John Gardner's Grendel As An Anti-Hero

Some of the greatest villains in literature are characters who have merely been misunderstood. While we are drawn to literary heroes and admire their strengths, we often forget to consider the point of view of their enemies. Many of these enemies also possess strengths that the reader does not realize. Along with traditional heroes, the villain in a story can be considered an anti-hero. In the story Grendel, by John Gardner, the reader is challenged to contemplate the thoughts and feelings of the anti-hero, Grendel. Exploring heroes like Beowulf, and anti-heroes like Grendel, and the Beast in Beauty and the Beast, causes the reader to develop a better understanding of the relationship that exists between the characters and their society.

Both

heroes and anti-heroes play important roles in any piece of literature. The hero and villain dynamic engages the reader and creates an interesting story. The traditional hero in Grendel is Beowulf because of his noble qualities and extreme courage (Adair). Heroes help restore faith in humanity and prove that good can prevail over evil. On the other hand, the anti-hero is Grendel because he is misunderstood with his greedy and violent tendencies (Adair). The idea of anti- heroes is so compelling to us because they are too easy to relate to. Because of the fact that it is so much easier to be bad than good, the reader cannot help but to be drawn to characters with more humanlike characteristics. Moreover, heroes and anti-heroes captivate the reader’s attention by their actions and attitudes throughout literature.
John Gardner introduces Grendel as a villain in the novel.

After taking a closer look, he can be considered an anti-hero because of his noble and also realistic traits. Grendel expresses some of his humanlike qualities when he says, “Why can’t I have anyone to talk to?” (Gardner, 53). Grendel is lonely because no one can understand him. His mother does not speak his language and although he understands English, the villagers do not know what he is saying. Additionally, Grendel is an outcast because of his appearance. “The doe in the clearing goes stiff at the sight of my horridness” (7). He is misunderstood because he is a beast. Grendel looks so terrifying that it is emotionally challenging for him to always have that awful first impression with others. Furthermore, when Grendel would hear the harper’s beautiful music he would often begin to daydream joyful thoughts. When his mind would wander, he would be quickly pulled back into darkness because evil was his reality (54). Grendel lives a difficult life because he is constantly reminded that his only choice is to live a life of evil. Because he has such relatable feelings of being lonely and an outcast, this causes the reader to consider his point of view as an

anti-hero.
The Beast in Beauty and the Beast is a misunderstood character just like Grendel. The Beast went from being a handsome prince to a hideous monster as a punishment for his cold-hearted ways.