Grendel And The Dragon Beowulf Essay

In the Epic Poems Beowulf, by an anonymous Anglo-Saxon poet, and Grendel written by John Gardner, Grendel, regardless of what he does, has been seen as unsafe to man. Grendel, perceived as treacherous, is just misunderstood and an outcast to society. The back story of Grendel is crucial to the reader’s understanding of Grendel becoming a monster. Grendel’s life experiences of his environment, men and meeting a dragon contribute to the drastic change.

One aspect of Grendel that is alike in both stories is the way he acts. In Grendel the monster kills many people. He does it very brutally too. "Enough of that! A night for tearing heads off, bathing in blood. Except, alas, h has killed his quota for the season. Care, take care of the gold-egg-laying goose! There is no limit to desire but desire's needs." This was Grendel's law. He does not take pity on any human. From his point of view, the humans deserved this and they were going to get it. These actions are the same in Beowulf

When Beowulf is helping Hrothgar get his vengeance, he attacks Grendel, “saw that his strength was deserting him, his claws, Bound fast, Higlac’s brave follower tearing at his hands.” (Beowulf, page 36). Beowulf fights Grendel with his hands because he promised Hrothgar that he would help him obtain his vengeance. Beowulf gets his fame, wealth and glory for his victory over Grendel which was achievable through Hrothgar’s desire for vengeance against the monster. After the battle with Grendel, Hrothgar spoke to Beowulf, “Glory is now yours, Forever and ever; your courage has earned it, And your strength.” (Beowulf, page 42). Hrothgar praises Beowulf for granting his desire of vengeance on Grendel and awards him. He tells Beowulf that he has earned glory and wealth by helping him in destroying Grendel.

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 to attack 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

Comparing the book and the movie of Beowulf, you find mostly differences. The amount of similarities between them are actually very slim. Either ranging from what is said or changing scenes completely altogether, they’re both very different from each other. Having said that, the differences need to be stated and reviewed. We will begin with the first scene in which the king is being merry and Grendel attacks the hall.

When talking to the King of Denmark about his plans to overcome Grendel Beowulf states, “I have heard that the monster in his recklessness uses no weapons. I, therefore, to amuse Hygelac my lord,scorn to carry sword or shield,but I shall seize my enemy in my hand grip and fight, enemy against enemy,and let God decide who shall be taken by death.” (Episode 3, paragraph 10). Beowulf refused to use weapons to defeat Grendel because Grendel did not use weapons. This validates the statement that Beowulf is selfless and brave in the regard that he choose to fight fair, even though it puts him in danger by doing so. Grendel also has the actions to support what other think or perceive him to be. Half-man half fiend, Grendel has superhuman strength and his purpose in life is to harm and kill others. The poem wrote, “Grendel killed more--blinded by sin, he felt no remorse.”.Grendel was selfish, he cared only of himself feeling no shame for the effects his actions had on others. At first look I can say my Daddy has zero similarities with Grendel. Daddy does not kill, his purpose in life is not to do bad. However, I have my Daddy on a pedestal, believing he can do no wrong . By doing so, I have set myself up for disappointment. Unlike Grendel my dad is 100 percent man, 100 percent human. Part of being human is making mistakes, humans are not perfect. My Daddy is not perfect. No, he does not kill, he does not

The poet in Beowulf also mentions that despite his strength and magnitude, Grendel is not comparable to the devil despite his truly evil ideals. It is made clear that he has no other choice but to be this way, and there must be an evil force in all societies to distinguish the heroes from the cowardly thanes. This is made evident in Grendel when during the dragon’s speech to Grendel he says, “You are mankind, or man’s condition: inseparable as the mountain-climber and the mountain. If you withdraw, you’ll instantly be replaced. Brute existence, you know, are a dime a dozen.'; The dragon is saying that even if Grendel decides to change his course in life and never kill another man, nothing will change. Man will be forced to find a new monster to wage war against, for good can not exists without some evil. Beowulf also hints at this by referring to Beowulf’s first battle with the nicors in his childhood swimming race against Brecca. Without his defeat of the nicors, Beowulf would not have become thought of as a hero and therefore would never have been sent to protect Hrothgar’s men from Grendel.

Ane Balkchyan Mrs. Mueller English III Honors 24 November 2014 The Misunderstanding of Grendel Throughout many works of literature, authors highlight the values of a culture or a society by using characters that are alienated from that culture or society based on several factors, which include gender, social status, race, and even appearance. One writer who has done this is John Gardner, the author of Grendel. Grendel is the retelling of a portion of the epic poem Beowulf.

Sit back and think of what a monster looks like for a moment. Are you thinking of Godzilla? Something hiding under your bed? Or maybe even a killer clown? But did you ever think of yourself? In the story Beowulf, there is a confliction between the people being a monster and Grendel. While Grendel does express many horrific acts so do the people in the story. Grendel's horrific acts, ripping Grendel's arm off, and protecting the people are different views that are seen throughout the story. Grendel is the real monster is this story.

John Gardner’s story of Grendel and the original poem of Beowulf have many literary similarities, as well as many differences. Each story is composed of archetypal characters, Anglo-Saxon values, and different aspects of viking life. Grendel is told from the perspective of a “beast from hell” as he is referred to as in the story of Beowulf, a brave hero. Beowulf is told from a human point of view, through the eyes of the glorious knight himself. In each story, the tone that the author uses is astoundingly different from the other, and gives the story its own personality. Hrothgar and his men are interesting to compare to each other in each book, as they are spoken of in different ways, depending on whose point of view the story is being told from.

Beowulf, the epic, follows an Anglo-Saxon society, the Danes, during the middle ages, a time when religion and bloodline dictated social hierarchy. The king was the dominant figure, destined to be chosen because of his ancestors, who preceded him as king. The poet introduces Grendel, a monster, condemned by god for his demonic bloodline. These factors in addition to society’s outlook on impiety, shape Grendel as a menace to society. Therefore, the Beowulf poet characterizes Grendel as an outcast to explore how an individual’s identity and social status is determined by their adherence to societal values.

In the story of Beowulf, an epic poem, there has to be an evil force, in this case, Grendel. Grendel was the scariest, most evil and violent monster you could come across. Grendel killed for joy, no man would dare stand in his way. A monster punished and doomed by God himself. Beowulf was christian and fought for the right reasons, where Grendel was a coward and killed upon fate.

As he is described to us, he is portrayed as a descendent of Cain. The association that the monster posesses with the biblical Cain, the killer of his own brother, automatically shows Grendel as an evil creature being. Grendel’s evil nature is being constantly referred to many times throughout the poem, in order to prove his cruel goals. The reader learns that “times were peasant” in Herot until the “fiend out of hell began to work his evil”. The first time Grendel attacks the meadhall, he grabs thirty men and slaughters them in his cave. And the more he came the more he took, the more he took - the more he murdered. Furthermore, not only he is a deadly enemy to Hrothgar and Herot, but to all the living Geats.. Grendel seems to receive pleasure from attacking Herot and killing the warriors inside. He is a bane to all those living under the rule of Hrothgar. They hate him. He is said to be the “enemy of mankind”. The only person who could possibly defeat such a

The chronicles in Beowulf are episodic and carry many conundrums. Specifically, there lies an enormous contrast between good and evil. The protagonist, Beowulf, is chivalrous, mighty, and loyal. By the same token, Beowulf's heroic showing enables him to be the ultimate keeper of justice. On the other hand, Grendel upholds evil that is derived from pure envy. It is important to note that Grendel has a high level of combat experience, just as Beowulf; however, the wicked man's prowess is used for iniquitous ways. The juxtaposition between the great Beowulf and the relentless Grendel is significant in distinction because of the fact that both characters are so unlike. To specify, Beowulf is honorable and Grendel is villainous. All things

Grendel starts out, clearly, as the monster of the story of Beowulf. When first introduced in the story, Grendel is coming out of the hole that he lives in the marsh. He is introduced similarly to a spawn of Satan, “bearing God’s hatred, Grendel came, hoping to kill” (trans. Raffel 393-394). He attacks Hrothgar’s hall, Heorot, often and Beowulf has agreed to take him down, although, it was thought to be impossible. Grendel is cannibalistic and takes pride in his actions of killing King Hrothgar’s warriors. He comes up to the hall and looks in, seeing the warriors scattered and sleeping, “his heart laughed, he relished the sight, intended to tear the life from the bodies” (trans. Raffel 410-414). Based off of this quotation, Grendel is nothing