Essay On Grendel - 984 Words

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 pr ospect 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: â€Å"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: â€Å"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 o fficially 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,Show MoreRelatedGrendel Essay761 Words   |  4 Pagescharacteristics. In the literary pieces of John Gardner’s, â€Å"Grendel,† unknown author of, â€Å"Beowulf,† and Robert Louis Stevenson’s, â€Å"Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,† the characters are portrayed as having both qualities of good and evil, proving there to be a duality of decency/immorality, righteousness/depravity, and virtue/evil. The character, Grendel, in Gardner’s, â€Å"Grendel,† is a prime example of this inseparable bond between right and wrong. Grendel is originally wrongfully viewed as solely a complete andRead MoreEssay on Grendel1169 Words   |  5 Pages 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 lovedRead MoreGrendel Essay768 Words   |  4 PagesIn 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 Gardners book, it was halfway expected that some excuse would be made for Grendel; that he wasnt really the inexorable monster the thanes in Beowulf portrayed him as. But allRead MoreEssay on The Humanization of Grendel1037 Words   |  5 PagesJohn Gardner’s Grendel is the retelling of the heroic epic poem Beowulf; however, the viewpoint has shifted. Grendel is told from the viewpoint of one of Beowulf’s antagonists and the titular character of Gardner’s work—Grendel. In Grendel, Gardner humanizes Grendel by emphasizing parallels between Grendel’s life and human life. Through Gardner’s reflection of human feelings, human development, and human flaws in Grendel, this seemingly antagonistic, monstrous character becomes understood andRead More Existentialism In Grendel Essay1616 Words   |  7 PagesExistentialism In Grendel The debate between existentialism and the rest of the world is a fierce, albeit recent one. Before the dawn of science and the Age Of Reason, it was universally accepted that there were such things as gods, right and wrong, and heroism. However, with the developing interest in science and the mechanization of the universe near the end of the Renaissance, the need for a God was essentially removed, and humankind was left to reconsider the origin of meaning. JohnRead MoreGrendel : Evil Essay833 Words   |  4 PagesIn 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, slau ghtering and pillaging all forRead MoreBeowulf and Grendel Essay1654 Words   |  7 PagesBeowulf and Grendel Beowulf and Grendel are actually the same stories in the fact that they are based on the same epic Beowulf. Beowulf, that is told of here is translated by Kevin Crossley-Holland, and there are many different translations which makes Beowulf the epic so interchangeable. Although Beowulf and Grendel seem very similar they do have many differences as well. Reading the two stories back to back gives you the impression of how many differences there are. For exampleRead MoreGrendel and Beowulf Essay616 Words   |  3 Pageson with this function. On John Gardners, Grendel the main character Grendel is very confused of the life he is living. He is in search of his purpose in life, what he doesn’t realize at the beginning is his purpose is to be the villain. The humans in the novel are terrified of Grendel because to them he is a beast. As a natural reaction for us humans when in fear we tend to eliminate what causes us fear. In many occasions humans try to kill Grendel because he is viewed as evil, until BeowulfRead More GRENDEL FRANKENSTEIN Essay2532 Words   |  11 Pages GRENDEL amp; FRANKENSTEIN AN ANALYSIS OF THE TWO quot;MONSTERSquot; AND THEIR SUPERIORITY TO MANKIND GRENDEL amp; FRANKENSTEIN AN ANALYSIS OF THE TWO quot;MONSTERSquot; AND THEIR SUPERIORITY TO MANKIND In the desert I saw a creature, naked, bestial, Who, squatting upon the ground, Held his heart in his hands, And ate of it. I said, quot;Is it good friend?quot; quot;It is bitter-bitter,quot; he answered; quot;But I like it Because it is bitter And because it is my heart.quot; -StephenRead More Is Grendel Evil? Essay2273 Words   |  10 Pageswhich is the cause of most human misery, and prevents peace on earth. In John Gardner’s book Grendel, the retelling of the ages old story Beowulf, further blurs the line between good and evil. Circumstance and perhaps a confused view of reality allow the monster, Grendel, to conceivably defend his evil beliefs. In order to better understand evil, using Grendel as a guide, I intend to attempt to justify it. Grendel is born a neutral being, perhaps even good, but nevertheless, without hate. The transition