A monster is not determined by its appearance, shape or form, but rather by its character. A true monster is one that is a ruthless, unemotional being who takes pleasure upon the suffering of others. The two different stories of Beowulf and Grendel portray Grendel, his mother, and the dragon in different ways. In Beowulf, because the protagonist of the story is a human and not a creature, the focus of the story is portraying Beowulf as a hero and his rivals (Grendel, his mother and the dragon) as monsters. No thorough analysis of the creatures is incorporated and they are mainly judged by their frightening appearances. Contrast to that, in Grendel, because Grendel is the narrator, his perspective and personality is more understood. While in …show more content…
In Beowulf, the dragon is described as an ancient, powerful, fire-breathing beast whose venomous bite kills Beowulf. Not much is known about the history of the dragon, or any other personal information other than that he spends his days greedily guarding a mound of treasure and kills anyone who crosses his path or tries to steal his treasure. Quote here. When Beowulf kills the dragon, he is the hero because he killed the “monster” that everyone so deeply feared. In Grendel, more is learned of the dragon when he is visited by Grendel. Grendel is very intimidated by the dragon’s loud voice and his constant threats. As Grendel speaks with the dragon, the dragon remains on his pile of hoarded treasure and continues to lecture Grendel. However, a deeper understanding is made when it is learned that the dragon can see the future but do nothing about it. Quote here. Therefore, the dragon knows his fate but all he can do is sit on his pile of gold to wait for the end of his days to come, which must be agonizing. Although sympathy is gained for the dragon in Grendel, when he is pitied knowing when his tragic end will come, out of all three creatures (Grendel, Grendel’s mother), he presents the most monstrous characteristics such as: fear, danger, greediness,