How Does Grendel Change

Throughout the book of “Grendel” by John Gardner, the self-image of the main character Grendel changes, as the stages of the story advance. Grendel is a curious monster who knows and recognizes what he is. He differentiates himself from the other animals and knows that he is thoughtful and aware of more. “Do not think that my brains are squeezed shut, like the ram’s, by the roots of horns” (Gardner 6). At the beginning of the story, Grendel, as mentioned, explains the ram’s attitude and tells that he is mindless and reacts for instinct. However, Grendel finds himself contemplating his surroundings, comparing himself with the animals, and complaining of his situation. Throughout the novel, he discovers, learns, and is influenced by other characters as The Shaper, Beowulf, and The Dragon. …show more content…
“I understood that the world was nothing; a mechanical chaos of casual, brute enmity on which we stupidly impose our hopes and fears. I understood that, finally and absolutely, I alone exist” (Gardner 22) Grendel gets trapped in an Oak tree, and at the moment that he thought that he was going to die alone and helpless, exposed to be attacked by a simple bull, he knew that only he existed in his world and that nothing had meaning. He kept that ideology until the Shaper arrived. The Shaper was the first man that Grendel admired. He believed in his words, which got Grendel to change his point of view towards life. “I was addicted. The Shaper was singing the glorious deeds of dead men, praising war” (Gardner 54). The Shaper made his relates seem true, and they were influencing Grendel in the way that he began to question his own believes although his darkness reached him first. “…and when the Harper's lure drew my mind away to hopeful dreams, the dark of what was and always was reached out and snatched my feet” (Gardner