Grendel Is Evil Essay

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When we think of evil people and creatures we think they have no feelings, emotions, or remorse for what they are doing. Many believe that such people are born this way and there is nothing we can do to change them but they are wrong. People are taught to hate just like Grendel in the story of Beowulf. People thought he was born evil just because he killed others. They never knew anything about Grendel’s life or who he really was. Society made Grendel evil because he was disliked by many people and animals, he lived in a bad place, and he did not have the love of his mother.

The first reason why Grendel is not inherently evil is because he was disliked by many people and animals. In the text, the author writes, “Till the monster stirred, …show more content…

In the story the narrator says, “Out from the marsh, from the foot of misty hills and bogs...Grendel came… (190-192)”. A marsh is a low lying area that is flooded in wet seasons and at high tide. A bog is a wet muddy ground too soft to support a heavy body and a wetland with acid, peaty soil, and typically dominated by peat moss. They are describing Grendel’s home as a fen where it is gross, smelly, and uncomfortable to be in to show that he himself is gross, smelly and uncomfortable to be around. Secondly, the author also describes Grendel’s home as a swamp, “Up from his swampland, sliding silently toward that gold-shining hall. (195-196)”. The writer describes Grendel’s home as a swampland and then immediately after describes Herot as this beautiful place with golden halls to show that Grendel’s home is uglier, less expensive, less important, and less pleasant than Herot to make the reader infer that Grendel is less than them because he does not live in a nice place with lavish things. Finally, Beowulf describes Grendel’s home when he goes to fight his mother. Beowulf says, “They live in secret places, windy cliffs, wolf-dens where water pours from the rocks, then runs underground, where mist steams like black clouds, and the groves of trees growing out over their lake are all covered with frozen spray, and wind down snakelike roots that reach as far as the water and help keep it dark. At night the lake burns like a …show more content…

In this quote from Grendel, as Grendel is dying he calls out to his mother. Grendel yells, “ ‘Mama, Mama! I’m dying!’ But her love is history. (Grendel, 173)”. He was crying out to his mother for help and comfort but she was nowhere to be found. She had abandoned him. If she loved her son she would be there for him when he needed her the most but she was not. She left him because she did not care about him. Another example is when Grendel’s mother is described as Greedy. In the text it reads, “And all at once the greedy she-wolf who’d ruled those waters for half a hundred years discovered him.(354-356)”. This shows that Grendel’s mother only cares about herself. She is trying to build her name and prove she is better than her son by killing Beowulf. The last example is when Grendel’s mother is about to kill Beowulf. Beowulf describes the scene and says, “Squatting with her weight on his stomach, she drew a dagger, brown with dried blood… (421-422)”. She has killed before and is used to it. She shows no regret because she is doing this out of anger. This is Greed in itself. She desires nothing more than for Beowulf to be dead and the reason people can conclude that it is not for the death of her son is because she wasn't there for him when he was dying. If she was it would show that she cared which would better explain the reason for her desire to kill Beowulf but since she was not there we can infer that she wants to kill

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