotion is all about.
Grendel, as a character, has a much more complex identity than just a monster and a human. Some, such as Ruud, classify him as a mixture of three different characteristics, but alone, they tend to conflict with each other. By making the connection that Grendel represents immorality, the previous idea makes more sense, while simultaneously incorporating more aspects of the character into the analysis. In either case, Grendel represents much more than meets the eye, and provides a fascinating insight into
In short, the dragon is saying, "You are evil and they are good, but the only thing that makes them good is you." In this statement, it is apparent that good and evil have inseparable, yet undefinable boundaries, and are actually two in the same. Grendel's evilness motivates the fearful people to work, to strive, to think, and to overcome their problems. In this, however indirect or abstract it may seem, Grendel is actually producing good. Amazingly, he manages to be both evil and good at the same time.
Grendel as a character is very intelligent, he is capable of rational thought at all times. Because of this, at sometimes during the story I would forget Grendel is a monster, the way he acts in his thoughts and actions I would mistake him for a human; at times I was even feeling bad for Grendel because he is a very lonely person who tries to understand all of the meaningless of the world around him. Grendel can never get to close to
A building is ablaze and a crowd of people stare helplessly from the streets, listening to screams coming from within. A single person runs in to rescues whomever he or she can find. Whether or not that person emerges with a child in their arms, empty handed, or not at all, does nothing to alter our society’s perception of their heroism. Today’s society would classify such an action as heroic, regardless of outcome, for one reason: intentions. During Anglo-Saxton times the interpretation of such an act, based on the tale Beowulf, would not be so understanding of what was intended, but rather of the outcome. If one perished and failed in an attempt of such a heroic act words like weakness might arise. It is here that the clash of what a hero is occurs between the Anglo-Saxton tale Beowulf and John Gardner’s Grendel. Beowulf in Beowulf is a hero for he defeats evil and restores order to and for the common people. Unferth in Grendel however is unsuccessful in his campaign against evil, but like the man who emerges empty handed he is by no means any less of a hero. For heroism, as demonstrated in the Anglo-Saxton tale Beowulf, is altered in Gardner’s Grendel to convey the idea that intentions define a hero as opposed to actions.
Grendel is born a neutral being, perhaps even good, but nevertheless, without hate. The transition which he undergoes to become evil is due to misunderstandings between himself and humans and also meeting with a dragon who is questionably evil. As a young “monster”, Grendel knew nothing other than the cave he lived in and his mother who could not speak any distinguishable language. He was a playful creature who seemed to be like a “bla...
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.
In Grendel by John Gardner, Grendel is widely known as a monster. However, once this novel is portrayed first-person through Grendel’s eyes, it becomes evident that he is not the true beast. The true evil in the novel originates from the humans. The reader interprets Grendel’s thoughts in a new perspective forcing them to realize all of Grendel's actions result from the cruelty of humans acted upon him. He has a fear of being overrun by the evil humans which causes him to act as he does. Grendel is not evil because he simply mocks the interactions he sees from the humans during their wars and towards him during their first encounters all the way to when Grendel is brutally killed by the human Beowulf.
In Grendel’s case, he does not know that his actions of eating people are wrong due to his childlike mentality. So can he really be considered evil? If Grendel is really a “monster” does it really matter whether he is evil or not, considering the fact that monsters are usually always considered evil since they are not like humans? For example, when he is approached by the men on the horses while he is stuck in the tree, they think he is an evil spirit because of what he looks and sounds like. They ask, “Could it be some type of oak tree spirit. Better not to mess with it… That’s it! King’s right! It’s a spirit!” (Gardner 25). As a result of this, the readers are forced to assume that Grendel is evil just because he looks and acts like he
After taking a closer look, he can be considered an anti-hero because of his noble and also realistic traits. Grendel expresses some of his humanlike qualities when he says, “Why can’t I have anyone to talk to?” (Gardner, 53). Grendel is lonely because no one can understand him. His mother does not speak his language and although he understands English, the villagers do not know what he is saying. Additionally, Grendel is an outcast because of his appearance. “The doe in the clearing goes stiff at the sight of my horridness” (7). He is misunderstood because he is a beast. Grendel looks so terrifying that it is emotionally challenging for him to always have that awful first impression with others. Furthermore, when Grendel would hear the harper’s beautiful music he would often begin to daydream joyful thoughts. When his mind would wander, he would be quickly pulled back into darkness because evil was his reality (54). Grendel lives a difficult life because he is constantly reminded that his only choice is to live a life of evil. Because he has such relatable feelings of being lonely and an outcast, this causes the reader to consider his point of view as an
This trait is shown in Grendel when Grendel is listening to the songs of the Shaper. “Some evil inside myself pushed out into the trees. I knew what I knew, the mindless, mechanical bruteness of things, and when the harper's lure drew my mind away to hopeful dreams, the dark of what was and always was reached out and snatched at my feet” (Gardner 54). The quote demonstrates how Grendel is able to have thoughts that are good, but he is veered away from them. Though Grendel has good thoughts, his thoughts are always leading to evil and darkness. This is also shown through his actions. Grendel is capable of doing good deeds but he allows the evilness to enter his actions. This is shown when Grendel is capable of having feelings of affection or “good” feelings for Wealtheow, but then later in the book, he almost kills her. This is shown multiple times throughout the book. Grendel most often chooses to carry out the evil actions though he is capable of good
...of what he sought to be right; because he had guidance by only one creature who was evil. Grendel’s evil shaping is not not his wrong doing but by humans, because the they did not give him a chance.
Grendel is the embodiment of all that is evil and dark. He is a descendant of Cain and like Cain is an outcast of society. He is doomed to roam in the shadows. He is always outside looking inside. He is an outside threat to the order of society and all that is good. His whole existence is grounded solely in the moral perversion to hate good simply because it is good.