Grendel Good Vs Evil Essay

Grendel, is John Gardner’s 1971 novel that is set in Fourth Century A.D. Gardner portrays Grendel as the visible monster, in that he is known by all the people as being a big scary murderer who is a descendent of Cain, and since most people are quick to judge this is how Grendel’s reputation began. Gardners’s use of good and evil in his novel shows that not all monsters are what you expect them to be, and sometimes they aren’t always the obvious culprit. Throughout his novel, Gardners’ use of evil shows that sometimes things can be misinterpreted, and his use of good shows that you don’t need to have a bad reputation or a scary face in order to be evil. This is why Grendels’ portrayal in the novel is hidden and why he isn’t the true monster.

Chapter two is very important in understanding how Grendel ended up with the horrible life he has and why he is not truly as evil as everyone

He knows he could diminish the hall and all the people without any trouble if he wanted to. By the end of the novel Gardner says Grendel “began to apprehend the universe. When he says this is makes you think that Grendel is almost trying to get back at the humans and prove a point to them. It also makes you think that he is getting his revenge and taking out all his anger of being alone since childhood and also from being abused by the humans when all he wanted was company.

Gardner thoroughly explains throughout the novel that cultures and time periods all have similar situations with Good and Evil. You can also infer that situations still relate to this in present day too .When you look at the big picture you would believe that Grendel really is a hideous monster, but Gardner tries to express that not all evil has the predetermined look and actions, and not all good is easy to identify, which is why you shouldn’t be quick to judge in any