Grendel Literary Analysis

It is dark. It always is. My mind, like the hell-lit cave, is ignorant to life outside of darkness. I see mere shapes and speak but madness; the language I had once known as meaningless as a singular grain of sand on a sprawling shore. Life is but a farce, a fable constructed by the imagination of others. I glance around my woozy surroundings, as real as a figment, as constant and concrete as a collection of dust. The fire burns brighter than the hell from which I was spawned, flickering and dancing across the cave walls, as if it too used to speak in foreign tongues. I sift through the pile of bones in vain, desperately trying to keep my hands busy. Worried mothers never fare well knowing their baby is distressed.
Through my haze, I see …show more content…
In Gardner's version of Grendel, Grendel’s mother is depicted as stupid and unknowing through the use of juxtaposed auditory imagery. Despite Grendel’s obvious distress, “she only stared, troubled by [his] noise” (Gardner 28). Not only does Gardner portray her as passively watching while her son is distressed, but the contrast between the two highlights the difference between men and women in society. Grendel possesses the ability to wail and scream, while his mother can do nothing more than act as a silent onlooker. This suggests that men in society are allowed to freely speak, while women are restricted and forced to be …show more content…
Due to the men not talking to Grendel's mother, the only woman in the cave, “[her] words becoming as sparse as the occasional firefly” (Curran 1). Since men did not speak to her, there remained no one to talk to her, thus causing her skill of language to atrophy. The “light” of the firefly represents hope and a brighter future; Grendel’s mother held onto the hope of the two genders communicating. However, overtime her skill atrophied due to her not having a reason to talk. Despite this restriction, Grendel's mother still attempts to connect with him, portraying her as genuinely