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Grendel's Changes In Beowulf

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Many people enjoy stories of monsters, battles, and heroism. Throughout five different versions of the epic Beowulf audiences can see five different versions of the monster, Grendel. In every version, Beowulf is the hero that rids the kingdom of the monster, but in each story, Grendel's characteristics change. Grendel changes through different portrayals of his motivation, his physical characteristics, and his mental characteristics, these different changes in storytelling show the audience that Grendel has better reasons to do the horrible things he does. The first change that Grendel deals with are modifications made to his motivation. In the first Beowulf and Grendel film (clips) we watched, Grendel's motivation was changed by showing Hrothgar's people killing Grendel’s father. Viewers see that Grendel …show more content…

In the Beowulf film we watched Grendel was a huge, slimy, monster. He was 10 times the size of all the men, it was nothing for him to kill a few men in the swipe of a hand. The queen tells Beowulf about all the men that have challenged Grendel and how none of them succeeded (2007 Beowulf movie). In the cantos version, Grendel was ogre like, and he was a little bigger than a man. He more so looked like a man than a huge scary monster. Writers and directors make these physical changes for different reasons.They may do this to make a character look attractive or to lure you in to want to see what the character will do next. But the main reason they make these changes is to get more people interested in reading or watching their story. Once you’ve seen the first one you are connected to the story, when another modified version of the story comes out you typically want to watch or read that too. The movie definitely shows Grendel killing many more men than in the cantos, it may all be because he had a better reason to get revenge and he was physically a bigger meaner

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The people in the story view Grendel as a monster, but why does Hrothgar-Grendel’s father-want Grendel to be killed? Is he full of shame? What would happen if the Geats knew about Hrothgar and Grendel’s Mother’s secret scandal? Grendel’s sadness and loneliness, the courage to protect himself from what is hurting is why he is despised. As a monster, Grendel was trying to protect himself.

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Throughout John Garder’s novel and the poem Beowolf the reader can tell that Grendel is a complex character that does not relate much to anyone else in the novel or the poem. Grendel in Garder’s novel is also different compared to the Grendel in the poem Beowolf by many different standards. Grendel in Garder’s novel is more a complicated character then the Grendel in Beowolf because the novel is set in first person point of view, the reader can have a deeper understanding of Grendel in the novel, and there is more modern philosophy in Grendel the novel. The novel Grendel is all written in first person which gives a deeper understanding of how Grendel interprets what is happening and how he reacts too many of the conflicts that happen to him.

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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.

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In the book Grendel he seems to change throughout the book. At the beginning of the story Grendel is sensitive , immature and very lonely. Giving a feeling of sympathy . That all changes when Grendel talks to The Dragon. When Grendel first meet The Dragon he was afraid of it. He was so terrified to ask him questions.

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Beowulf is brave and grendel is spiteful. They both act out pride because Beowulf is an epic hero and most epic heros let the pride eat then. In other words it gets to their heads, which then hurts them in the end. Grendel has more of a vengeful pride. He killed Herot men for fun and because he was annoyed by their stories.

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“Merciless Grendel struck again with more gruesome murders” (Beowulf 11) shows that Grendel is a wicked murder. The Danes see Grendel as a monster who is “insensible to pain and human sorrow” and “never showed remorse” (11). Notably, the Danes think of Grendel as a creature who has no emotions, but just as one of Cain’s descendants who goes around killing people for his own fulfillment of joy. Grendel’s actions of violence can also be seen from Gardner’s Grendel, “I tore off sly old Athelgard’s head... here I killed the old woman with the irongray hair.”

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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

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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.

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In the book he attacked while everyone was drunk and passed out sleep. When Grendel attacked Beowulf was laying on the table naked. The soldiers tried to use weapons on Grendel; however, his skin was magically treated so no weapon could harm him. In the movie Beowulf stabbed him with a knife, but he soon realized he had special skin; however, Beowulf dropped the knife and fought Grendel with his hands. In the book Beowulf didn’t use any weapon on Grendel at all.

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The world of Grendel is full of symbols that construct men as violent, sexual creatures and women as passive objects.

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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).

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Beowulf is an Old English epic poem about a leader of the Geats, a Swedish clan, who defeats three monstrous creatures. The novel Grendel, written by John Gardener tells the old tale in the perspective of one of the monsters. This novel reveals many philosophical messages and also the different mindsets and emotional structure between humans and creatures, specifically monsters. Both novels differ majorly due to the different choice of perspectives. The novel written by John Gardner is much more complicated plot wise.

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1285 Words | 6 Pages

Grendel and his mother are represented as monsters, through their physical appearance, as well as their horrific killings. The monstrosity of Grendel is directly seen through his physical appearance, as depicted when his hand is exposed in the hall as a trophy, after he was injured during his battle with Beowulf. During this scene, the beastly appearance

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840 Words | 4 Pages

Through his attacks, he had feelings of satisfaction when he tore apart his prey because he sought vengeance and gained power over those who opposed him. However, in his battle with Beowulf, he noticed that this proposed hero was just as strong as he was, but more courageous and glorious. “His mind was flooded with fear…Grendel’s one thought was to run from Beowulf, flee back to his marsh, and hide there” (pg. 416, lines 276-79) and his “hatred rose higher, but his power had gone.” (pg. 418, lines 337-38). Grendel’s insecurities got the best of him and he became powerless instantly.

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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.

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