Grendel

Good and Evil: An Exploration of Morality Through Grendel Morality is a matter of perspective. The definitions of good and evil differ from one person to the next. John Gardner’s novel Grendel, an alternate take on the famous epic Beowulf written in the monster’s perspective, explores this position, and challenges the typical definitions and ideas of good and evil. In Grendel, Gardner utilizes the characters Grendel, Beowulf, and the Dragon to explore the theme that good and evil are never…

is? In the novel Grendel written by John Gardner the main character Grendel is a monstrous creature who for twelve years has slaughtered the people of Hrothgar’s, the king of the Danes, hall. Grendel has grown up alone and has never felt like he belonged anywhere, so when he encountered the humans for the first time he wanted to fit in. After several encounters with them he reached a conclusion that he would wage a war that will last twelve years with them. Furthermore, Grendel is guilty of…

Judith Rich Harris outlines her discovery that the main influences on human children are their peers. The Grendel in Grendel by John Gardner may not be entirely human, but in this novel, we see that Grendel is vastly influenced by the other characters. Throughout Grendel’s life, his character and actions are affected by what he learns from his limited interactions and human observations. Grendel is negatively influenced by the dragon and the humans. The greatest change in Grendel’s character…

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.…

Grendel in the beginning of the book was young and still a child. His mind was only innocent, until, he had discovered the ordinary world. There lived men that would impact his life. Throughout the book, he grown into realizing the ordinary world was not like his home where it was safe and sound with his mother. It was not all fun and games anymore after encountering a raging bull meanwhile being stuck in a tree. There he stood for days losing blood calling for his mother's rescue,but she never…

Grendel from Beowulf differs in character from Grendel from the novel Grendel because in Beowulf, Grendel is confident, predictable, and a static character, while in Grendel, he is an outsider, confused, and a dynamic character. In the epic poem, Beowulf, Grendel is characterized from the third person point of view. The third person point of view creates distance, and it limits the depiction to only the beliefs of those who are not Grendel. Grendel is viewed as a monster who is full of…

and a temperament kind. John Gardner uses this pseudoscience motif in his parallel novel, Grendel, through images of the zodiac in every chapter to reveal the progressive modification of Grendel’s temperament as associated with the signs of the zodiac. the primary pseudoscience sign Aries begins Grendel’s journey. the start of this new zodiac cycle disturbs Grendel. Aries image, the ram, disgusts Grendel as a result of its repetition of constant motions thanks to its instincts.…

In the novel Grendel by John Gardner, the reader sees Grendel encounter many unexpected people and events. Gardner’s writing style throughout the novel incorporates the building of suspense at certain points, and its purpose is to make these encounters unexpected to the reader. This specific passage takes place when Grendel sees new visitors arrive who later turn out to be a group of men led by Beowulf who have come to help the locals get rid of Grendel once and for all. This passage builds…

In John Gardner’s novel, Grendel, Grendel’s last words are meant as a curse towards mankind and the animals who gather to watch him die. Grendel is seen throughout the story adopting a hatred towards humans which makes these words a curse. Grendel hatred first shown when he states “I was Grendel, Ruiner of Meadhall, Wrecker of Kings” (Gardner 80). Grendel is split now between believing the truth that he does not alone exist or continue to carry out his killing spree on humans but in turn, proves…

and The Shaper in Grendel by John Gardner. To begin with Grendel’s image is impacted by Unferth because Unferth was the very first person that Grendel has ever talked too. Unferth begins to talk to Grendel by calling him a monster in front of all the thane’s that were around, Unferth kind of threatened Grendel because he told him that death was coming his way. In the beginning of their relationship Unferth wanted Grendel dead, even though he was showing so much fear. In Grendel, Unferth is shown…