Grendel Essay

Grendel : Evil Essay
In the novel, Grendel by John Gardener, Grendel is a human–like creature capable of rational
thought as well as feeling emotions. Early on in the story Gardener depicts Grendel as being very
observant, critical and somewhat spiteful of the world around him. He describes himself as a
murderous monster who smells of death and crouches in the shadows. Grendel watches the humans
from the shadows of the trees and at first it seems as though they are the real monsters, slaughtering
and pillaging all for the sake of their leaders and for power. This light that the humans are put in
gives Grendel a certain charisma about him, making him seem like the one to side with in this novel.
Later in the story, however, things change. Grendel seeks out the...show more content...
Grendel initailly is frightened by him, discovering how the humans must feel in his own
presence in the following passage: "My throat convulsed and I tried to get my breath to speak, but
I couldn't ... 'Now you know how they feel when they see you'" (59) as their conversation
continues they do not make much ground with each other, instead just adding fuel to the fire.
Eventually they reach a breaking point in the conversation when Grendel asks, "Why is it
fiddlesticks if I stop giving people heart attacks over nothing? ... You improve them, my boy!
Can't you see that yourself? ... You are, so to speak, the brute existent by which they learn to
define themselves. The exile, captivity, death they shrink from" (72) This sticks with Grendel
throughout the rest of the novel. Next Grendel is outside the meadhall when he hears the Shaper's
song and it enrages him, when he hears a guard behind him and is attacked. Yet nothing happens to
the beast, as the dragon has put an invulnerability charm on him, his arrogence reaches its peak.
The major turning point, the change, the evil that the dragon instilled in him awakens in the
following reading: "I bit his head off ... and, holding the jerking, blood slippery body in two hands,
sucked the blood that came like a hot, thick geyser from his neck." (79) The charm eliminates all of
his inhibitions as he begins raiding the mead hall on a daily basis. Gardener intends to show how
quickly evil influences ones
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Essay On Grendel In Beowulf
Grendel, the offspring of Cain the outcast, is a demon. He is a scaly creature that lives in a swampy
area. He is a reptilian human, with spikes on him. He is a human–like figure, in which the way he
stands. He stands on two feet, and has arms. In the book Beowulf removes Grendel's arm and
shoulder, defeating him. This must mean he has a shoulder blade and can walk like a human. He
also has razor–sharp talons as it says in the book "Venturing closer, his talon was raised toattack
Beowulf where he lay on the bed" (Heaney 51). One night when he is prowling around, he hears
the King and his kinsmen singing out to the Lord. He hears the songs of how great God is, and is
outraged. As the outcast of God, Grendel despised of God. The songs and happiness, pushes him
over the edge. He plans the downfall of the hall, in spite of their songs. He will attack at night, as
everyone sleeps, and butcher them dead. He sneaks in at night, watching over the guards, ready to
pounce. He rips apart the men eating them alive. "Suddenly then the God–cursed brute was creating
havoc: greedy and grim, he grabbed thirty men from their resting place and rushed them to his
lair" (Heaney 11). This shows just how When the king awoke the next morning he grieved for his
men, but little did he know Grendel would attack every night for 12 winters. Once again Grendel
sets of for a night of ravishing, but the king has a plan. He has set out more guards to keep watch
over the kingdom, as he sleeps. When Grendel

Grendel Analysis
The novel "Grendel" by John Gardner can be seen as reconstruction of "Beowulf" an epic tale
with the considered beast showing his innocence and loneliness. The novel and the epic are models
where there are two point of views on a main situation. In "Grendel" the monster is someone who is
lost through the words of the Shaper and the Dragon, and is trying to fit in and make friends. Due to
the words of the Dragon Grendel is able to be comfortable with being seen as a monster and takes
on the role of a villain. Through the novel one can see how the author express himself after being
involved with the death of his brother. John Gardner's novel, "Grendel" can be seen as a reflection
of the author's life involving the death of his younger brother through the way the characters act and
specific details, Grendel's interactions with his mom, and the ideology and principles. First,
throughout the novel John Gardner uses specific detail that are tied with his life. An instance of this
is not only are there twelve chapters in the book but it also took twelve years for Beowulf to arrive to
aid the Danes. The number twelve has a major weightiness not only in the novel but also in the
author's life. When John Gardner was twelve his whole life turned around because his brother died
and he became depressed. On the twelfth year Grendel also basically dies and the story ends there.
Another detail is that after those twelve years both Grendel and Gardner believe that what happened
to them was

Grendel Character Analysis Essay
Grendel character analysis Terrorizing a town for 12 years Grendel kills countless men and
woman in the epic of Beowulf. Banished to an underwater dwelling when descendants of Cain
were banished and killed, many warriors faced him but few survived. Many have herd of Grendel
and his tale of horror, but who is Grendel? Grendel is seen by other people in Beowulf as a monster
and a fiend even before his name is mentioned the narrator refers to him as a "powerful monster,
living down in the darkness" (line 1). But the most common thing that comes to mind when most
people think of Grendel is fear, it's what Herot did was fear him. The final opinion I gathered was
one of respect, for Beowulf fights Grendel with no weapon or clothes because...show more content...
In Grendel and Beowulf one of his main traits is that he is only mean to those who do wrong to
him or his family, also it shows his massive strength when he snaps the warriors neck in the fight
scene in the battle in thee mead hall. Grendel stays alive for so long I feel due to his intelligence,
showing it by only coming out in the night in both the book and both movies, also in Beowulf and
Grendel, he hides when he hears Beowulf moving in the hall the first time he comes, also later in
the movie he talks. In the thirteenth warrior thee wedels are smart enough to use the torches to
scare the people and ride horses, and one of the biggest is that they use the bear pelts to make
them look more scary and collect bodies after battle to not show there secret. In Beowulf and
Grendel the movie he uses his intelligence to only target the one who smashed his father's skull.
The book shows him as having a developed intelligence when he only comes at night time and he
always leaves before morning comes to

Essay About Grendel
Yun Lun
Grendel's mom
I moved to this lake for hundreds of years before anyone came. There is animals all around me to
provide me food, and there is a lake that can protect me. After a long time, monsters started to move
here, food got less and less. One day, while I was going to hunt a deer drinking in my lake, then
something came from the trees, so fast that I can't see clearly, then the deer fell down. All I see is
a stick with feathers on it, didn't know where it came from, so I stay hidden in the water. monsters
started to come out from the forest to take that deer away, they tied it up and carried it back to
their houses, I followed them, the deer is mine and I am going to take it back. They started to use
something so sharp so it cut through the skin so easily, even my claws couldn't cut it so easily. I
went to take the deer and the thing they used, unfortunately, those...show more content...
Grendel grew fast, his claws are sharp and his skin is hard, soon he will be able to hunt for me. As
Grendel grew, more and more people came to my lake to live, we hunt together and live together.
Grendel is the strongest and fastest of them all, he brought food for us all everyday. But monsters
also went to live live in the village and the place got bigger and bigger. At first, we are fine with
them coming over, but soon, loud noise came over every night, so loud that we couldn't sleep, so
all of us decided that we need to stop them, sent the best warrior we have, which is Grendel, to go
over there and kill those monsters, the first day he went, I was so worried about him, maybe those
monsters will eat him, but he came back with thirty of those monsters, dead in his hand. I was so
proud of him. We ate those monsters and found that their meat is as good as a deer's and those
weird noise stopped, so we sent him to kill the monsters every day. It was good, he came back
every morning with food, and slept at day, and this continued for twelve

Analysis Of Grendel 's ' Grendel '
Martin Mraz
Common Core English IV
March 9, 2017
Grendel's Pain
In John Gardner 's Grendel, Grendel states, "Tedium is the worst pain" (138). Grendel views
boredom as an expression of his painful, purposeless existence. Perpetual boredom has steadily
increased and intensifies in chapter ten leading Grendel to be anxious for something to happen.
Ironically, Grendel claims nothing is happening, and all is boring, yet filled with longing and
expecting for something big to happen soon. Grendel's search intensifies and becomes desperate at
the event of the Shaper's death. He feels utterly alone and isolated. It seems Grendel can only talk to
himself. In Chapter ten Gardner examines the significance of the astrological sign Capricorn, the
...show more content...
His bleak assessment of man's state is heard in the icy statement, "The world is white" (148).
Grendel believes himself to be the only one moved by the old priest's words while standing in
frozen company in the shadow of a funeral fire. Is he the only one moved by the Shaper's death?
Grendel sees everyone as stiff and frozen blue like ice. His own mother acts only to prevent him
from deepening his pessimistic tendency revealed by the loss. She tries to get in his way. She
attempts to block his view of the funeral procession. Grendel's Nietzschean philosophy continues to
take shape in the wake of the Shaper's death. Grendel groans, "We 're on our own again. Abandoned"
(149).
Grendel prefers to develop a loneliness and Isolation theme as he struggles for identity and purpose
in life. He journeys past his mother's attempts to protect him from feeling and moves her aside even
though she is pained by his cool objection. Her whoops cannot stop him from moving on as he
comforts himself to believe, "I will forget, tomorrow, so her pain is a matter of indifference" (147).
His independent spirit persists in conflicted loneliness. The Shaper's hopeful song about thaw and
spring rain echoes from the lips of a young man only to meet empty, lonely space within Grendel.
The people solemnly listen in funeral waiting and a distracted, dry–eyed king is seen by all to be
unmoved. Grendel is restless and continues to move forward with his lonely,

Grendel Character Analysis
In grendel novel , the author used literary devices to create different stages in grendel's
Character.John Gardner showed grendel by conveying his inner thoughts and observations;
occasionally he narrates from the point of view of another character. Grendel attempts to maintain a
mocking distance throughout the novel, but often finds himself slipping into an impassioned
earnestness.throughout the novel Grendel struggles, within his own mind, to understand his place in
a potentially meaningless world.In this significant work ,John Gardner used some recurring
structures in the novel to maintain balance, to make the reader understand the novel ,and the stages
of development that happens to grendel in the novel.
One of...show more content...
in chapter ten grendel described the guards and beowulf like a "mechanical dead looking" He also
compare the sun , moon and stars as machines operating in a mechanical world "it's good at first
to be out in the night , naked to the cold mechanics of the stars "(chapter 1 ) which make him
believe that he is the only one who understand the reality around him .He makes himself a god
over the mechanical ,pointless universe " i alone exist . all the rest , i saw is merely what pushes
me , or what i push against , blindly –as blindly as all that is not myself pushes back. I create the
whole universe , blink by blink " (chapter 2 ) . the more grendel think this way the more he have the
instinct to kill. Grendel rejected every opportunity to take the risk beyond his instinctive instead , he
believed the dragon words about the meaninglessness of existence.
The zodiac signs was another thing that John Gardner used in the novel.grendel is split into twelve
chapters ,each linked with one month of the year and one astrological sign. Gardner includes at least
one allusion to each sign within its corresponding chapter.in chapter one for example , it symbolize
the sign of aries as its symbol represent the ram that grendel encounters.
An aries is bold , adventures and competitive they are naive , impulsive , thoughtless and primitive
which grendel has all of this characteristics. Also in chapter two it represented as taurus the

Grendel Character Analysis Essay
AJ Voltarel Grendel Essay 10/31/2014 Mrs. Alhman When Grendel was still young, he spent his
time exploring his confined world, untroubled by the outside universe or philosophical questions.
Grendel's finding of the lake of firesnakes and the realm beyond it is his start to his first adventure
in a larger world, one full of danger and possibility. As such, crossing the lake is a crucial step for
Grendel in his move toward maturity. When the bull attacks him, he climbs into a tree and sees that
the world is chaotic, following no pattern for no visible reason. Grendel's battle with Beowulf and
the weeks leading up to that battle provides a violent resolution to his quest. Grendel shows human
qualities, but that's all he shows. Wealtheow, on the other hand, who Grendel is greatly...show more
content...
In Grendel's Family, he only has his mother, she lives with Grendel in a big underground area.
She has never known how to speak, or might not be able to do so. Although, she does come close
to interacting in ways close to speech at times. Grendel's mother realizes she is a monster, but she
chooses to embrace that. She always worries about Grendel's dangerous adventures, and tries to
keep him from interactions with humans. She loves Grendel as if she was any other mother.
Grendel describes his mother as a "life–bloated, long–suffering hag" (Grendel 11), with his view of a
teenager, he feels she is too controlling at some points. But he also knows she loves him very
much after saving him from humans who think he is some sort of spirit. Her love is shown as
Grendel sees her, "it was my mother, she came roaring down like thunder, screaming like a
thousand hurricanes, eyes as bright as dragonfire" (Grendel 27). Though Grendel's Mother is
represented as a monster, there are also several human aspects to her and her influence over Grendel
shapes what he is to

Essay on Grendel
In 1971, American author John Gardner wrote Grendel. With a mastermind of creativity, John
Gardner successfully retells the classic epic poem, Beowulf. He captures the reader by giving an
interesting view of order and chaos, good and evil, hero and monster, allowing the monsters point of
view to be seen.
On July 21, 1933 John Gardner was born in Batavia, New York. He was the son of a preacher and
diary, and his mother taught English. They were very fond of Shakespeare and loved to recite
literature. Gardner spent his early days attending school, playing French horn, and working on his
dads farms. In April 1945, Gardner's brother was killed in an accident with a cultipacker on their
family farm. Gardner was driving the...show more content...
(Howell 2).In addition to teaching and writing, he also edited scholarly books for the Southern
Illinois University Press; he was a creative and talented teacher, author, and editor.
Although the promotion of Gardner's first novel The Resurrection (1966) wasn't a hit at all, and
The Wreckage of Agathon (1970) apprehended a mixture of reviews. It was the appearance of
Grendel in 1970, however, that brought him true fame and recognition. Richard Locke of the New
York Times called Gardner "a major contemporary writer" and other viewers were just as enthusiastic
(Howell 2). John Michael Howell comments that though Grendel may have been written in a short
period of time, its natural resonance suggests that the monster–hero (Grendel) has been lurking in
Gardner's imagination for a great deal of time (Howell 61). Which in all reality not only makes the
story successful but also intriguing.
Beowulf is an epic poem that was originally told between the eighth and eleventh centuries. It is the
first surviving epic to be written in the English language. The single existing copy dates from around
the tenth century, but some scholars believe its dates from the early eleventh century. It was found
in a large volume that contained stories about mythical creatures and people. It is said that two
different scribes copied the poem, most likely using an existing copy (Heaney 6). During the period
of 1066 and the reformation the volume

Grendel Philosophies
Philosophies are the ideas formed in one's mind, often about the world and the questions we have
about it. As humans, we often pick one philosophy and stick with it. How would a monster like the
character Grendel in the novel by John Gardner react to these philosophies? Throughout the novel,
Grendel experiences and is conflicted with many different philosophies. Influenced by characters
such as the Shaper, the Dragon, and the people of Hrothgar, Grendel experiences many philosophies
such as Nihilism, Solipsism, and Machiavellianism.
One of the major philosophies in the novel Grendel is Nihilism. Nihilism is the rejection of moral
and religious principles, and the belief that life is small and meaningless. In the first few pages of
the novel, John Gardner states that "He cocks his head like an elderly, slow–witted king, considers
his angles, decides to ignore me. I stamp. I hammer the ground with my fists. I hurl a skull–size
stone at him. He will not budge." (Gardner, 5). Here is a snippet of Grendel's hatred towards life
and even nature. Throughout the novel, Grendel proves to the reader that he doesn't really care
about anybody except for himself. In this quote, Grendel sees a ram and tries to make it leave,
only to fail. The ram just stays where it is and ignores Grendel, even when Grendel yells and
throws a large rock at it. As John Gardner states, "I understood that the world was nothing: a
mechanical chaos of casual, brute enmity on which we stupidly impose our hopes

Grendel Misunderstood Analysis
Cats are a common house pet in today's society because they are rather harmless and docile
creatures. However, from the perspective of a mouse, a cat could be considered an evil creature.
For this reason, evil can be expressed as a word of relative terminology. In John Gardner's book,
Grendel, the Danes perceive Grendel as an evil monster, yet the reader may label him simply
misunderstood. Trying to find his purpose in life, Grendel roams the woods of Denmark on his
lonesome. Due to Grendel's disturbing and hideous features, the Danes are prejudice and
automatically think that he is going to eat them due to his savage nature, however he is simply
being misjudged. Grendel is a monster who has nobody else to talk to, thus he is struggling to find
himself. Although Grendel does occasionally storm the mead hall and eat a handful of danes, they
have done evil acts considered more malicious than Grendel's raids. Grendel is not evil, he is
misunderstood because of his ghastly appearance and he is undoubtedly less evil than Hrothgar and
his...show more content...
Although Grendel lived in the woods around the other animals, like the Danes, they too ran away
when they saw his monstrous appearance through the trees. "The doe in the clearing goes stiff at
the sight of my horridness, then remembers her legs and is gone. [...] 'Blind prejudice!'" (Gardner
7). Grendel's mother is also far from affectionate, as she only shows care for him when she saves
him from being stuck between the trees. "...I felt the two trees that held me falling, and I was
tumbling, free, into the grass" (Gardner 28). Grendel understands he is a monster and his demeanor
is intimidating to humans, however the animals and Danes do not understand or care how Grendel
feels because they simply see him as an ugly

Imagery In Grendel
We often rely on imagery, a literary device that uses vivid descriptions and appeals to the senses, in
our storytelling to point out the important facts in our stories. It helps our audience picture the scene
and understand the severity of the situation. In my opinion, a well–written scene can be incredibly
meaningful and thought–provoking with the help of imagery, sometimes even more so than a
photograph. In literature, this is no different. Authors will describe characters and events in great
detail when they feel it is important to the story. They will use imagery to point out character traits,
themes, symbols, and motifs. A good author paints you a picture so you can imagine the places,
colors, expressions, textures, with all the fine details....show more content...
The three animals of the novel come to epitomize Grendel's understanding of nature as indifferent
and mechanical. At the beginning of the novel, the ram irritates Grendel because of the way it
mindlessly follows its instincts and mechanical urges. Then comes the bull who can do no real harm
to Grendel, since he can easily dodge its horns, but the bull repeatedly charges at Grendel without
altering its approach at all. Grendel finds the bull's stupidity and inability to think amusing, laughing
scornfully at the animal. Yet, several times in the novel he berates himself for being "as mechanical
as anything else." We see his extreme frustration at this state expressed in his encounter with the
goat, which most vividly and grotesquely represents the plight of the machine. These types of
imagery represent part of the character that is Grendel. Unlike the ram, which frustrates Grendel, and
the bull, which amuses him, the goat haunts him with its mindless persistence that drove him to the

Grendel As A Monster Essay
Since grade school, kids have been afraid of monsters or any spooky creatures. Whether it would
be traditional culture monsters or serial killers, it would create nightmares for children. A monster
can be defined differently to various types of people. It can be a ugly creature or anything in
disguise with an evil spirit. A monster is any being that is evil through its morals, actions, and the
fear it puts in people.
A monster is selfish, to the point where they do not care about the innocent or even children.
Whether it would be to satisfy a need of their hunger or power, they are willing to benefit
themselves in the most inhumane way. An example that demonstrates these principles is when
Hrothgar orders the Danes to conquer land by going to war and killing the innocent. Just like in
Robert Merrill's article "John Gardner's Grendel and the Interpretation of Modern Fables." it is
pointed out that "The state is an organization of violence, a monopoly in what is pleased to call
legitimate violence.... All systems are evil. All governments are evil. Not just trifle evil.
Monstrously evil." The Danes have no right to take over their land or have no sympathy to consider
their lives. Evil people kill each other, even animals that only think off their instinct, In John
Gardner's Grendel, "the ragged men (fought) each other till the snow was red slush, whining in
winter, the shriek of people and animals burning" leaving relentless deeds unpunished. All that
matters to these people is

Grendel Theme Essay
In John Gardner's Grendel, his theme can be interpreted in several manners. I see it as the author is
trying to have the reader sympathize with Grendel. Others may think that Gardner is trying to make
Grendel seem more monstrous; more evil. The author's intentions are portrayed by explaining
Grendel's experiences prior to facing off Beowulf.
In the story, Grendel reminisces about the time before he became a monster. His tone is almost
nostalgic. The story reads, "I used to play games when I was young–it might as well be a thousand
years ago. Explored our far–flung underground world in an endless wargame of leaps onto nothing,
ingenious twists into freedom or new perplexity, quick whispered plottings with invisible friends,
wild cackles when vengeance was mine." Grendel is remembering the childhood that he had. His
tone indicates that he misses his childhood; the time before he was a monster. The opposing side
may think that Grendel's flashback to his childhood may not mean anything; that it doesn't show any
reason to sympathize with him. However, this quote clearly implies...show more content...
All because he is a monster. Being the monster that he was, he never had it easy. The story states,
"'Surround him!" the king yelled, "Save the horses!"–and suddenly I knew I was dealing with no dull
mechanical bull but with thinking creatures, pattern makers, the most dangerous things I'd ever
met. I shrieked at them, trying to scare them off, but they merely ducked behind bushes and took
long sticks from the saddles of their horses, bows and javelins. "You're all crazy," I bellowed,
"you're all insane!'" Here, Grendel is almost about to be killed because of his appearance. The king
only thinks of him as a threat because he looks like a monster. Others may say that Grendel had it
coming. However, the author's intentions are clear that he wants the reader to sympathize with
Grendel not having a fair chance in life because of how he

Existentialism In Grendel Essay
Existentialism In Grendel The debate between existentialism and the rest of the world is a fierce,
albeit recent one. Before the "dawn of science" and the Age Of Reason, it was universally accepted
that there were such things as gods, right and wrong, and heroism. However, with the developing
interest in science and the mechanization of the universe near the end of the Renaissance, the need
for a God was essentially removed, and humankind was left to reconsider the origin of meaning. John
Gardner's intelligently written Grendel is a commentary on the merits and flaws of both types of
worldview: the existentialist "meaning–free" universe, and the heroic universe, where every action is
imbued with purpose and power. Indeed, the...show more content...
Waa!") as well as his urgent need to define things and find a meaning for himself. Through his
eyes are shown the futility of a romantic outlook and the destruction of a dream. "If the Shaper's
vision of goodness and peace is a part of himself, not idle rhymes, then no one understands him at
all," thinks Grendel, recognizing the divergence between reality and the heroic ideal. His defeat of
Unferth marks the symbolic destruction of heroism, at least in his head; "So much for heroism," he
concludes. Even Grendel's existence would seem to disprove the notions of the Shaper, who
preaches the virtues of honor and courage. If the world is based on right and wrong, how can
Grendel continue to survive? How can he kill senselessly every night, bring so much grief and
torment to humans, and yet nothing come of it? "It's all the same in the end, matter or motion,
simple or complex," whether he kills or not. In the beginning, Grendel decides that life must be
devoid of meaning. Nihilism is, of curse, a rather depressing, if liberating, way to go through life, but
such would seem to be the conclusion of the book. In order to understand what Gardner intends by
this, one must look at the process through which Grendel turns nihilist. Psychologically, Grendel is
an interesting character. He spends his entire life practicing the denial of truth. His first interaction
with humans, conscious, thinking beings like himself, forces him to turn to

Grendel As A Hero Essay
The Old English epic Beowulf is the earliest recorded poem in Old English. The story is set in
Scandinavia with the antagonist Grendel. Gendel is a monster and an insensitive character.
Grendel was born into a monster and was cursed his entire life. Although Grendel was strong he
wasn't very brave because he only attacks at night when the guards are asleep. He has many
characteristics that a monster would have. First and foremost, he was raised to be evil, and never
had the chance to be good. Also whenever he would hear joy, he would be filled with anger and
hatred. Grendel likes killing people he doesn't feel any remorse after killing people. An example
from the story that shows this is "Snatched up thirty men, smashed them unknowing in their beds
and out with their bodies (Genesis,pg 4)."Talking about Grendel ties in with our next evil
antagonist known as Cain. Cain is the son of Adam and Eve. He was a farmer who was jealous of
his brother who was accepted by God and when Cain was rejected he decided to kill his brother
Abel. Unlike Grendel Cain believed in god he just didn't...show more content...
Like how Grendel displays his envy towards people as Cain did to his brother Abel. Grendel is
described as a distant offspring to Cain. They both are also outcast to society and roam in the
darkness. Both Grendel and Cain were jealous. Grendel was jealous of the people who were
celebrating and being joyful and that jealousy made him kill many innocent people. Cain killed
Abel out of jealousy and was cast away. They both don't feel remorse after killing. An example that
showed that Cain didn't feel any remorse " The man who killed his brother cares only for himself.
He doesn't express even the tiniest twinge of remorse, contrition, or repentance( Saxon,pg
42)."Another similarity between Grendel and Cain would be selfishness. They both didn't have
concern for others didn't have no regard for others but murdering

Essay On Grendel
John Gardener's 'Grendel' depicts the monstrous Grendel, previously portrayed as the vicious villain
in 'Beowulf, journeying through his life, attempting to achieve some kind of self–realization.
Spending much of his time observing humans, Grendel develops a great disdain for religion.
Gardener reinforces Grendel's with anti–religious quotes from poets and philosophers, like William
Blake and Francis Nietzsche. As his spiritual void increases, Gardener slips into an existential
despair, fueled by the talk of the Shaper, who's strangely persuasive words confuse Grendel's
underdeveloped mind. Finally, as Grendel slowly recognizes he is separate from men, his encounter
with the dragon drives him to the self–realization that he is a monster...show more content...
After waiting in a tree to catch a glimpse of men, Grendel attempts to communicate with the humans
in the woods. Initially the humans feed Grendel, but his laughter at the prospect of food frightens
them, and they decide to attack them. Grendel, observing the humans plan out their attack, realizes
that humans are not dumb, they strategize and plan, making them more dangerous than he could
have imagined. And what's more, there's nothing he can do to make them see he does not want to
harm them. At this moment, Grendel realizes that he is completely separate from man, that there
is no meaning to the world: "The world is all a pointless accident...I exist, nothing else!" (Gardner
28).The arrival of the Shaper further hurls Grendel into an existential despair. The Shaper tells tales
of glory in battle and other such things that Grendel condemns; however, he does it in such a
persuasive way that Grendel doesn't know what to think: "Thus I fled, ridiculous hairy creature torn
apart by poetry...I clamped my palms to my ears and stretched up my lips and shrieked again, a stab
at truth" (Gardner 44–45). Here, Grendel officially identifies himself as a separate entity, calling
himself a ridiculous hairy creature. The poetry confuses him and Grendel gives up on trying to
obtain truth, slipping further into despair. While Grendel's existential despair leads him away from
the world of men,

Grendel Isolation Essay
In the novel, Grendel, the images of isolation and darkness enhanced the character development of
Grendel as he encountered loneliness, developed hatred, and became evil. Isolation and darkness
were two important images used throughout the novel. In the beginning, baby Grendel was an
innocent being. Initially, he did not kill humans for fun, and he only killed animals for food. With
each image of isolation and darkness being portrayed, Grendel began to transform into a lonely,
depressed, hateful, and ultimately evil character. The primary burden that Grendel had to endure was
that he had nobody to develop a relationship with and nobody to love him in return. Therefore, he
became consumed with his own loneliness, depression, and...show more content...
"The sky says nothing, predictably. I make a face, uplift a defiant middle finger, and give an
obscene little kick. The sky ignores me, forever unimpressed. Him too I hate, the same as I hate these
brainless budding trees, these brattling birds (Gardner 6)." He also developed a hatred toward
humans after getting stuck in the tree. On that dark night, he learned that humans were dangerous
because they tried to hurt him instead of helping him. "It wasn't because he threw that battle–ax that
I turned on Hrothgar. That was mere midnight foolishness... It wasn't until later, when I was
full–grown and Hrothgar was an old, old man, that I settled my soul on destroying him–slowly and
cruelly (Gardner 30)." The humans were not as innocent as the Shaper perceived them to be.
Grendel lurked in the darkness and watched them as they battled and destroyed their own kind.
Ultimately, the dragon with the dark scales made an immense impact on Grendel's character.
Grendel was not sure of his purpose in life, and the dragon confirmed that he should be evil by
killing the humans. At first, Grendel resisted. However, hatred led to Grendel's determination to
punish mankind. With Grendel's developed hatred toward life and humans, he turned to evil.
Humans believed that Grendel was an evil monster. "And I, Grendel, was the dark side, he said in
effect. The terrible race God cursed (Gardner 51)." The Shaper appointed this to all of mankind. The
Shaper's

Is Grendel Evil? Essay
In a world of chaos, he who lives, lives by his own laws and values. Who is to say that the death
of millions is any worse or better, for that matter, than injuring a cockroach. And in the case of an
existing power in the form of God, who is presumed to be all which is good, presiding and ruling
an organized universe, why then does evil exist? The prosaic response of "without evil, there is no
good" no longer holds any validity in this argument as the admitted goal of good is to reach an
existence without evil. So even if a God does exist, I think it is fair, at this point, to say that he is the
embodiment of both good and evil. And if humoring those who would answer the previous question
with the response that there can be no good...show more content...
When society (humans) reject his desire to co–exist with them, he turns to evil as punishment for the
humans although it provides no solace for him.
Though he does not actually remember how he'd learned it, John Gardner's Grendel speaks a
language which is similar to that of the human characters in the book and is, therefore, able to
understand them. During Grendel's first encounter with humans, he pleads to them for assistance
when he is caught and wounded in a trap. The leader of the humans is Hrothgar who eventually
becomes king of the Danes. When Grendel's cry for help is mistaken for a cry of attack, the humans
attack Grendel and wound him more painfully than flesh could be wounded. The first intelligent,
speaking beings, with some similarity to himself, which Grendel has encountered, have attacked
instead of helped him. It is in this moment that Grendel forms his first opinions of existence; the
outside world does not seem to embrace good as he does. In a one–way conversation he has with his
mother after the incident (Chapter 2), Grendel says, " the world resists me and I resist it. That's
all there is. The mountains are what I define them as." In the statement, " the mountains are what I
define them as", Grendel starts to form a belief of a sort of reality which does not actually exist. Life
is meant to be lived as the owner wishes to live it; it is what you

Grendel Essay
In both works, Beowulf and Grendel, Grendel himself is generally given the same connotations.
He is given kennings, called names, referred to as the evil spawn of Cain, and even viewed as a
monster; but why? Why in both books is he a wicked, horrible, person who is harshly excluded
from everyone? After stumbling upon John Gardner's book, it was halfway expected that some
excuse would be made for Grendel; that he wasn't really the inexorable monster the thanes in
Beowulf portrayed him as. But all it really did was make him worse. What is the message we are
being sent about Grendel? In Beowulf, we hardly know anything about Grendel. His name is barely
mentioned and instead he is given an abundant amount of kennings. In Grendel, we learn...show
more content...
Ignorance is the real nature of the relationship in these two books in that maybe it was meant to
be that way for a reason; and if we'd just get the chance to be exposed to the painful, existential
ways Grendel lived his life, we'd realize it could happen to anyone. But we could also realize that we
refuse to let it happen; and is the real meaning of Grendel. Mankind does have a

Grendel Essay

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Grendel Essay