Analysis Of Grendel, The Captain Of Evil

He is portrayed in the poem as a horrendous beast with human characteristics, but looking closer to the text, he is a human out-casted and raised to be a monster. Although Grendel is written as a monstrous villain who kills with no remorse, he is actually a complex human with a repressed anger exploding in bursts. Grendel is often described in a negative way. He is reffered to as a demon in the text “from Beowulf”

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.

John Gardner's Grendel provides a fascinating penetration into the ineluctable mystery of order and chaos, good and evil, hero and monster, claiming throughout a place for the monster's point of view. Order and chaos can be shown how Grendel causes chaos for his own entertainment whereas the humans try to kill him calm the chaos down and good and evil can also be shown how Grendel views the human’s actions and how the humans view themselves compared to Grendel. The hero and monster reference can be found when Unferth tried to kill Grendel, declaring himself a hero to the land. In Chapter six page seventy-six, Grendel admits he creates chaos for his own pleasure.

As Grendel is swaying in suffrage from a tree, he has epiphany of the truth about his universal role in the kingdom. He also realized that there is only fate. “I understood that the world was nothing; a mechanical chaos of casual, brute enmity on which we stupidly impose our hopes and fears. I

Grendel was a being sung about in the songs of the shaper, who twisted tales to fit his own means. In the song Grendel was made out to be a wretched monster, without intellect, who only sought to kill. This wasn’t the case entirely. Grendel was determined to enter society, to be a part of their gatherings, instead at every turn he was chased away, cursed, and attacked. He was only a monster to those in the mead hall, a beast who could never be a part of them.

As we know, Grendel is the story of a lone monster trying to find his way in a world that despises him. Throughout his journey, Grendel is thrown into situations where he is challenged, both physically and psychologically, until he finally discovers what he was looking for all along: peace, and in this case, peace through death. Ultimately, Grendel is meant to show us that cycles will always exist in our lives, may they be considered good or bad cycles, and the only true escape is to notice these cycles and break away. A similar connection to this story can be made when observing Over the Garden Wall, a story in which two brothers, Wirt and Greg, find themselves lost in a mysterious place called the Unknown, where it is said that long forgotten stories can be revealed. Along their

At the end of Chapter 12, Grendel’s last words were “Poor Grendel’s had an accident … So may you all.” (Gardner 174). Such words are meant as a curse to affect mankind. To start off, Grendel’s relationship with humans are not great.

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

Grendel begins attacking the humans, “I eat and laugh until I can barely walk, my chest-hair matted with dribbled blood... my belly rumbles, sick on their sour meat” (Gardner 12). Grendel went from crying for his mother when his foot got stuck in a branch to killing and eating dozens of people. Seeing the events that lead up to this how Grendel did helps us further see the transformation he is making. It’s the isolation from the humans that transforms Grendel, “Not, of course, that I fool myself with thoughts that I'm more noble.

To heighten the conflict between Grendel and religion, Grendel is described as “forever opposing the Lord’s will” (Heaney 28-29). In Anglo Saxon Culture, every aspect of society is focused around God. To be anti-religious is to go against all aspects of their society. Grendel is almost a physical manifestation of the devil, and nothing is able to “quench his lust for evil” (Heaney 52-53). The parallel between Grendel and one of the seven deadly sins strengthens his connection to sins against God, and thus more monstrous toward the Danes.

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.

During these times in winter, humans lose their perseverance and interest in defying Grendel and resort to a more peaceful state. Grendel, although he does not usually raid in the winter, refuses to give them the freedom of not acting and seeks his own entertainment. By mocking the priests beliefs (93), Gardner demonstrates that humans hold on to unrealistic and unreliable faiths in dire situations and are willing to sacrifice their lives for these. Eventually, Grendel knows that he is in fact conquerable by humans and needs to accept their strength and determination. As he does get defeated, it becomes clear that all monsters can be destroyed with the will to do so, and humans have

His violent nature grew so much that he became crazy with the need to kill the humans. Therefore, Grendel’s actions reflect that his existence has drifted away from its partially civilized nature and into the barbaric. Grendel had no choice in becoming more beast than human because external forces constantly push him towards that fate. Whether it was the dragon, the actions of the humans, or Grendel’s own unconscious tendencies, he never really had the opportunity to make a choice, human or beast. What Grendel said and thought always clashed with the situations he encountered until there was simply no possibility of becoming the good in the way

Grendel in the novel displays the idea that he is far more superior than mankind. He mentions, "I am swollen with excitement, bloodlust and joy and a strange fear that mingle in my chest like the twisting rage of a bonfire" (Gardner 167-168). Grendel knows that that the people fear him because he is different and he uses that to his advantage. The "Monster", Grendel, seems to be fascinated in attacking Meadhall and is not frightened at all. Although he is brave in the novel, Grendel in the epic poem is described in being scared and weak on the attack at Meadhall.

Therefore, ultimately resulting in the use of violence and brutality to restore order and peace once again. Grendel whole existence is shrouded in darkness and mystery, which foster widespread fear among the mass due to their inability to control or comprehend