Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
Analyze grendel in beowulf
Grendel character in beowulf
Grendel character in beowulf
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Analyze grendel in beowulf
Grendel character in beowulf
Grendel character in beowulf
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Analyze grendel in beowulf
He shows no remorse for the violent crimes he commits and acts as the main source of what barbaric truly is to the audience. The author introduces him in the poem by writing, “Grendel was the name of this grim demon haunting the marches, marauding round the heath and the desolate fens; he had dwelt for a time in misery among the banished monsters” (Beowulf 101-104). He is the farthest thing from God and everyone that encounters him can immediately identify him as someone who has no morals. Grendel’s outright defiance of all that is good is what leads him to own his demise because he is the reason Beowulf comes to the Danes.
“He twisted in pain, and the bleeding sinews deep in his shoulder snapped, muscle and bone split and broke,” (Lines 347-377). It is obvious that Grendel is in pain but, the reader for the rest of the poem does not know what Grendel’s struggles are or how he describes himself. Because this poem is not in first person or even in Grendel's view there is no relationship between the reader or Grendel. “So Hrothgar’s men lived happy in his hall till the monster stirred, that demon, that fiend, Grendel, who haunted the moors, the wild marshes, and made his home in a hell…” (Lines 15-18).
Grendel’s story is not only from his perspective, but it also starts far before Beowulf enters the picture. Grendel does not even know of man’s existence before he encountered Hrothgar whom he starts to fear when he says “I knew I was dealing with no dull mechanical bull but with thinking creatures, pattern makers. The most dangerous things I’d ever met” (pg 27). His first encounter with these men left him wanting more. He spent most nights watching them in the shadows, trying to make sense of their actions.
Grendel was a being sung about in the songs of the shaper, who twisted tales to fit his own means. In the song Grendel was made out to be a wretched monster, without intellect, who only sought to kill. This wasn’t the case entirely. Grendel was determined to enter society, to be a part of their gatherings, instead at every turn he was chased away, cursed, and attacked. He was only a monster to those in the mead hall, a beast who could never be a part of them.
The blood-thirsty monster who had lived there for a hundred seasons [fifty years] soon discovered his presence, and she seized the warrior with her horrid claws. His ringed armor protected him, and she did him no harm, but she did drag him into her dwelling. The hero saw that he was in a hall where the water could do him no harm. He attacked the mighty mere-woman, the she-wolf of the deep, with his sword, but he found that he could not wound her with it. Throwing the famous sword to the ground, he again trusted in his strength.
Psychoanalysis is the way the mind investigates itself through consciousness and unconsciousness by bringing repressed fears and conflicts into the conscious mind. It brings better understanding to what shapes our personalities and why people are who they are. Grendel is just like everyone else, the way he grew up influences who he is. By looking through a psychological perspective we can get a better understanding of Grendel by observing him through Freudianism, object theory, and Neo-Freudianism. Grendel is seen as a monster that terrorizes the village in the eyes of the people.
Grendel is destined to be a malicious character because he is a descendant from Cain’s clan. Cain committed a sin which the Creator, or God, did not forgive. He murdered his brother, Abel, out of jealousy and anger. In Beowulf it says, “the Almighty made him [Cain] anathema and out of the curse of his exile there sprang ogres and elves and evil phantoms” (9) which is what the Creator bestowed upon Cain as part of his punishment. This shows how Grendel is obliged to exist as an evil character, following Cain’s shadow of darkness and malign.
Both authors paint a grotesque picture of their creations and how they both desire to destroy beauty; Aesthetic Iconoclasm, that is shared between the two figures. However, both authors present their monsters separate to one another in philosophy; with Grendel being a mindless savage and the Monster being more contemplative and questioning the nature of its own creation. ‘Monster’ characters have always been a target of both folk tales and pagan myths since the dawn of humanity, the very concept of a monstrous creature harkens back to the primal fear instinct of facing a dangerous predator that presents a danger to humanity. Grendel from Beowulf is the perfect example of this hysteria and
Grendel is seen as evil to the people or readers because he tries to ruin happiness and the well-being of people, as Beowulf is seen as Christ for
This is the beginning of Grendel falling directly into the role that the dragon said he would need to fill. Grendel’s murderous tendencies completely reflect the monstrous side of his personality and the more he kills the more he grows insane, separating from rational, humanistic thought. “I am swollen with excitement, bloodlust and joy and a strange fear that mingle in my chest like the twisting rage of a bone-fire... I am blazing, half-crazy with joy” (168). It is clear that, by the time Beowulf arrives, Grendel has embraced the fact that he is required to be evil, despite the fact that he previously claimed he would oppose that destiny.
Whereas, Beowulf’s encounter with the dragon. He knows that the dragon was truly a monster without any human characteristics. Whereas, Grendel possess human characteristics such as a human form and share mutual values such as a place to meet, meadhall. Grendel simply represent an alternative darker side of humanity, which is reflected in his underwater sea cave. Compared to the dragon, Grendel is more human than monstrous.
Readers can learn some things about Grendel in Beowulf but in order to dive deeper into the character and who he is, people go to the book Grendel. The book takes a closer look at Grendel and how he discovers the order and disorder of people and the world (Sanchez). Grendel is thought to symbolize the dark side of humanity, or the sins of man (Farrell). It’s easy for readers to sympathize with Grendel at points because he is a natural outcast of society. He is said to be the son of Cain and because of that he was labeled from day one (Sanchez).
An epic is a long narrative poem, in which heroic characters do tremendous deeds and go on great adventures. These poems represent something very special for nations or a people, as the actions that take place in the narrative are very important to them. The classic epics that will be discussed will be of Anglo-Saxon time, and this was the era where England housed Germanic tribes up until the conquest of the Normans. A very crucial part of these long poems is the epic hero. The epic hero is the central figure that reflects the values and heroic ideals of a particular society.
The common characteristics of what makes a monster have remained constant throughout society: evil, isolated, violent. Monsters have no regards for social normatives, and cause chaos and destruction wherever they go. Grendel is no exception. In Beowulf, Grendel manifests every characteristic of a stereotypical monster. He is considered inherently evil, and is an outcast; he roams alone and commits devilish atrocities whenever he pleases.
Grendel in both stories is described as a vicious "Monster", but is viewed differently. The character of Grendel, in the novel by John Gardner, portrays a different visualization than that of Grendel in the epic poem Beowulf. In the novel the story is told in first person point of view which gives Grendel human qualities while Grendel in Beowulf is told in third person point of view not giving Grendel his standpoint. In both works, the authors give two different perspectives of Grendel. Grendel in the novel is not seen as a "Monster", but as a human that has emotions and is very sympathetic about everything that comes his way.