Grendel: Human or Monster In the story Beowulf, the character Grendel is highly misunderstood. Grendel was born in the wild marshes outside of Herot. Being raised in such harsh conditions, Grendel grew to hate the Danes and God. As a descendant of Cain, he was banished as a small child and forced to live in exile with his mother.
When Grendel last words “Poor Grendel’s had an accident . . . So may you all” . These words are used as a curse because just like Grendel suffered from an accident everyone else will suffer to . For example , “It was an accident,” I bellow back. I will cling to what is true.
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.
Grendel emerged the night Beowulf did and he tore his arm off during their fight proving that he is worthy to subjugate the beast. Grendel’s mother is upset about her son’s death and comes
In this story I (Grendel) am going to tell you how I an ogre died because of misjudgment. They judged me without knowing me and turned me into a monster someone I never thought I would be. It was a warm sunny day in the swamps I took off to wonder like any other day. I would play in the forest and sometimes I would also get hurt while playing. Other times I would get lost and get really scared but, mama would always come and find me.
Grendel was only acting on instinct since the music hurt his ears. The author sets the tone in the story for us to have compassion for Grendel since Beowulf plays the roll of making the humans look bad. They exiled Grendel therefor, he did not stand a chance in the first place to become good, but instead have to live a life of misery. Grendel also only attacked when they played music since it sent waves of agony through his head. He was acting because of pain and not because he really wanted to hurt everyone.
Prepared to spill the blood of unsuspecting, intoxicated warriors in their slumber, Grendel fleetly removed the strengthened door to the Herot with monstrous strength and cruelty. Grendel's strides were expansive. With every step, the beast's huge, thickened feet much flew, one once the opposite. the ground gave the impression to be instantly displaced owing to his spectacular lightness. " His eyes gleamed within the darkness, burned with a grotesque light".
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.
In both Grendel and Beowulf, the attack on Herot is similar in mood yet different in tone. Just before the attack the town feels safe. “I burst in when they were all asleep, snatched seven from their beds, and slit them open and devoured them on the spot.”(79) The town wakes up and realizes what Grendel had done to the town and the citizens.
Movies are cinematic depictions of written ideas manipulated to appease audiences composed of ever-changing individuals. Within the epic Beowulf (Heaney 2000), and the film Beowulf and Grendel (Gunnarsson 2005) you are able to make a clear distinction. The epic portrays one of the first cultures in human existence while the film portrays the modern culture that we are all familiar with today. The differences can be thought of as a representation of who we once were, and what we have evolved into today.
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 attacks the Danes because he is an evil creature, and hates the happiness of the Danes in the Heorot hall. All the noise that the men make causes Grendel to become very irritated and does not want them to be celebrating and partying at all. Grendel's attacks kills many Dane warriors. Grendel wants to kill every single warrior that is the Heorot hall. The only thing that can help the men stay alive is if they are not in the Heorot hall.
In the first battle that Beowulf participates in is against Grendel. Grendel is a repugnant creature that takes advantage of the weak and vulnerable. This creature can be compared to so many things in today’s society but, the most recent thing that can be related to him and one of the most talked about topics on the news would be sexual harassment. When reading Beowulf, and reading about Grendel the story talks about how he only attacks at night when all the worriers are asleep and don’t have the opportunity to hold their own. In the epic poem Grendel is described as a creature that is the descendant of Cain, the one who murdered his own brother.
Many people change in certain situations they are presented in according to different cultures and religious views. Every culture has different perspectives and views of their heroes. In the epic Beowulf (Heaney 2000) and the film Beowulf and Grendel (Gunnarsson 2005) you can see how each have different values and beliefs of the mighty geat hero Beowulf. Even though they illustrate the same language and culture they differ in many ways. Throughout the film, Beowulf and Grendel, Beowulf’s character changes over the course of the film illustrating to us the idea that it is not easy to comprehend what the difference is between what is good and evil in a culture.
He is very large in comparison to the humans until he is wounded by Beowulf. Grendel comes out of his lair to attack the Danes due to the noise. The movie depicted Grendel’s ears with a membrane and as he hears the noise, he starts screaming covering his ears, which is evidence that the partying that is going on in the mead hall is causing Grendel pain and distress. Grendel’s mother treats Grendel like a mother would treat a baby. During his death scene, she strokes his head while speaking very gently and softly to him.
