Grendel: The Unhappy Soul and Great Destroyer

Grendel

Grendel is an unhappy soul in John Gardner's book "Grendel", because he

feels useless in society and doesn't want to accept his given role. Throughout

this whole book Grendel feels he has no friend in the outside word and no one to

except him besides his own mother. He doesn't want to except his role in society

which is to be the Great Destroyer. Man creates a huge problem in Grendel's life

and has had a major effect on the way he lives with man.

Grendel is unhappy in many ways. He wants to be accepted by man but never

knew why he was always shunned out of there society. Grendel in the beginning

never set out to hurt man just understand him. When Grendel shows up the first

time in the mead hall he yells "Mercy! Peace!" But no one even gives him a

chance when he walks in holding a dead body and using it for protection against

the drunken men swinging axes and swords at him. Grendel dose not understand

this as he says "they were doomed, I knew, and I was glad." showing the hope for

destruction of the human race. In Grendel's eyes humans are going to destroy

themselves and he will be glad when it happens.

Grendel is very lonely in the world of man. He has only one person close to

him and that is his mother. She cares for Grendel but just with the natural

motherly instincts which Grendel sees as mechanical. Grendel doesn't understand,

"Why can't I have someone to talk to?" as the world starts to look darker in his

eyes. Animals of all sorts are enemies of his because they don't understand him.

Grendel is more superior

Grendel's role in society is to be the great destroyer. The Dragon tells

Grendel this " You improve them, my boy! ... You stimulate them!" but Grendel dose

not want to except it. HE want to be part of the humanistic world. He want a

different role in society. This makes Grendel very unhappy that he cannot be

accepted. The Dragon puts a spell on Grendel that lets weapons not harm him. At

first he dose not like this because he thinks that the fun of destroying men

would be to easy at this point. He starts to grow into this though and plays his

role as the great destroyer.

This book shows how Grendel put up with man and learned to adapt to the

humanistic ways of life. It took him a while to adapt but he did find it fun to

reck the humans world. Since he was not excepted he would have to take the role

of the great destroyer at the end of the story.