Accident. It wasn’t his weakness that had caused it-- it was an accident. The famous epic of Beowulf has transcended many moral values through time.The first monster Beowulf faces is Grendel, A great beast who devoured many human beings. Grendel is one of the antagonist of Beowulf, and we see him through the eyes of Beowulf and the Geats. Grendel portrays the inner thoughts and motives of Grendel, by letting the reader glimpse through his eyes. By looking at the battle between Beowulf and Grendel in the perspective of Grendel, we can see how his actions reflect upon ourselves, therefore relating to our real modern world. Grendel displays human-like emotions such as joy and fear, causing the reader to relate to him. Moreover, Grendel’s final
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Everyone experiences them, and there is no one ‘perfect’ person who never feels sheer terror or blinding anger, that causes them to make rash choices that leads to consequences. Grendel displays much of the same emotions humans feel, the triumph of finally exacting revenge, the fear of staring death in the face, the anger of finally being defeated. His reactions are that of a human’s as well. When Grendel becomes excited to kill, his hunger for flesh and happiness in bloodlust are expressed. He says he is “blazing, half crazy with joy.” When Grendel whispered to Grendel while twisting his arm, Grendel was in pain, “‘Mama!’ I bawl shapes vague as lurking seaweed around us...the pain makes me howl.” . The primal emotions that make up who we are--fear and joy-- are present in Grendel, therefore reflecting on ourselves. By understanding the motives and inner thoughts of Grendel, we can contemplate ourselves and the real modern world. In the real world, we tend to see ourselves in a kinder light that what is really true. We judge others by their actions but judge ourselves by our motives. The new perspective that Grendel gives us lets us relate to his character. Likewise, seeing things in the perspective of another-- putting yourself in someone else’s shoes-- lets us empathize with the people we live amongst in the real …show more content…
He is reminding us the brevity of life and the certainty of death, that weAll will someday slip up, or have an “accident” thus leading to our doom.. Grendel’s last words aren’t those of remorse or regret, they’re a curse. A curse that . His final moments could also be interpreted as a blessing, because at the end of his life, Grendel is tottering between joy and terror. Terror because he’s in pain and about to die, but also joy, because he can finally be free from his endless cycle of hate and pain. His last words may be a blessing to the mindless, mechanical animals that witness his demise. Grendel is happy that he is liberated from the violence of his life, and he’s admonishing his watchers, telling them that they too will one day be free, free from the mindless, mechanical structure of the world. In the real modern day, we are a goal driven society, raised from birth to follow orders, conform to strict social structures. Our motives for most of our actions are desire and hunger. The desire to be accepted and the hunger for wealth and success.In a way, we are not all that different from Grendel. He was driven by the desire to kill and the hunger for human flesh, as well as to exact revenge. The only way we will be free from the chains that bind us to earthly
Everyone experiences them, and there is no one ‘perfect’ person who never feels sheer terror or blinding anger, that causes them to make rash choices that leads to consequences. Grendel displays much of the same emotions humans feel, the triumph of finally exacting revenge, the fear of staring death in the face, the anger of finally being defeated. His reactions are that of a human’s as well. When Grendel becomes excited to kill, his hunger for flesh and happiness in bloodlust are expressed. He says he is “blazing, half crazy with joy.” When Grendel whispered to Grendel while twisting his arm, Grendel was in pain, “‘Mama!’ I bawl shapes vague as lurking seaweed around us...the pain makes me howl.” . The primal emotions that make up who we are--fear and joy-- are present in Grendel, therefore reflecting on ourselves. By understanding the motives and inner thoughts of Grendel, we can contemplate ourselves and the real modern world. In the real world, we tend to see ourselves in a kinder light that what is really true. We judge others by their actions but judge ourselves by our motives. The new perspective that Grendel gives us lets us relate to his character. Likewise, seeing things in the perspective of another-- putting yourself in someone else’s shoes-- lets us empathize with the people we live amongst in the real …show more content…
He is reminding us the brevity of life and the certainty of death, that weAll will someday slip up, or have an “accident” thus leading to our doom.. Grendel’s last words aren’t those of remorse or regret, they’re a curse. A curse that . His final moments could also be interpreted as a blessing, because at the end of his life, Grendel is tottering between joy and terror. Terror because he’s in pain and about to die, but also joy, because he can finally be free from his endless cycle of hate and pain. His last words may be a blessing to the mindless, mechanical animals that witness his demise. Grendel is happy that he is liberated from the violence of his life, and he’s admonishing his watchers, telling them that they too will one day be free, free from the mindless, mechanical structure of the world. In the real modern day, we are a goal driven society, raised from birth to follow orders, conform to strict social structures. Our motives for most of our actions are desire and hunger. The desire to be accepted and the hunger for wealth and success.In a way, we are not all that different from Grendel. He was driven by the desire to kill and the hunger for human flesh, as well as to exact revenge. The only way we will be free from the chains that bind us to earthly