Fiddlesticks “’Fiddlesticks, that’s what I said,” he repeated. “Why not frighten them? Creature, I could tell you things…”’ (Gardner 61) Written in 1971, John Gardner takes a character from the epic poem of Beowulf and fully develops him from a new point of view: Grendel, the monster. Grendel is the Anglo-Saxon’s resident bad boy, or is he? Rather than the angry “monkey see, monkey do” type of savage found in Beowulf, Gardner turns Grendel into a philosopher and one who is infatuated with humans. Grendel is fascinated by how they act and how they kill just as much as he, though they are not seen as monstrous. Gardner’s novel, appropriately titled Grendel, is about Grendel’s journey with the humans and how his experiences shape him into the …show more content…
In this time, the dragon was attempting to convince Grendel to terrorize the humans, since they are already scared of him. However, Grendel can’t even comprehend what the dragon is saying because he’s so scared of how he looks. Shmoop.com says, “In short, Grendel's dragon is elemental, massive, invincible—totally scary. In an ironic twist, Grendel can hardly pay attention to the "wisdom" that the creature wants to give him, because he's so entranced by sight of the dragon's body. It's another way in which Gardner is trying to play with the idea of the monstrous: Grendel is too afraid of the dragon to listen to anything he has to say, just as the humans are too afraid of Grendel to listen to anything he has to say.” (Shmoop) To be fair, this dragon is terrifying. As described by Grendel, “Vast, red-golden, huge tail coiled, limbs sprawled over his treasure-hoard, eyes not fiery but cold as the memory of family deaths... The color of his sharp scales darkened and brightened as the dragon inhaled and exhaled slowly, drawing new air across his vast internal furnace; his razorsharp tusks gleamed and glinted as if they, too, like the mountain beneath him, were formed of precious stones and metals.” (Gardner 57) …show more content…
This is evident through the mental journey he takes to reach the dragon, the peculiar laugh he remembers from a previous experience, and from the imagination expertise from Maxwell Maltz. Why is Grendel imagining the dragon in the first place? “In his confusion and need for instruction, Grendel experiences a kind of "metaphysical" fall toward another monster: the dragon. This rancid reptile is nothing like Pete's Dragon or Puff—he's a classic Scandinavian myth come to life, the embodiment of materialism and cynicism.” (Shmoop) Many experts say that the dragon represents the darker, more cynical part of Grendel, and it’s his way of giving a reason for his violent actions. After all, the humans expect him to act like a scary monster, so what does he do? He acts like a scary monster. “’Fiddlesticks, that’s what I said,” he repeated. “Why not frighten them?”’ (Gardner
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 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.
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
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
“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.
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.
Even though Grendel visited with the dragon, who had a more nihilistic view on life, he had not been so convinced that life had no meaning. While Grendel was visiting the dragon, the dragon casts a charm on Grendel, making him invulnerable to weapons. Soon after this spell was cast, Grendel begins raiding Hrothgar’s mead hall. “Some three or fur nights later I launched my first raid. I burst in
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.
He explains how they are truly enemies and how Grendel despises them. Another form of which Grendel is proclaiming that animals are to be cursed is that he is talking about how the animals are watching him. “ They watch with mindless ,indifferent eyes as calm and midnight black as the chasm below me. ”(Gardner 173)
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.
So the dragon told Grendel to start killing the knights and people at the meadhall because it would keep the society alive. If Grendel keeps killing people in meadhall every year, the knights and the king would keep planning a defense every year to keep the monster away from the valley. Grendel did what the Dragon told him, on the first night of Grendel attack. Grendel didn't know what he was doing because that was his first time. He made his appearance seeable quick, he try to kill other one knight to see how it really felt to kill someone but other knights saw him and that's when they all attacked Grendel.
Grendel represent the dark side of humanity that have simply lost. Whereas, the dragon is truly a monster that human simply can’t relate at
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.
In Grendel the dragon completely portrays what it is exemplified to be in Beowulf. The dragon plays as a minor part as an omniscient character. To Grendel, the dragon is like a mentor or an intellectual companion. Grendel goes to the dragon for advice because he believes the dragon is wise, in which he is. “My advice to you, my violent friend, is to seek out gold and sit on it.”