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Point Of View In Grendel And Beowulf

1008 Words5 Pages

Through the eyes of an author, there could be many ways to write a story, but their goal is to pick the best way the story would be told. Many times authors who write in the third person perspective, lack major details about how the main character feels; but when written in the first person point of view, it allows the reader to interpret the tone through the character's feelings because the character expresses their thoughts and actions in deeper detail. The book Grendel by John Gardner, engages the reader in a first person point of view, allowing the reader to further analyze the main characters views on society, thoughts on the attack on the mead hall, and the final battle: on the contrary, the epic poem, Beowulf, tells the same story in …show more content…

On the outer shell, Grendel is a monstrous villain who hates mankind, but the reader soon realizes, in reality, he just wants to fit in. Since Grendel knows he will never fit in, he decides to destroy what he cannot have and he "[understands] that the world [is] nothing: [but] a mechanical chaos of casualties, brute enmity on which we stupidly impose our hopes and fears. I understood, finally and absolutely, I alone exist" (Gardner 22). Instead of criticizing the villain, Grendel makes the reader sympathize with him by saying " [he] alone exist[s]". Thus allowing the reader to interpret the tone better because of how Grendel expresses his feeling. On the other hand, Beowulf gives the reader a generalization of how he sees society. Plain and simple. Beowulf only sees the world as good and evil, black and white, there is no gray area, causing the tone to be bland and boring due to no detail or unexpected turns. Beowulf overlooks society as a horrible place that only " the vicious raids and ravages of Grendel, his long and unrelenting feud, nothing but war...young and old were hunted down by the death shadow" (line 151-160). Although both stories are talking about the same towns, they are told through different narratives conveying a completely different tone. The quote told in the third person lacks feeling and emotion, which plays a big role in conveying a strong

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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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In The Jilting of Granny Weatherall, the narration of the story is a mix of third person limited and first person. The first person narration gives the reader the ability to hear what is going on in the mind of Ellen and receiving her point of view on different events is what makes her character feel more alive and believable “So, my dear Lord, this is my death and I wasn’t even thinking about it. My children have come to see me die. But I can’t, it’s not time (Porter 7) . The first person point of view offers the reader a look into Ellen’s emotions, enabling the reader to feel the despair and pain that Ellen must suffer through before she dies.

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Point of view is an essential component of Grendel because it gives us a perspective of how Grendel sees the world. Having the ability to view the story from the eyes of Grendel gives the reader insight into how Grendel thinks, how he sees people, and how people see him. The first person point of view in Grendel reveals a deeper understanding of how isolation can shape one’s existence and change them over time. When Grendel was younger, he was a curious creature who was intrigued but terrified of the outside world. The first person viewpoint of the story allows us to see how the way the humans treated Grendel took away his innocence and isolated him.

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In the epic poem Beowulf, the protagonist, Beowulf, faces three “monsters” at different times in his life. The poem begins with Grendel, a monster who attacks only in the dark of night, tormenting the kingdom of Hrothgar. The last two sections of the epic detail the conquering by Beowulf of Grendel’s mother and the dragon. The battle between the monsters and Beowulf represent the theme of good versus evil in the poem, as well as the fusion of pagan and Christian ideals in the changing Germanic society. Grendel’s mother’s actions directly juxtapose the role of a woman in this time period, and the greediness of the dragon with his treasure contrasts with the virtues of what would be considered a good king.

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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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Beowulf: A New Translation for Oral Delivery, translated by Dick Ringler, utilized the dark and the ominous to foreshadow or to portray the impending savagery of mankind. Darkness could be defined either by the absence of light or by the lack of intellectual enlightenment. The monstrous creatures are shrouded within the darkness or associate with the ominous. Throughout Beowulf the theme of violence and darkness are intertwined, which is manifest by correlating the darkness with the unknown through Grendel. The unknown generate fear among the mass through their inability to control and understand the existence of inhuman beings.

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Argument Essay: Beowulf and Grendel Many people have read or heard of the epic poem of Beowulf, which spins a tale of Grendel, the monster, attacking the admirable Danes and their king, Hrothgar. Some may not be as aware of a book titled Grendel written by John Gardner in 1971. Gardner’s book tells a completely different account of the more familiar tale of Beowulf, from the perspective of Grendel, the monster. The narrator from Grendel portrays a more plausible, powerful story than the excerpt from Beowulf by drawing the reader in with a more emotional viewpoint from the character Grendel, making him more relatable by giving him humanlike qualities, and clarifying why certain events took place in Beowulf.

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711-720 – Grendel begins to approach the mead hall. 721-728 – When Grendel gets in the hall he sees all of the troops and Beowulf. 729-half of 735 – He was pleased about the people there because he believed he was going to have a feast. half of 735-half of 746 – Grendel goes up to a sleeping warrior and essentially eats him (sucks his blood). half of 746-758 – He tries to do the same thing to Beowulf which does not work.

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968 Words | 4 Pages

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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The anglo-saxons have beliefs about fate and how people were destined to fulfill some of the legends. Many stories have fate as an underlying tone that impacts the flow of the article. “.... Heard how Grendel filled nights with horror and quickly commanded a boat fitted out….” (112-113) in the beginning you can infer someone will come along to defeat Grendel. The person destined to defeat Grendel is a young warrior named Beowulf. Beowulf is centered around fate and the inevitable results that are planned with any action.

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1285 Words | 6 Pages

In the poem Beowulf, there is a contrast between good and evil. This distinction is presented through the monsters Grendel and his mother, in parallel to the hero Beowulf. The themes of evil and monstrosity are therefore used in the story, as a way to create the notion of Grendel and his mother as monsters. Beowulf therefore appears as a character representing good. Although Beowulf shows traits of abnormal power, like Grendel and his mother, his motifs are interpreted differently.

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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.

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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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In Beowulf, a wide variety of aspects are portrayed but only one of them captivates the reader the most: Beowulf’s battles between Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon. They all share similarities and differences and each of the opponents symbolize different things. Firstly, all three of Beowulf’s battles are similar in some way.

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