The character of Grendel in the novel written by John Gardener is more of an elaborate character, opposed to the character of Grendel in the epic poem Beowulf who is more of a dull character. Its easy to see that one story is told from the first person pov and the other is told from a third person pov, thus allowing the reader to connect more with gardeners Grendel than Beowulf. In Grendel you can have more of an emotional connection rather than just seeing him in Beowulf as a big ugly monster.…
Grendel, since he is a descendent of Cain, is one that is cursed by God himself, forced to wage “his lonely war, inflicting constant cruelties” on people (116: line:164-165). I would say that he is evil because of the hatred of his neighbors have made him bitter, but he is also evil because he is a demon. They call him a “fiend out of hell”, one that loves to work evil in the world (114: line 100). Even though he may be bitter because of the resentment, the fact that he is a demon that came out of hell makes him a monster, something that is evil from the roots of his origin. He is linked to the man Cain who was cursed by God himself for killing his own brother, an event that would conjure up significant resentment of the human race, part of…
Grendel vs. Grendel Grendel. This name struck fear in men and have even made the strongest tremble in terror. However is he just a monster that’s “hoping to kill…?” (Glencoe, 394) or is Grendel a whole other monster , one who thinks, feels, and has desires just like any other person. This insight occurs in John Gardner’s “Grendel” which makes Grendel seem a lot more complex than Beowulf’s Grendel.…
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.…
Grendel vs. Grendel The difference of culture from the 6th century to 2005 had changed greatly. Our values, appearances, and behavior have evolved and can be seen when contrasting the epic Beowulf and the movie Beowulf and Grendel. One way to contrast between the epic and the movie is through characters. The two characters that shows the most change between the two publications is Grendel, the troll, grinder of teeth and Beowulf, son of Ecgtheow.…
Although Beowulf always gets all the attention for being being the good guy, Unferth should have won that praise. Unferth is more noble than Grendel or Beowulf because he displays courage through chasing after Grendel to fight him and save Heorot, he displays honor by challenging Grendel to a fair fight, perseverance through his constant attempts to continue fighting Grendel, and truthfulness through admitting he isn’t strong and he is probably going to lose. To a Viking, being honorable meant staying true to your beliefs. Unferth does this in the mead hall owing to the fact that he doesn’t want to fight Grendel with Grendel at a massive disadvantage.…
Grendel is a dark monster who lives off of terrorizing the Geats. The Geats live happily at their football practice every single day working hard and sweating with their star captain Beowulf. Grendel is the star captain who plays for Grendel High. The school is named after him because he punished the school until they named it after him. The reason that Beowulf High is named after Beowulf is because he is such a respectful person; his family name has lived on for him to carry and the whole town knows of him.…
Heroes triumphing over monsters is a major theme in Beowulf, with characters being clearly one or the other. Often, however, heroes and monsters share characteristics, making the distinction between what makes someone good or evil more blurred. They share similarities to show how thin of a line there is between being a hero and a monster, and how easy going down the wrong path is. In Beowulf, the word fire is used to draw the similarities between Grendel and Beowulf, as well as to highlight what makes Grendel a monster and Beowulf a hero.…
This journey to the lake was triumphant until Beowulf faced the battle against Grendel’s mom. During the actual battle with Grendel’s mother a sword was used in the essence of the battle, which was significant because this was the first time Beowulf has to rely on a weapon to defeat the foe. When Grendel’s mom poses to be more of a threat and…
The character of Grendel in John Gardner’s novel is evidently more detailed than the character given in Beowulf due to the use of first person point of view, the emotional connection he conjures up on the reader, and the constant struggle of understanding his purpose in life. In John Gardner’s novel, Grendel describes all the events that are happening in his point of view. Grendel narrates in first person which allows us to know his inner thoughts and observations. We are able to go into Grendel’s head as certain events are happening in both Beowulf and the novel Grendel.…
Compare and Contrast Grendel Essay At first glance, both Grendel in the novel and in the poem are the same. Both are perceived as to having the exact characteristics in both the novel and the poem. Though, going in depth, Grendel in the novel compared to the poem in Beowulf has a major difference in ways that Grendel in the novel gives more understanding on his perspective in life, Grendel in the novel wants companionship, and Grendel in the poem is showcased as a ruthless, evil, and cruel character. In John Gardner's novel, Grendel is regarded as a monster who gives more perspective in his life, and readers are able to go in depth into the monster's views and what he believes.…
John Gardner’s Grendel, is the first person narrative of the monster, Grendel, from Beowulf. In the Epic Poem Beowulf, the main character Beowulf kills Grendel. He does this because to him Grendel is an evil monster that deserves to die. In Grendel, Grendel tells his own story of how he met his fatal demise. In the beginning Grendel believed he was without purpose or identity.…
In John Gardner’s novel and Beowulf, they portray Grendel as two very different characters. In Grendel they make the reader feel sympathy, show Grendel having compassion, and show how he grows into his character that we see in Beowulf. In John Gardner’s novel Grendel, he shows Grendel as having no one or being an outcast. Grendel shows us just exactly how he feels “I was,…
In the plot of the original epic poem, Beowulf is put through three major battles. He first fights Grendel, an evil monster from the moorland who terrorizes the Danish mead hall Heorot. Then he fights Grendel’s mother, a creature much like Grendel who hides in the waters of…
In the novel Grendel by John Gardner and the epic poem Beowulf translated version by Seamus Heaney reveals the striking comparisons and contrasts between the two main characters. Both literature pieces emphasize the disparities as well as the indistinguishable comparisons between the two characters, successfully altering the reader’s views of Grendel, the big, bad, God forsaken “Hell-Brute” and Beowulf, the strong, selfless hero, the benediction of Heorot, by means of value and sense of war, View of self, as well as societal Ideas. Both Grendel and Beowulf are heavily opinionated about war; however it depends on which literature piece is read, for the opinions are altered when looking through Beowulf’s or Grendel’s eyes.…