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Examples of monsters in literature
Monsters in modern culture
Monsters in modern culture
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Monsters “ Monsters come in all shapes and sizes, some of them are things people are scare of. Some of them are things that look like things people used to be scared of a long time ago. Sometimes monsters are things people should be scared of, but they aren’t.-Neil Gaiman” ( Gaiman, The Ocean at the End of the Lane). The epic of Beowulf is an Old English story that has been interpreted for us to read in english, Beowulf is a Geat that went to Hrothgar's rescue when he was in trouble when a treible monster was terrorizing the town at night his name was Grendel. When reading the many different adaptations Grendel was shown many different ways he was always the monster but everyone always showed him differently. Society’s view on a monster today …show more content…
“ Instead the monster/ stalked and slaughtered/ old men and young/ an eerie death-shadow/ lurking at night/ lying ambush/ on the misty moors.” (Ringler, 2), he was shown the same way in the Beowulf (2007) he wasn't very smart and he did things just because he wanted to, in the Grendel reading he was shown as very mentally unstable he wasn't sure about himself and he seemed almost scared of himself, he is also still very smart but maybe a little sad and lonely, “ Ah, sad one, poor old freak! I cry, and hug myself, and laugh, letting out salt tears, he he! Till I fall down gasping and sobbing.(It’s mostly fake.)”(Gardner, 6). I felt that they always grasped the fact that he was kind of intelligent but still he is a monster and he is going to do monstrous
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
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?
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.
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
In the poem, Beowulf, Grendel is depicted as a monstrous, evil villain that possesses a few human-like qualities: such as the ability to walk on two feet. However, his most notable characteristic that occupies his mind and body in the poem is the constant mindset and actions of primitive human tendencies. This quote conveys Grendel’s primitive ways as the humans perceived it. “The monster’s thoughts were as quick as his greed or his claws: 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…” (Raffel 8). His lust for blood of the human race, alongside their Christian views, forced Beowulf and others to view
He does not act like the blood hungry beast he is seen as in Beowulf. In
This is reasons why Beowulf is considered a monster. At some point it was actually hard to decide who's is the real monster but reading Beowulf part, Beowulf would be the one. Persons may think Grendel is the monster instead of Beowulf cause of the things he also did. Beowulf did so many things in action that are not good. He fits in, in so many
Grendel by John Gardner, a novel based on the epic poem Beowulf, was originally published in 1982. It looks at the story from the perspective of the monster, Grendel. It helps the reader empathize with Grendel and think of original story in a new way. Gardner portrays Grendel as the stereotypical misunderstood monster that turns to violence after being isolated and misunderstood form the normal people. This story is driven forward by acts of cruelty, from both the humans and Grendel. When Grendel first discovers the humans, he discovers a new kind of cruelty. Not only the creatures like him, but especially to each other. Grendel then discovers the joy of being cruel to others; he becomes more and more like the humans he despises. Finally, Grendel
I represented Grendel as having half-human and half-monstrous form because he is part of Cain’s clan. In the Bible, the story of Abel and Cain where Cain kills his brother is well-known. If Grendel was a part of Cain’s clan, he would have had the evil spirit of Cain and therefore would have been murderous and cruel. Grendel was designed to be partially human and monster because I used my imagination to think of Grendel as a human just like Cain that has changed due to his evil spirit making him look and act like a monster. Just like Cain, Grendel is “among the banished monsters, Cain’s clan/ whom the creator had outlawed/ And condemned as outcasts”. In order to show the fact that he is an outcast by God and part of Cain’s clan, I put the mark
From this novel, the audience is able to get into the mind of this monster and feel his pain, loneliness, and misunderstanding as well as come to realize that Grendel is no monster at all, but rather he represents a reflection of man. Although you could argue that man is a monster himself in this story through the merciless and barbaric actions of the humans, especially Beowulf. Beowulf is represented minimally throughout the story, whereas in “Beowulf” he is shown with much more valor. However, In Gardner's Grendel, Beowulf is depicted as a cruel and narcissistic man. For example, Grendel describes Beowulf as a irrational and greedy man, “He’s crazy. I understand him all right, make no mistake. Understand his lunatic theory of matter and mind, the chilly intellect, the hot imagination, blocks and builder, reality as stress”(Gardner 172). Beowulf does not possess the same qualities in Grendel has he does in the epic poem, “Beowulf.” This is due to the contrasting perspectives of the same character in each book. Like the narrator in Beowulf, Grendel is biased because of his intuitive dislike for humans as well as Grendel’s knowledge that Beowulf is seeking to destroy him. Grendel is also an outcast and monitors the day-to-day lives of the Danish people. His opinions of the people are formed based off of what he observes, sees, and hears. This gives Grendel’s opinions of the
...owards Grendel. Gardner’s retelling of Beowulf reinforces the universal idea that there are two, if not more, sides to every story. It is prudent to remember that what is monstrous to some may be perfectly normal to others and recognizing all viewpoints can help bring about a truth: good and evil are not always clear-cut.
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).
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.
In the story Beowulf by Seamus Heaney, Grendel is a slimy green swamp monster that has human emotions but is portrayed as a hideous beast and an outcast of the Anglo-Saxon society.
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.