Every piece of literature has a protagonist and an antagonist. John Gardner's book “Grendel” takes the view of an antagonist one step further by making him look innocent and lost. Grendel runs into many different types of characters with different ideas of a perfect life. While Hrothgar and his Danes strive to include valuable ideas such as love, heroism, and loyalty into their lives, Grendel pursues a life of happiness and pleasure, which end up causing pain to the society surrounding him. Life for many has sizable amounts of hedonistic influences, which is why an ideal life for most includes pleasure and enjoyment. People try to delve into these feelings of blissfulness, while trying to minimize feelings like sorrow and pain. Many individuals
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Grendel visits the Shaper one night and smashes one of the guards on a nearby tree. He starts thinking, “Some evil inside myself pushed out evil into the trees. I knew what I knew, the mindless, mechanical bruteness of all living things, and when the harpers lure drew my mind away to hopeful dreams, the dark of what was and always was reached out and snatched my feet” (Gardner 54). He has lost all control and evil influences start taking over. After his visit with the dragon, Grendel is disheartened at the fact that no weapon could cut him. This idea reveals that his happiness is achieved by engaging in violent activities, feeling the adrenaline flow through his veins, cutting down humans in his way. The hedonistic Grendel did what gave him the ideal amount of pleasure. However, the amount of pleasure is relative to the amount of harm he put upon those surrounding him. Grendel’s acts of evil were just chain reactions to smaller violent acts, and they kept growing. Grendel’s idea of pleasure was clouded by so many evil thoughts that it was way too late to change for the better. But, it could always get worse. “An evil idea came over me - so evil it made me shiver as I sidled - and I sidled across to the table” (Gardener 83). Grendel begins throwing apples
Grendel visits the Shaper one night and smashes one of the guards on a nearby tree. He starts thinking, “Some evil inside myself pushed out evil into the trees. I knew what I knew, the mindless, mechanical bruteness of all living things, and when the harpers lure drew my mind away to hopeful dreams, the dark of what was and always was reached out and snatched my feet” (Gardner 54). He has lost all control and evil influences start taking over. After his visit with the dragon, Grendel is disheartened at the fact that no weapon could cut him. This idea reveals that his happiness is achieved by engaging in violent activities, feeling the adrenaline flow through his veins, cutting down humans in his way. The hedonistic Grendel did what gave him the ideal amount of pleasure. However, the amount of pleasure is relative to the amount of harm he put upon those surrounding him. Grendel’s acts of evil were just chain reactions to smaller violent acts, and they kept growing. Grendel’s idea of pleasure was clouded by so many evil thoughts that it was way too late to change for the better. But, it could always get worse. “An evil idea came over me - so evil it made me shiver as I sidled - and I sidled across to the table” (Gardener 83). Grendel begins throwing apples