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
...n very human feelings of resentment and jealousy. Grendel was an unstable and saddened figure because of his outcast status. Though Grendel had many animal attributes and a grotesque, monstrous appearance, he seemed to be guided by vaguely human emotions and impulses. He truthfully showed more of an interior life than one might expect. Exiled to the swamplands outside the boundaries of human society, Grendel’s depiction as an outcast is a symbol of the jealousy and hate that seeks to destroy others' happiness and can ultimately cripple a civilization. This take on the outcast archetype ultimately exposes the Anglo Saxon people’s weaknesses, their doubts and anxieties towards the traditional values that bounded nearly every aspect of their life.
Grendel, as a character, has a much more complex identity than just a monster and a human. Some, such as Ruud, classify him as a mixture of three different characteristics, but alone, they tend to conflict with each other. By making the connection that Grendel represents immorality, the previous idea makes more sense, while simultaneously incorporating more aspects of the character into the analysis. In either case, Grendel represents much more than meets the eye, and provides a fascinating insight into
In the epic poem Beowulf, Grendel is depicted as an evil monster that destroys Herot-hall and kills people for no reason. In the poem, Grendel had filled the Danes with terror as he ravaged their mead-hall and killed their men again and again. He did so without remorse and even took joy in killing, and even eating them. He had stopped, because a great hero, Beowulf, caught and killed him. However, what readers do not hear is why and how Grendel was treated by the Danes. When he was a young little creature, Grendel had been ignored, humiliated and bullied by Danes in Herot-hall. He wanted to fight back, but instead, he decided to give them a second chance. However, the Danes began singing the “Song of Creation” which totally
Through these actions, Grendel tries to prove to himself and to the Scyldings that nothing is ever completely good or evil. If their most pure and brave candidates couldn’t be proven to be fully good, how could they say that he is completely evil? What Grendel tries to teach to the humans is a basic fact of life: you cannot have good without having
There are many characters that are involved in the novel, Grendel by John Gardner, which have meaning and we can identify ourselves with them. For example, Grendel is the main character. I will be writing about Grendel because I think he is the most important character of this novel. I like Grendel because he seems like if he was human but, is really an intelligent monster who eats people. What I dislike about Grendel is that he observes people. I don’t like the fact that Grendel basically spies humans. Since, the author identifies the three stages in his live being: childhood, adulthood, and his battle with Beowulf. Grendel is characterized as innocence but, in the other hand as a monster. Grendel was big in size, and had the strength of many. But he was not brave at all. He is described as a large figure with the strength to pick up the weight of a grown man and consume him whole. 1 But, Grendel is shown as somewhat of a
Grendel has an evil of his own. He was out casted because of his lineage. It was said he was a descendant of Cain, a Satan-like being. “... from Cain there sprang/ misbegotten spirits, among them Grendel,/the banished and accursed” ( 1264-1265)This, and the fact that they were “fatherless creatures” , made him resentful of the warriors in the mead-hall (1355). To get back at the warriors, he began the killing spree, also attracting Beowulf. Grendels resentment, led him to his
The fact there is no mentioning of Grendel’s mother’s name implies that she is valuable insofar as her son is alive. This is could not further away from the truth because Grendel’s mother saved his life, and she is more powerful (Hala 39). Grendel acknowledges when he mentions “a shriek tens as loud as mine came blaring off the cliff. It was my mother!” (Gardner 27). While Grendel situates himself in danger, his mother comes along to save him from the situation that he placed himself into. Even though she has her own identity and persona, the novel never mentions her as something other than him. She is more powerful and dominant than Grendel physically, but because of the nature of her role, she becomes as subservient mother whose only function in life is to serve her son. She does not know anything besides her role as a mother, implying that mothers have no other role in life even they are talented or powerful. The novel is eroding the worth and value that comes from a mother because she has played an important role in raising Grendel. Because the book Grendel is trying to mimic the same world from when Beowulf is written, there are apparent contradictions when Gardner writes the mother “had forgotten all language long ago, or maybe never had never known any. I’d never heard her speak to the other shapes.” The mother is powerful and influential, but Grendel’s mother is continually portrayed is an unintelligent, useless being that has no independent worth beyond her
Grendel exhibits human feelings and characteristics in many ways. Although Grendel is a monster “forced into isolation by his bestial appearance and limited imagination” (Butts) he yearns to be a part of society; he craves companionship while he is isolated. With his “ear pressed tight against the timbers [of Hart]” (43), he watches and listens to the humans and what goes on in Hart, the meadhall of King Hrothgar, to feel like he is a part of civilization. He also has feelings in relation to specific humans. Just like the citizens of Denmark, he is extremely affected by the Shaper and his songs that are “aswim in ringing phrases, magnificent, golden, all of them, incredibly, lies” (43). Grendel is profoundly “moved by the power of the Shaper’s poetry” (Butts). Queen Wealtheow shows Grendel the feminine, sweet, and kind side of life. “She had secret wells of joy that overflowed to them all” and her peaceful effect on those around her is a main cause of Grendel’s almost obsessive fascination with her and in turn, drives Grendel to feelings of rage. Grendel’s humanlike feelings show that his personality is similar to that of a human, helping those who read his story to relate to him.
She had been forced down into fearful waters, the cold depths” (1258-1261). Another reason why Grendel’s mother is without a doubt not evil is the only reason her son even got into the situation is they were both born monsters. Hrothgar explains that Grendel and his mother with no other choice are forced to live at the bottom of a haunted mere; why wouldn’t you want to rebel if society doesn’t except the way that you look. Also the way that your child acts does not reflect your behavior. Someone might say that if you are born a monster than you are born evil, but not all monsters are evil; what makes a person or monster evil is the way they act, Grendel’s mother was as civilized if not more civilized as/than the society that lived around her. Therefore Grendel’s mother is not evil just because she was born into the body of a
A being cursed for evil goes through life looking for meaning. How can a monster of biblically banished descent be challenged with ideas of morality. In John Gardner’s postmodern novel Grendel, Grendel, explores and speculates on the meaning of life, humanity, and existence while being cursed to life as a monster. Due to his own bleak existence and the observations he has made of mean, Grendel views life as meaningless. Even though he is a descendent of Cain, the distinction between good and evil is blurred in Grendel’s perspective. How can a monster view morality when he is the wicked one yet he watches humans kill each other for bloodshed? Grendel is trying to make sense of an absurd world while the different theories shape his own identity.
Since the beginning of time, fairy tales, stories and legends have shared a common theme where good and evil are played against each other. In the story of “Beowulf”, translated by, “Burton Raffel”, there is a hero who plays as a good character, and there is also a demon who rules the dark side. The hero Beowulf, agrees to take a journey to conquer the evil monster Grendel. But when Beowulf is trying to defeat the beast, Grendel fights back, causing integrity and generosity to vanish. The common theme in various tales like in Beowulf is, good vs. evil.
Good vs. Evil is a common theme throughout all of literature. However, John Gardner’s novel, Grendel, presents an uncommon twist on this theme. Grendel is in constant emotional turmoil with the concepts of good and evil. He is heavily influenced throughout the novel by each side, but he is reluctant to fully embrace either good or evil. Characters such as Wealtheow and the dragon provide insight to good and evil, which helps shape Grendel into the monster he is.
Evil. It’s a concept that has baffled philosophers, religious figures, and the common man alike for thousands of years. In this millennium, people may exemplify evil as terrorism, genocide, or, perhaps, placing an empty milk carton back in the refrigerator. However, many remain conflicted about the exact definition of evil, as the dispute over the character Grendel, from the John Gardner novel, makes evident. To conclude that Grendel is not evil, readers must first operate under the assumption that the beast is unequivocally and thoroughly evil. Having done so, readers will notice the fallacies within this thought process. By asserting that Grendel is evil, readers blatantly disregard the ambiguity with which humanity defines its actions, as
Through Grendel's own hatred and anger, he brings his own downfall. The "sin-stained demon" has his roots in the vile creature Cain. Since Grendel is spawned from Cain, he can never feel the love of God or of people: ". . . God, / Whose love Grendel could not know." (84-85). It is because of this, that Grendel hates every mortal being he lays his eyes upon. Hatred leads to anger, constant anger, ". . . bearing God's hatred, / Grendel came, hoping to kill" (393-394). Fear is Grendel's other major flaw, "His mind was flooded with fear . . ." (435). Through his hatred and fear, Grendel seals his own fate.
Grendel is the embodiment of all that is evil and dark. He is a descendant of Cain and like Cain is an outcast of society. He is doomed to roam in the shadows. He is always outside looking inside. He is an outside threat to the order of society and all that is good. His whole existence is grounded solely in the moral perversion to hate good simply because it is good.