Grendel Essay Topics

Essay On Grendel's Misunderstood
Being misunderstood is not against the norm for anyone in life. At some point or another humans
will feel different from those around them, and while Grendel is not human he is no different.
Despite executing years worth of raids, it is evident Grendel is a sympathetic Outcast due to his
mother's actions, his experience with the men in the forest, and the tales the scops sing of Grendel.
For instance, Grendel is often kept in the dark by his mother about purpose of staying in the hole
that they dwell in, which creates creates a sense of mistrust with his only source of interaction. She
never replies to his frequent prodding, " 'Why do we stand in this putrid, stinking hole?' She
trembles at my words. Her fat lips shake. 'Don't ask!' her wriggling claws implore"(Gardner 11). The
lack of information being given to young Grendel disheartens him and leads him to hate his wretched
mother. He feels like an outcast even in his own home. Additionally, Grendel's misfortune exceeds
his dwelling as he encounters aggressive situations in the woods. He is trotting through the greenery
when his foot becomes caught between two tree trunks. Unable to budge his limb free, he wails out
for his mother. A group of men stumble upon Grendel but do not speak his tongue, "Grendel tries to
speak to the men, but they misunderstand him...show more content...
Later on, after he escapes the men and is observing them they tell how he is evil and this
influences Grendel's mind, "Outside the mead hall, he hears music begin and listens to the scop
tell of the archetypal feud between good and evil and how Grendel is the descendant of a cursed
race. He believes the shaper and is devastated by what he has learned" (Gardner 50–51). Hearing
these men all sing these negative things about him and berate him with such joy shakes Grendel to
the bone. He begins to craft himself in the image they have for him, believing he truly is a
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Grendel Philosophies
Philosophies are the ideas formed in one's mind, often about the world and the questions we have
about it. As humans, we often pick one philosophy and stick with it. How would a monster like the
character Grendel in the novel by John Gardner react to these philosophies? Throughout the novel,
Grendel experiences and is conflicted with many different philosophies. Influenced by characters
such as the Shaper, the Dragon, and the people of Hrothgar, Grendel experiences many philosophies
such as Nihilism, Solipsism, and Machiavellianism.
One of the major philosophies in the novel Grendel is Nihilism. Nihilism is the rejection of moral
and religious principles, and the belief that life is small and meaningless. In the first few pages of
the novel, John Gardner states that "He cocks his head like an elderly, slow–witted king, considers
his angles, decides to ignore me. I stamp. I hammer the ground with my fists. I hurl a skull–size
stone at him. He will not budge." (Gardner, 5). Here is a snippet of Grendel's hatred towards life
and even nature. Throughout the novel, Grendel proves to the reader that he doesn't really care
about anybody except for himself. In this quote, Grendel sees a ram and tries to make it leave,
only to fail. The ram just stays where it is and ignores Grendel, even when Grendel yells and
throws a large rock at it. As John Gardner states, "I understood that the world was nothing: a
mechanical chaos of casual, brute enmity on which we stupidly impose our hopes

Analysis Of ' Grendel ' By John Gardner
As humans, do we consciously form our own identities? After all, one is rarely who they aspire to
be. Take, for example, John Gardner's character Grendel. Although Grendel seems to intentionally
perpetuate his wretched state of being, it is also clear that this process creates, or is the product of
some sort of internal struggle between what he considers to be the "two dark realities, the self and
the world" (Gardner 47). For many individuals, including Grendel, existence appears to be nothing
more than a never–ending series of conflicts, mostly between the actual state of things and our
idealistic perception of what they should be. These conflicts, whether realized or not, generate a
great deal of emotional and psychological turmoil. This idea is present in nearly every religion and
school of philosophy and has been given many names throughout history, but the more recent
technical term for this flaw in human thought is "cognitive dissonance".
The term "cognitive dissonance" describes the emotional negativity that results from an
inconsistency of thought; when two things that should add up just don't. It is by this perpetual
struggle that man defines himself. Cognitive dissonance shapes the way we think and often
manifests itself as the type of behavior that creates even more confusion. Grendel's character is a
somewhat extreme representation of this process. He often acts in a way that is incongruent with his
emotions, and despite having realized the absurd nature of his

What Has Grendel Learned About Human Behavior
Grendel. One of John Gardner's best novels based on the epic poem, Beowulf. It talks about a war
between Grendel and the humans, the Danes, their king Hrothgar and a stranger who appears at the
end of the novel, Beowulf himself. Grendel lived with his mother in a cave, isolated from the rest of
the world. With time passing by, he became curious about the outside world, so he started to go out
to explore, seeing new fascinating things, meeting with the humans which made him even more
curious about them, leading into him spying on them during the nights. This turned Grendel into a
great observer of human nature and behavior with a high level of insight. But the question is, what
exactly did he think of what he observed? One of the first things Grendel learned about humans is
their knowledge and way of thinking. Through different difficult situations, Grendel learned that
humans are much more dangerous than any wild animal as they are capable strategy makers. We
can clearly see this at the second chapter, when he is...show more content...
He thinks that humans are easy to understand and yet also very difficult. According to him, humans
have a good insight and great observation skills, but they are violent creatures that use weapons
instead of words to get what they want. They are even violent amongst themselves, making Grendel
wonder what is actually wrong with them. But they are also unwearyingly hardworking.
"Meanwhile, up in the shattered hall, the builders are hammering, replacing the door for the fiftieth
or sixtieth time, industrious and witless as worker ants – except that they make small, foolish
changes, adding a few more iron pegs, more iron bands, with tireless dogmatism." (7) This fragment
of the novel shows that humans do not get tired easily and that they have sheer will on matters
concerning their safety and

Essay On Grendel
John Gardener's 'Grendel' depicts the monstrous Grendel, previously portrayed as the vicious villain
in 'Beowulf, journeying through his life, attempting to achieve some kind of self–realization.
Spending much of his time observing humans, Grendel develops a great disdain for religion.
Gardener reinforces Grendel's with anti–religious quotes from poets and philosophers, like William
Blake and Francis Nietzsche. As his spiritual void increases, Gardener slips into an existential
despair, fueled by the talk of the Shaper, who's strangely persuasive words confuse Grendel's
underdeveloped mind. Finally, as Grendel slowly recognizes he is separate from men, his encounter
with the dragon drives him to the self–realization that he is a monster...show more content...
After waiting in a tree to catch a glimpse of men, Grendel attempts to communicate with the humans
in the woods. Initially the humans feed Grendel, but his laughter at the prospect of food frightens
them, and they decide to attack them. Grendel, observing the humans plan out their attack, realizes
that humans are not dumb, they strategize and plan, making them more dangerous than he could
have imagined. And what's more, there's nothing he can do to make them see he does not want to
harm them. At this moment, Grendel realizes that he is completely separate from man, that there
is no meaning to the world: "The world is all a pointless accident...I exist, nothing else!" (Gardner
28).The arrival of the Shaper further hurls Grendel into an existential despair. The Shaper tells tales
of glory in battle and other such things that Grendel condemns; however, he does it in such a
persuasive way that Grendel doesn't know what to think: "Thus I fled, ridiculous hairy creature torn
apart by poetry...I clamped my palms to my ears and stretched up my lips and shrieked again, a stab
at truth" (Gardner 44–45). Here, Grendel officially identifies himself as a separate entity, calling
himself a ridiculous hairy creature. The poetry confuses him and Grendel gives up on trying to
obtain truth, slipping further into despair. While Grendel's existential despair leads him away from
the world of men,

Is Grendel Evil? Essay
In a world of chaos, he who lives, lives by his own laws and values. Who is to say that the death
of millions is any worse or better, for that matter, than injuring a cockroach. And in the case of an
existing power in the form of God, who is presumed to be all which is good, presiding and ruling
an organized universe, why then does evil exist? The prosaic response of "without evil, there is no
good" no longer holds any validity in this argument as the admitted goal of good is to reach an
existence without evil. So even if a God does exist, I think it is fair, at this point, to say that he is the
embodiment of both good and evil. And if humoring those who would answer the previous question
with the response that there can be no good...show more content...
When society (humans) reject his desire to co–exist with them, he turns to evil as punishment for the
humans although it provides no solace for him.
Though he does not actually remember how he'd learned it, John Gardner's Grendel speaks a
language which is similar to that of the human characters in the book and is, therefore, able to
understand them. During Grendel's first encounter with humans, he pleads to them for assistance
when he is caught and wounded in a trap. The leader of the humans is Hrothgar who eventually
becomes king of the Danes. When Grendel's cry for help is mistaken for a cry of attack, the humans
attack Grendel and wound him more painfully than flesh could be wounded. The first intelligent,
speaking beings, with some similarity to himself, which Grendel has encountered, have attacked
instead of helped him. It is in this moment that Grendel forms his first opinions of existence; the
outside world does not seem to embrace good as he does. In a one–way conversation he has with his
mother after the incident (Chapter 2), Grendel says, " the world resists me and I resist it. That's
all there is. The mountains are what I define them as." In the statement, " the mountains are what I
define them as", Grendel starts to form a belief of a sort of reality which does not actually exist. Life
is meant to be lived as the owner wishes to live it; it is what you

Grendel Misunderstood Analysis
Cats are a common house pet in today's society because they are rather harmless and docile
creatures. However, from the perspective of a mouse, a cat could be considered an evil creature.
For this reason, evil can be expressed as a word of relative terminology. In John Gardner's book,
Grendel, the Danes perceive Grendel as an evil monster, yet the reader may label him simply
misunderstood. Trying to find his purpose in life, Grendel roams the woods of Denmark on his
lonesome. Due to Grendel's disturbing and hideous features, the Danes are prejudice and
automatically think that he is going to eat them due to his savage nature, however he is simply
being misjudged. Grendel is a monster who has nobody else to talk to, thus he is struggling to find
himself. Although Grendel does occasionally storm the mead hall and eat a handful of danes, they
have done evil acts considered more malicious than Grendel's raids. Grendel is not evil, he is
misunderstood because of his ghastly appearance and he is undoubtedly less evil than Hrothgar and
his...show more content...
Although Grendel lived in the woods around the other animals, like the Danes, they too ran away
when they saw his monstrous appearance through the trees. "The doe in the clearing goes stiff at
the sight of my horridness, then remembers her legs and is gone. [...] 'Blind prejudice!'" (Gardner
7). Grendel's mother is also far from affectionate, as she only shows care for him when she saves
him from being stuck between the trees. "...I felt the two trees that held me falling, and I was
tumbling, free, into the grass" (Gardner 28). Grendel understands he is a monster and his demeanor
is intimidating to humans, however the animals and Danes do not understand or care how Grendel
feels because they simply see him as an ugly

Grendel's Narrative Analysis
To start off with the reasoning for selecting my particular topic area of focus, I believed it would be
interesting to venture out into thought about what Grendel's mother was really thinking and
meaning to say. What caught my attention on this topic was that I often wondered myself about the
mother's personal feelings and how she really felt about Grendel and his feelings towards her. The
easiest part with creating my booklet around this topic was brainstorming each scene from the mother
's perspective because I pictured it myself while reading. The hardest part, however, was actually
drawing Grendel and his mother and thinking of details to add to each scene to better my project.
Also, considering Grendel's reaction to the mother's presence.

Essay on Grendel
In 1971, American author John Gardner wrote Grendel. With a mastermind of creativity, John
Gardner successfully retells the classic epic poem, Beowulf. He captures the reader by giving an
interesting view of order and chaos, good and evil, hero and monster, allowing the monsters point of
view to be seen.
On July 21, 1933 John Gardner was born in Batavia, New York. He was the son of a preacher and
diary, and his mother taught English. They were very fond of Shakespeare and loved to recite
literature. Gardner spent his early days attending school, playing French horn, and working on his
dads farms. In April 1945, Gardner's brother was killed in an accident with a cultipacker on their
family farm. Gardner was driving the...show more content...
(Howell 2).In addition to teaching and writing, he also edited scholarly books for the Southern
Illinois University Press; he was a creative and talented teacher, author, and editor.
Although the promotion of Gardner's first novel The Resurrection (1966) wasn't a hit at all, and
The Wreckage of Agathon (1970) apprehended a mixture of reviews. It was the appearance of
Grendel in 1970, however, that brought him true fame and recognition. Richard Locke of the New
York Times called Gardner "a major contemporary writer" and other viewers were just as enthusiastic
(Howell 2). John Michael Howell comments that though Grendel may have been written in a short
period of time, its natural resonance suggests that the monster–hero (Grendel) has been lurking in
Gardner's imagination for a great deal of time (Howell 61). Which in all reality not only makes the
story successful but also intriguing.
Beowulf is an epic poem that was originally told between the eighth and eleventh centuries. It is the
first surviving epic to be written in the English language. The single existing copy dates from around
the tenth century, but some scholars believe its dates from the early eleventh century. It was found
in a large volume that contained stories about mythical creatures and people. It is said that two
different scribes copied the poem, most likely using an existing copy (Heaney 6). During the period
of 1066 and the reformation the volume

How Does Gardner Present The Conflict In Beowulf
Grendel Essay Everyone follows a set of routine, as if the society is a factory and humans are the
machines to production. Some may know what they are trying to achieve, but many others just
obey the pattern of society blindlessly. The novel Grendel by John Gardner reiterates the epic
poem Beowulf through the perspective of the antagonist, Grendel; Gardner challenges different
philosophical beliefs of human civilization as he depicts Grendel's chaotic state of mind due to
Grendel's internal and external conflicts. The novel portrays a clash of belief presented by
Grendel's personal experience and his observation of human society; throughout the novel,
Grendel seeks to understand his position in the world, as he struggles to discover the purpose of
life. Ultimately, Grendel chooses to believe that life is pointless, though this belief dies along with
his death. Grendel's encounter with the bull marks his initial understanding of the world; he
realizes the universe provides no definite meaning to living creatures, as it is very isolated and
mechanical. During Grendel's earlier life, he accidentally gets his foot stuck in a tree. No matter
how hard he cries for help, no one, not even his mother, comes to his aid. This makes him feel
distanced from the rest of the world as he thinks he is not important enough to be cared by anyone.
Furthermore, a bull comes to attack him and shows no sign of empathy to Grendel but rather charges
at him mindlessly. He finally understands that

Grendel Theme Essay
In John Gardner's Grendel, his theme can be interpreted in several manners. I see it as the author is
trying to have the reader sympathize with Grendel. Others may think that Gardner is trying to make
Grendel seem more monstrous; more evil. The author's intentions are portrayed by explaining
Grendel's experiences prior to facing off Beowulf.
In the story, Grendel reminisces about the time before he became a monster. His tone is almost
nostalgic. The story reads, "I used to play games when I was young–it might as well be a thousand
years ago. Explored our far–flung underground world in an endless wargame of leaps onto nothing,
ingenious twists into freedom or new perplexity, quick whispered plottings with invisible friends,
wild cackles when vengeance was mine." Grendel is remembering the childhood that he had. His
tone indicates that he misses his childhood; the time before he was a monster. The opposing side
may think that Grendel's flashback to his childhood may not mean anything; that it doesn't show any
reason to sympathize with him. However, this quote clearly implies...show more content...
All because he is a monster. Being the monster that he was, he never had it easy. The story states,
"'Surround him!" the king yelled, "Save the horses!"–and suddenly I knew I was dealing with no dull
mechanical bull but with thinking creatures, pattern makers, the most dangerous things I'd ever
met. I shrieked at them, trying to scare them off, but they merely ducked behind bushes and took
long sticks from the saddles of their horses, bows and javelins. "You're all crazy," I bellowed,
"you're all insane!'" Here, Grendel is almost about to be killed because of his appearance. The king
only thinks of him as a threat because he looks like a monster. Others may say that Grendel had it
coming. However, the author's intentions are clear that he wants the reader to sympathize with
Grendel not having a fair chance in life because of how he

Essay About Grendel
Yun Lun
Grendel's mom
I moved to this lake for hundreds of years before anyone came. There is animals all around me to
provide me food, and there is a lake that can protect me. After a long time, monsters started to move
here, food got less and less. One day, while I was going to hunt a deer drinking in my lake, then
something came from the trees, so fast that I can't see clearly, then the deer fell down. All I see is
a stick with feathers on it, didn't know where it came from, so I stay hidden in the water. monsters
started to come out from the forest to take that deer away, they tied it up and carried it back to
their houses, I followed them, the deer is mine and I am going to take it back. They started to use
something so sharp so it cut through the skin so easily, even my claws couldn't cut it so easily. I
went to take the deer and the thing they used, unfortunately, those...show more content...
Grendel grew fast, his claws are sharp and his skin is hard, soon he will be able to hunt for me. As
Grendel grew, more and more people came to my lake to live, we hunt together and live together.
Grendel is the strongest and fastest of them all, he brought food for us all everyday. But monsters
also went to live live in the village and the place got bigger and bigger. At first, we are fine with
them coming over, but soon, loud noise came over every night, so loud that we couldn't sleep, so
all of us decided that we need to stop them, sent the best warrior we have, which is Grendel, to go
over there and kill those monsters, the first day he went, I was so worried about him, maybe those
monsters will eat him, but he came back with thirty of those monsters, dead in his hand. I was so
proud of him. We ate those monsters and found that their meat is as good as a deer's and those
weird noise stopped, so we sent him to kill the monsters every day. It was good, he came back
every morning with food, and slept at day, and this continued for twelve

Theme Of Grendel In John Gardner's Cynicism
In the background water, droplets fall to the ground. Each smack of water against the stone sends a
shiver down his spine. Left with nothing but his thoughts, Grendel watches his mother restlessly toss
and turn as she sleeps when a faint noise is heard. Intrigued, he walks just beyond the mouth of the
cave, and in the distance, what appears to be the flickering light of candles of a great hall can be
seen. As Grendel walks closer, he realizes the noise is actually singing. Looking through the
windows, he gazes at strange creatures singing a song of joyous times as they dance and clank their
mugs together. Engulfed with rage, he swings the doors open so quickly that they nearly fall off the
hinges, and the frenzy begins. In John Gardner's tale,...show more content...
Coming from a long line of wicked beings makes Grendel a feared entity. Since he is a monster in a
time period of boasting, people attempt to kill him and demonstrate their worth. After that happens
multiple times, Grendel develops a condemning view of how humans conduct themselves. An
example of this is when Grendel ventures down to the mead hall and hears the Shaper's song.
Instantly aggravated, Grendel says, "It enraged me. It was their confidence, maybe–their blissful,
swinish ignorance, their bumptious self–satisfaction, and, worst of all, their hope" (Gardner 77). The
quote is exemplary of Gredel's thoughts, and shows his motivation for the killings. After this
incident, Grendel's raids of the mead hall begin. During the strikes, he finds the thanes' need to
prove themselves absolutely idiotic. Grendel took joy in his dirty deed because of the way the
thanes fought back. Gardner gives a good example when he writes, "Another one came at me,
gloating in his blear–eyed heroism, maniacally joyful because he bragged that he would die for his
king and he was doing it. He did it" (81). Grendel knows the thanes excessive boasting is useless
since their weapons will not work on

Essay On Grendel In Beowulf
Grendel, the offspring of Cain the outcast, is a demon. He is a scaly creature that lives in a swampy
area. He is a reptilian human, with spikes on him. He is a human–like figure, in which the way he
stands. He stands on two feet, and has arms. In the book Beowulf removes Grendel's arm and
shoulder, defeating him. This must mean he has a shoulder blade and can walk like a human. He
also has razor–sharp talons as it says in the book "Venturing closer, his talon was raised toattack
Beowulf where he lay on the bed" (Heaney 51). One night when he is prowling around, he hears
the King and his kinsmen singing out to the Lord. He hears the songs of how great God is, and is
outraged. As the outcast of God, Grendel despised of God. The songs and happiness, pushes him
over the edge. He plans the downfall of the hall, in spite of their songs. He will attack at night, as
everyone sleeps, and butcher them dead. He sneaks in at night, watching over the guards, ready to
pounce. He rips apart the men eating them alive. "Suddenly then the God–cursed brute was creating
havoc: greedy and grim, he grabbed thirty men from their resting place and rushed them to his
lair" (Heaney 11). This shows just how When the king awoke the next morning he grieved for his
men, but little did he know Grendel would attack every night for 12 winters. Once again Grendel
sets of for a night of ravishing, but the king has a plan. He has set out more guards to keep watch
over the kingdom, as he sleeps. When Grendel

Is Grendel Truley Evil? Essay
Is Grendel Evil or Victim to Circumstance? : How humanity has a tendency to put labels on people
they don't really understand.
In the epic of Beowulf, one of the warrior's biggest adversaries is a creature from the swamp named
Grendel. Although the character of Grendel is present for only a short portion in the story of Beowulf,
Grendel signifies one of the important messages in the text about humanity. In Beowulf, Grendel is
called a 'monster'. However, if observed closely, analyzing the meaning behind the story, it is easy
to see that Grendel is not a typical monster, in fact, it doesn't seem like he is a monster at all. There
is much evidence within the short period of the text where Grendel is present, which indicates he is
...show more content...
Another association between the symbol of Grendel and the Catholic/Christian Church is that his
modest background almost seems to mirror the ambiguity of the bible. Another part of the text
which is evidence to Grendel not being the monster he is made out to be, is the relationship
dynamic between Grendel and his mother, and also his mother's actions after his death. The actions
of Grendel's mother are not those of a monster, but those of any normal woman who has children.
After her son was killed (murdered and then part of his body was taken as a trophy), she just
wanted to seek revenge. "But now his mother/ had sailed forth on a savage journey,/grief–racked and
ravenous, desperate for revenge." (1276–1278). Grendel's mother displayed the emotions of
complete sadness and despair over her son; it seems more of a human response rather than that
belonging to a monster. Considering that the bond of a mother and son is supposed to be the
strongest bond of all, her actions after his death are in a way justified. It is easy to see that the
character of Grendel is much more than just a monster through his mother's subsequent actions of
taking down Grendel's arm from hanging in Heorot, and feuding (in her own way she was trying to
feud, to obey the code as it was in this time. When she went to Heorot to seek her revenge, she did
not

Grendel: Poem Analysis
As Grendel is introduced in the poem, the quote immediately tells the reader that Grendel is an
outcast compared to others. As a natural instinct, people assume a flaw is a flaw and there is
something bound to be wrong with the individual, because he is not like the rest of the others, he
is different. However, less emphasis is placed on the quote which helps to justify why the creature
is as it is, The quote, once analyzed, helps to explain the creature itself from how it was brought up
and the background behind all its actions. It so happens to be a trait that was carried throughout
each generation. Having been a part of the Germanic culture, the role of Grendel plays a major role
when it comes to picking and choosing one's destiny. Although

Grendel : Evil Essay
In the novel, Grendel by John Gardener, Grendel is a human–like creature capable of rational
thought as well as feeling emotions. Early on in the story Gardener depicts Grendel as being very
observant, critical and somewhat spiteful of the world around him. He describes himself as a
murderous monster who smells of death and crouches in the shadows. Grendel watches the humans
from the shadows of the trees and at first it seems as though they are the real monsters, slaughtering
and pillaging all for the sake of their leaders and for power. This light that the humans are put in
gives Grendel a certain charisma about him, making him seem like the one to side with in this novel.
Later in the story, however, things change. Grendel seeks out the...show more content...
Grendel initailly is frightened by him, discovering how the humans must feel in his own
presence in the following passage: "My throat convulsed and I tried to get my breath to speak, but
I couldn't ... 'Now you know how they feel when they see you'" (59) as their conversation
continues they do not make much ground with each other, instead just adding fuel to the fire.
Eventually they reach a breaking point in the conversation when Grendel asks, "Why is it
fiddlesticks if I stop giving people heart attacks over nothing? ... You improve them, my boy!
Can't you see that yourself? ... You are, so to speak, the brute existent by which they learn to
define themselves. The exile, captivity, death they shrink from" (72) This sticks with Grendel
throughout the rest of the novel. Next Grendel is outside the meadhall when he hears the Shaper's
song and it enrages him, when he hears a guard behind him and is attacked. Yet nothing happens to
the beast, as the dragon has put an invulnerability charm on him, his arrogence reaches its peak.
The major turning point, the change, the evil that the dragon instilled in him awakens in the
following reading: "I bit his head off ... and, holding the jerking, blood slippery body in two hands,
sucked the blood that came like a hot, thick geyser from his neck." (79) The charm eliminates all of
his inhibitions as he begins raiding the mead hall on a daily basis. Gardener intends to show how
quickly evil influences ones

Analysis Of Grendel 's ' Grendel '
Martin Mraz
Common Core English IV
March 9, 2017
Grendel's Pain
In John Gardner 's Grendel, Grendel states, "Tedium is the worst pain" (138). Grendel views
boredom as an expression of his painful, purposeless existence. Perpetual boredom has steadily
increased and intensifies in chapter ten leading Grendel to be anxious for something to happen.
Ironically, Grendel claims nothing is happening, and all is boring, yet filled with longing and
expecting for something big to happen soon. Grendel's search intensifies and becomes desperate at
the event of the Shaper's death. He feels utterly alone and isolated. It seems Grendel can only talk to
himself. In Chapter ten Gardner examines the significance of the astrological sign Capricorn, the
...show more content...
His bleak assessment of man's state is heard in the icy statement, "The world is white" (148).
Grendel believes himself to be the only one moved by the old priest's words while standing in
frozen company in the shadow of a funeral fire. Is he the only one moved by the Shaper's death?
Grendel sees everyone as stiff and frozen blue like ice. His own mother acts only to prevent him
from deepening his pessimistic tendency revealed by the loss. She tries to get in his way. She
attempts to block his view of the funeral procession. Grendel's Nietzschean philosophy continues to
take shape in the wake of the Shaper's death. Grendel groans, "We 're on our own again. Abandoned"
(149).
Grendel prefers to develop a loneliness and Isolation theme as he struggles for identity and purpose
in life. He journeys past his mother's attempts to protect him from feeling and moves her aside even
though she is pained by his cool objection. Her whoops cannot stop him from moving on as he
comforts himself to believe, "I will forget, tomorrow, so her pain is a matter of indifference" (147).
His independent spirit persists in conflicted loneliness. The Shaper's hopeful song about thaw and
spring rain echoes from the lips of a young man only to meet empty, lonely space within Grendel.
The people solemnly listen in funeral waiting and a distracted, dry–eyed king is seen by all to be
unmoved. Grendel is restless and continues to move forward with his lonely,

Grendel Essay
In both works, Beowulf and Grendel, Grendel himself is generally given the same connotations.
He is given kennings, called names, referred to as the evil spawn of Cain, and even viewed as a
monster; but why? Why in both books is he a wicked, horrible, person who is harshly excluded
from everyone? After stumbling upon John Gardner's book, it was halfway expected that some
excuse would be made for Grendel; that he wasn't really the inexorable monster the thanes in
Beowulf portrayed him as. But all it really did was make him worse. What is the message we are
being sent about Grendel? In Beowulf, we hardly know anything about Grendel. His name is barely
mentioned and instead he is given an abundant amount of kennings. In Grendel, we learn...show
more content...
Ignorance is the real nature of the relationship in these two books in that maybe it was meant to
be that way for a reason; and if we'd just get the chance to be exposed to the painful, existential
ways Grendel lived his life, we'd realize it could happen to anyone. But we could also realize that we
refuse to let it happen; and is the real meaning of Grendel. Mankind does have a

Grendel Archetypes Essay
Multiple people have examined the classic epic known as Beowulf, but few have examined the
modern novel, Grendel. This in depth story comes out of the mouth of the horrifying monster,
Grendel. This tale brings meaning to Grendel's life and experiences, but there lays meaning behind
some of the character placement as well. The characteristic effects in Grendel represent one, if not
many, of Jung's archetypes such as the persona, the shadow, and the anima.
In this case, Jung clarified persona as how a person presents themselves to the world. Grendel's
persona restricts only to that of a scary, threatening beast. At the sight of Grendel, the neighboring
villagers immediately take up arms and cower within their meadhall. When in the presence of these
villagers, the humanoid beast becomes a self–absorbed fiend who devours anyone with a mind that
stands against him. One might argue that...show more content...
Grendel never became enemies with the Scyldings until he sought out the route of this shadow, the
dragon. When the dragon says unto Grendel in the line, "If man's the irrelevance that interests you,
stick with him! Scare him to glory! It's all the same in the end, matter and motion, simple or
complex,"(Chapter 5, page 73) he tricks the human–like beast into carrying out havoc on the
villagers. After this long, deadly confrontation with the fabled creature, Grendel always seemed to
smell the evil presence of the dragon. This smell made the monster go mad and his actions towards
the Scyldings got to the point of massacres. Some may think the winged lizard remained the source
of the shadow, but it was not the only thing that led to Grendel's actions. The Shaper, that seemed to
enchant Grendel with his songs, became another key part of Grendel's shadow. This shadow made it
hard for Grendel to continue to grasp the basic concepts of the

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