The deeds one does leave an impression on the people for a lifetime, a person is remembered by what he did, no matter what the situation is. Thus, in the same way Beowulf is defined as being a hero and Grendel as a monster. For instance, Grendel killed a lot of men in the kingdom of Hrothgar but, on the other hand Beowulf killed Grendel for the sake of his people and his honor. Furthermore, this tells us that a person is defined by the deeds he does for his people. And as we can say Without defeating Grendel, Beowulf would have never been considered a hero. Therefore, Beowulf would have been deemed as a liar for his whole life and he would have never been made the king of Geatland. “Often, for undaunted courage, fate spares the man it has …show more content…
He does not seem to be affected by the deaths of people or whatsoever. The poet tells us little to no reason as to why does Grendel kills people. Is it because he was exiled to the swamps, or is it because of the loneliness, maybe it is because he can’t hear any of the people enjoying their lives and celebrating their success where as he is being exiled to death. There is no solid evidence as to why Grendel lashes out in front of the Geats. The poet leaves us with a question till the end of the poem that why does Grendel kills people, even in the end there is no evidence providing the reason. And all the readers are left with is that Grendel is a monster who can kill 30 men with one single blow. “Then his rage boiled over, he ripped open the mouth of the building, maddening for blood, pacing the length of the patterned floor with his loathsome tread…...” (Heaney 49; 723-733) It seems that Grendel not only kills people but he rather enjoys killing them, it gives him a great pleasure to kill all those innocent men and women. Even though Beowulf kills to for the sake of his reputation and his honor, Grendel just kills them for fun. That is what defines Grendel as a monster and Beowulf as a hero. Furthermore, it tells us that heroes never take pleasure in their killings they kill for their honor and glory, but monsters kill people for his own sake and their own pleasure, they have no glory, no honor. In fact, that is what Grendel lacked, he had no glory, he had no honor, he had nothing no human feelings whatsoever. The poet has not given him a lot of human like feelings, that portrays that he doesn’t seem to understand the value of honor and glory. Eventually
Grendel had changed drastically from all the way from the start of the book all the way to the end of the book. Grendel began very immature almost child like from the beginning of the book. The way he talked and viewed all things such as plants and animals was very child like. The difference between him and a human would be his monstrous height and strength. Grendel’s first major change was when Grendel heard the words of the Shaper. Grendel would evaluate the Shaper as he would tell his stories in the mead hall, he would do so for many nights. Many times though Grendel would not agree with the stories the Shaper would say and tell to the others, sometimes he felt as if the Shaper was trying to manipulate the others around him. This would anger
In conclusion, although Beowulf possessed many heroic qualities he would not be considered a hero in today’s world. A hero varies from culture to culture. The Anglo-Saxon appreciated different things in a person that what do not we appreciate today. Many things have changed a lot with time, the requisites for being considered a hero have also changed. Today we do not like to solve problems with war. Pride and honor are not as important as the willingness one has to help others. Beowulf is not feeling that contact with people he doesn’t identify with them because he believes himself better, a part of a hero´s cycle is to be identified with the community. To be part
No one knows who wrote Beowulf but we do know who wrote Grendel. John Gardner took the epic Beowulf and added more to the brilliant story. Grendel takes on the same story as Beowulf but from the perspective of Grendel, the beast in Beowulf. The story of Grendel is very interesting because from reading Beowulf it is completely uninspected. In Beowulf Grendel is said to be a disgusting monster that’s only job is to kill. In Grendel we really see him as very nice but turns to be evil because he is pushed into that direction.
Grendels death was quiet unexpected. For many people tried killing him but all failed. Until one day, a young man came and succeeded.
The character of Beowulf stands as a hero to the ancient Danes because of his actions. He is constantly being cited as a "war-chief" and a "gold-giver" (61). Beowulf has achieved fame through what he has done with his own hands. His identity as a leader is based upon the Danish society’s emphasis on personal action, as opposed to the delegation of responsibility through conscious thought. It is this very sense which spurs Beowulf to fight the dragon: "In my youth I engaged in many wars. Old guardian of the people, I shall still seek battle, perform a deed of fame, if the evil-doer will come to me..." (59). Beowulf derives his power from a strong link to the past. Without his history of glorious deeds, he would see himself bereft of the very power which qualifies him to be a good King. Beowulf’s bravery never comes in to question, he does meet every challenge head-on, with deadly attention. The society which labels Beowulf as a legendary hero, recognizes his actions and his bravery as a integral part of his definition as a hero. Without the society to support th...
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.
Even though Grendel is depicted as a monster in the story Grendel, his story still makes him an epic hero. An epic hero is described as a character whose heroic actions are central to his/her own culture, race, or nation. Grendel may not be an actual hero like Beowulf, but a monster who endure appropriate trials for themselves. Grendel’s terrifying and violent actions are things that are feared by many people and encouraged by his race. This is what makes Grendel and epic monster.
In 1971 John Gardner wrote Grendel, a novel based on the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf. Instead of following the life of Beowulf, however, Gardner explores the mind and development of Grendel, the monster who Beowulf kills. Although Grendel is presented as a destructive monster in Beowulf, in Grendel he demonstrates some goodness and potential. Gardner makes the reader think twice when reading Grendel, especially if the reader has read Beowulf, because the reader expects that Grendel is evil. However, the reader will come to see that the humans are generally more evil than Grendel because their interruption in Grendel’s development caused Grendel to become monstrous. The clearest example of human interference in Grendel’s growth is the Shaper’s songs. The Shaper makes up history to please Hrothgar and the rest of the company in the mead hall. The eloquence of the Shaper’s stories causes Grendel to believe them, even though he knows they are not true. Grendel then becomes conflicted between the beauty of the Shaper’s words and the actual truth. Grendel’s
In the epic Beowulf, malicious acts are portrayed through the monster Grendel. Grendel has been attacking Hrothgar for twelve years. He goes into the mead hall Heorot and attacks the soldiers causing them a long and painful death. He is an unsightly monster who gets angered easily by the villagers who create a boisterous sound. As he entered the mead hall,
Beowolf is a story of Anglo-Saxon descent and has been passed down orally from generation to generation. Grendel, a modern book by John Gardner, tells of a monster named Grendel who is lost in life. Grendel struggles with whether he is good, bad, or if his existence even matters as his conscience is influenced by The Shaper, The Dragon, and Hrothgar.
The novel says, "Tedium is the worst pain. The mind lays out the world in blocks, and the hushed blood waits for revenge"(157). Remember how the whole novel is structured around the signs of the zodiac and the irresistible movement of the seasons? What Grendel is going through is the worst kind of torture ever. He has to play the evil guy time after time and he's used to it. Grendel is so over the whole thing. It's not much of a surprise to him when he battles with Beowulf. In the poem, Grendel is just a heartless murder with no reason to tell why he gets to that state. In Beowulf it says, "Killing as often as he could, coming …... Alone, Bloodthirsty and horrible." (80-81) This shows Grendel is perceived as a ruthless
The novel Grendel by John Gardner and the epic poem Beowulf portrays two completely different “Grendels.” In Beowulf, Grendel is seen as a “man-eating demon.” He is the antagonist in the epic poem “Beowulf.” Although, in Grendel, he is seen as a victim because he is lonely and an outcast. The novel is told from Grendel’s perspective and tells more of why he did things he did and acted the way he acted. Both sets of reading show the evil that Grendel has inside of him.
What makes a hero? In Grendel, by John Gardner, the characterization of Grendel contrasts greatly with the way Grendel is betrayed in the story Beowulf in order to emphasize the importance of perspective in labeling a character a hero. Gardner’s revisionist novel causes the reader to reconsider previous notions about Grendel’s portrayal as a monstrous creature by retelling the tale from Grendel’s point of view.
In the ancient Anglo-Saxon epic, Beowulf, the monster Grendel exhibits villainy through his killing of innocent people and through his birth, from the killing of Abel. Grendel displays villainy when he kills thirty innocent Danes in Herot’s Hall. The narrator says that Grendel “Snatched up thirty men, smashed them. Unknowing in their beds and ran out with their bodies, the blood dripping behind him, back to his lair, delighted with his night’s slaughter.” (Beowulf 37-40). Grendel not only killed thirty innocent men, but afterwards took their bodies and headed back to his lair delighted. The men were not able to defend themselves due to Grendel’s armor being impenetrable by the Dane’s swords. Therefore, showing delight after killing thirty defenseless
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.