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Essays about isolation
What is the role of isolation as a theme
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More handpicked essays just for you.
Essays about isolation
What is the role of isolation as a theme
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Grendel remains in an inner conflict with his beliefs throughout the entire story. He is directed by two compelling desires in which play a role in introducing him to the divergences between good and evil. The Shaper convinces him with his meaningful music, whereas the dragon persuades him through his ideology of nihilism. Both the Shaper and the dragon play a part in influencing his views on the human society.
Up until the end of Chapter 7, Grendel’s actions are influenced by the dragon. He believes nothing matters, there is no good or bad, and everybody eventually dies. The people of Heort know Grendel as a monster and a killer and he lives up to his reputation.
Grendel has changed from a impressionable and inquisitive cynical monster in the beginning, to a grieving child of Cain, longing for purpose. From this, he then transitions into a very aggressive monster, attacking ruthlessly but not without thought. After Grendel meets Beowulf, another character that his once again influenced his thought killing him, he slowly dies and finally understands everything he’s gone through. His last lines “Poor Grendel's had an accident," (He) whispers. " So may you all.”
In John Gardner’s book, Grendel, Grendel who is the monster is shown as evil. He is evil because he murders and he knows what he is doing is wrong yet he doesn't stop himself and he continues to do wrong. We as the readers are not supposed to sympathize to with him because there really isn’t a relation and what Grendel does can’t be downplayed with excuses. Grendel is punished for his evil deeds and he definitely deserves it because what he is doing is not okay and he should be punished and he was in the right way.
“I was Grendel, Ruiner of Meadhalls, Wrecker of Kings! But also, as never before, I was alone.” (Grendel, p. 80) Grendel says this depressing statement when he learns that the enchantment placed upon him by the dragon has left him unable to be harmed by the Scylding's weapons. He vainly basks in his new-found glory, but he soon has the realization that his imperviousness has now separated him even more from the place he yearns for among men.
In Grendel by John Gardener, the author describes a humane-minded monster’s, Grendel, struggle to find a purpose due to his isolation with the world. Gardener uses exuberant techniques of diction and sensory imagery to depict the theme. The utilizations capture every single detail of Grendel’s thoughts and struggles for existence. The beginning of the novel introduces the readers to Grendel’s past and his uprising conflicts with humankind due to their unacceptance of him. Grendel and his mother are unable to communicate and he feels the “shocking separateness” between them.
John Gardner’s wrote Grendel in a first point of view whereas, in Beowulf epic had Grendel in third point of view. Gardner’s novel has made a significant picture for Grendel than the epic. The good and evil personality has been the main conflict for both stories. However, Grendel in Gardner’s novel is confused how the universe goes but realized that there is some sort of pattern going on. Grendel is seeking to find the meaning of the life.
In John Gardner’s novel Grendel the tale is portrayed from Grendel’s point of view, a villain who wreaks havoc on Hrothgar’s lands and leaves his citizens in fear. This affects the way we construe the theme of isolation in the novel which makes Grendel appear increasingly more innocent than the readers expect, and he is also victimized by the citizens, which causes him to be a recluse in society. Multiple times, Grendel attempts to conversate with the people, but he has been secluded for so many years that nobody can comprehend his words “Talking, talking, spinning a spell, pale skin of words that closes me in like a coffin. Not in a language that anyone any longer understands-
Grendel in the novel is more similar than different to "the monster" in Frankenstein because Grendel in the novel is miserable, "the monster" in Frankenstein is alone, and Grendel in the novel realizes who he is or what he wants. In the beginning of the story Grendel doesn’t understand why his mother and he have to hide from the men. He has no one to talk to and feels like his mom hates him because she is always ignoring him and doesn't talk much. Grendel feels miserable as if there was no point in living.
Pointless, ridiculous monster crouched in the shadows, stinking of dead men, murdered children, martyred cows” (Gardner 54). Grendel recognizes that it is the isolation that has turned him into what he is. He has seen how the humans have rejected him and tried to kill him, the first person viewpoint allows us to share this experience with
Grendel was this grim beast who haunted the moors and secluded fens; this troublesome one had long lived with monsters since the Creator had declared his exile. Grendel had been punished and separated from the company of man and God through the sins of Cain. Being a descendant from Cain, Grendel is full of evil and deceitfulness. This fuels his hatred, and a desire to destroy goodness from the world of which he can have no part in. His first night of violent attacks was describe as “The unholy creature, grim and ravenous, was ready at once, ruthless and cruel, and took from their thirty thanes; thence
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).
This time however, he is swept away by a person name the Shaper, who Grendel is ultimately scared of, because of the fact that the shaper is very good at changing the view of people very easily. During this same period, Grendel started to become more violent as well, first by attacking the humans. Grendel didn’t like the way Hrothgar lived and made the Mead Hall and in response, Grendel started to attack it at night. He killed anyone and everything that came into his sight, and even ate the humans. Grendel now became a real threat to the humans, which inevitably changed his status from sinister to pure
Throughout the novel Grendel by John Gardner, Grendel comes across as a ruthless monster who takes pride in murdering others. His actions give the impression that he is an evil figure, but in hindsight he is not as evil as he appears to be. Gardner makes the readers feel sympathy for Grendel because Grendel lives a lonely life, is consistently treated poorly, and attempts to make peace. If Grendel was truly evil, readers would have difficulty having sympathy for him. Therefore, Grendel is not evil and is no different than the rest of humanity.
Grendel is classified as a monster due to his outsider status of being an outcast, unreligious, and dishonorable, which establishes him as the antithesis of Anglo Saxon culture. As an outcast of society, Grendel represents the idea that in Anglo Saxon culture unity and cooperation is what holds society together. In a world classified by kinship and strong family lineage, Grendel is “conceived by a pair of those monsters born of Cain, murderous creatures banished by God” (Heaney 22). In a society focused upon blood lineage and strong family ties, to be related to a “monster“ in any form is something sinful, and cause enough for complete hatred.