How Is Grendel Similar To Beowulf

Beowulf vs. Beowulf and Grendel:

Simplistic Duality and The Contrast of Characters

Our culture is constantly evolving, from the way we speak, to our views on the world, from each generation to the next, we gradually shift. This change is especially apparent in literary works. The media that society has produced in the past is vastly different than what we can see today. For instance the classic literary work Beowulf (Heaney, 2000), originally written in the time period between 500 and 1000 AD, was recently converted into a dramatic movie version: Beowulf and Grendel (Gunnarsson, 2005). With over a thousand years of cultural influence, it is no surprise that the movie adaptation is quite variant to it’s epic poem counterpart. Among the countless

differences, the most obvious change is the addition of a few characters. The incorporation of these characters such as Grendel’s father, the disabled man, and the witch is a perfect example of how our changed cultural views requires us to have a complexity among our characters, blurring the lines between good and evil.
The inclusion of Grendel’s father in the movie adaptation provides an insight to Grendel’s backstory that adds a completely different side to Grendel that we do not see in the poem.

In the epic poem the contrast between the hero and villain is very apparent. Beowulf is a strong, valiant hero, whereas Grendel is pure evil, killing solely for pleasure. In early culture simplistic duality played a vital role in much of their writing. They were content with very flat characters with little explanation of motive. Good and evil were two completely separate non negotiable concepts. Grendel is given no motive for his actions besides simply a distaste for the Dane’s and their boastful, loud parties. The only logical motive for Grendel’s killing is perhaps jealousy. However, it is not discussed in the poem and is left for the reader to determine. The poem depicts Grendel as a cruel beast who kills with no explanation which makes it difficult for audiences today to relate to him. However audiences in today's culture require more complexity from their

character.
In today's society a villain that we can sympathize with appeals to audiences, we seek characters with depth and complexity. The addition of Grendel’s father’s death provides a motive for Grendel’s savage actions. It actually allows the audience to sympathize with the antagonist by providing Grendel’s motive: revenge. The death of Grendel’s father evokes a deep sense of pity for the lonely troll and sparks the hate in Grendel’s heart for the Dane’s. As we watch young Grendel mourn the lose of his father to the cruel king, we feel sympathy for the villain we were originally intended to detest. Many of us can relate, on some level, the pain and betrayal Grendel is feeling thus allowing us to justify his actions against the Danes. This backstory allows the audience to connect with Grendel so we can understand the reasoning behind his actions.
While Grendel’s father is added to provide depth to the character of Grendel, the addition of the disabled man works in the same way for Beowulf. In the poem we do not see much change in Beowulf’s character; he is a superior and courageous warrior from beginning to end. Although in the epic poem Beowulf is a mighty warrior, he lacks the sympathy and sensitivity society craves. In the poem Beowulf shows no remorse for his actions. Beowulf comes with only one task in mind: to kill Grendel and nothing will hinder his success. The poem does a brilliant job of highlighting Beowulf’s amazing fighting skills and pure brawn. He is honored as an amazing fighter however the poem doesn't give much insight to Beowulf’s emotions. He is solely an emotionless fighter with no trace of remorse, love, or compassion. However, in today’s society we crave a hero with more than just muscle but a heart and brain as well. Culture today appreciates a more well rounded hero. Not only do our heros need to be dauntless fighters, but quick thinkers and compassionate civilians.
The addition of the disabled man allows us to see a softer side of Beowulf that we do not see in the poem, which in turn allows for his emotional growth throughout the film. When Beowulf witnesses the death of the innocent disabled man he begins to question the morality of the entire quest to capture Grendel. Beowulf mentions, “My wits still war with how this all began (Gunnarsson, 2005).” Beowulf’s conscience is beginning to make him question why they were fighting Grendel in the first place. He is able to see the damage that his actions are causing and he contemplates just how evil Grendel really is. Beowulf is attempting to comprehend the motives of Grendel’s actions. The disabled man creates a struggle inside Beowulf about whether his actions are justified. This struggle reveals Beowulf’s deeper emotions and sensitivity we do not see in the poem and is the basis for Beowulf’s emotional shift throughout the movie.
While Beowulf begins to realize Grendel may be more human than they, Dane’s, had lead him to believe, the addition of the witch’s relationship with Grendel further solidifies that idea.

In the epic poem, Grendel is depicted as a vicious beast with no real emotion. He is hardly human and has a very grotesque appearance. He lacks any type of sympathy and acts solely on a whim. The author of the epic poem never truly goes into detail about how Grendel feels about the debacle and fails to relate him to the Dane’s in any manner. The Danes and Grendel are two completely different entities with no similarities between them. This makes it very simple for the Danes to feel no pity or remorse towards Grendel. Additionally, the fact that Grendel is such a malicious savage makes it difficult for the audience to sympathize with him. He lacks human attributes and sympathy which further separates him from the

Danes.
In the movie, Grendel is given more human like qualities as opposed to the grotesque monster portrayed in the poem. The human like qualities that Grendel has in the movie not only make him more relatable to the audience but emphasizes that the Danes and Grendel aren’t very different at the core. The inclusion of the witch makes Grendel seem more human thus making him more relatable to the audience. Additionally, the inclusion of the witch serves to teach a lesson to the Danes about their judgement of Grendel. When some of the Danes compare Grendel to a worm, Beowulf notes that “he is no more worm than” they are (Gunnarsson, 2005). This idea that Grendel may not just be a vicious, mindless being is revolutionary to the Danes. They began to realize that Grendel is more like them then they would like to think and that the real monsters may be themselves.
Since Beowulf was written, our culture has changed drastically and will continue to change. These major shifts in our culture provide the changes that were made to the epic poem when it was converted to the modern movie version. In more recent times, we require characters with more depth and complexity which accounts for the addition of the characters of Grendel’s dad, the disabled man, and the witch when the poem was made into a movie. These characters and the other added components to the film adjusted to the new cultural preferences our society possesses today. The contrast between the two time periods in which these works were composed are vast. As our culture continues to change our literary works and media will adjust to our needs and wants.