What separates the epic poem Beowulf and John Gardner’s Grendel is how the devil-spawn Grendel, is presented. Is he a monster set on destroying humanity, or is he a misunderstood creature that is just trying to make amends with Hrothgar and his people? Gardner’s Grendel is a retelling of the story of Beowulf, through the monster’s eyes in depth. On the other hand, the epic poem introduces Grendel briefly, yet assertively. He is described as a terrible, evil being spawned by the devil and shunned by the most high. There is not much opportunity for the audience to analyze Grendel’s character. Grendel allows the monster to tell the story through his eyes and gives the audience an opportunity to look into his motives and analyze him as a character,
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Physically, it is quite obvious that he is a far cry from what a human is, but his behaviors and emotions say otherwise. In both Beowulf and Grendel, he is ostracized and shunned by society. Ruud asserts in his article that Grendel is an “outcast spirit” (9) and an “estranged being” (9), and is “alone . . . and remains alone” (9). He further expands upon this by quoting O.F. Emerson: “. . . Grendel’s chief motive in assaulting Hrothgar’s hall is not the mere thirst for gore . . . but . . envy of the Danes’ happiness.” (5). Envy is something that all humans experience, and for Grendel to experience such a strong, human-specific emotion makes him human in character. Monsters in nature do not think or feel, they seek to terrorize, and terrorize alone. This is emphasized in Beowulf, “. . . Grendel came, hoping to kill . . . Intended to tear the life from those bodies By morning . . .” (Raffel 49). Without Gardner’s Grendel, he would have only been seen as a brute monster, set out to kill. The novel allows us to that he is capable of thinking and feeling, which sets him apart and leads the audience to think that he is human in his
Physically, it is quite obvious that he is a far cry from what a human is, but his behaviors and emotions say otherwise. In both Beowulf and Grendel, he is ostracized and shunned by society. Ruud asserts in his article that Grendel is an “outcast spirit” (9) and an “estranged being” (9), and is “alone . . . and remains alone” (9). He further expands upon this by quoting O.F. Emerson: “. . . Grendel’s chief motive in assaulting Hrothgar’s hall is not the mere thirst for gore . . . but . . envy of the Danes’ happiness.” (5). Envy is something that all humans experience, and for Grendel to experience such a strong, human-specific emotion makes him human in character. Monsters in nature do not think or feel, they seek to terrorize, and terrorize alone. This is emphasized in Beowulf, “. . . Grendel came, hoping to kill . . . Intended to tear the life from those bodies By morning . . .” (Raffel 49). Without Gardner’s Grendel, he would have only been seen as a brute monster, set out to kill. The novel allows us to that he is capable of thinking and feeling, which sets him apart and leads the audience to think that he is human in his