Grendel is the first of three beasts that Beowulf is tasked with defeating in this epic. Grendel ensues immeasurable terror in the hearts of the Danes, but unlike many folkloric creatures, he has a human personality. While Grendel is by no means a dynamic character, he does have the motivation to wreak havoc upon Heorot Hall. He also has enough reason to define a cause for his aggression, and his tendency to be a pariah is clear since he and his mother are the only characters associated with Hell. The mention of Grendel being of "Cain's clan, whom the creator had outlawed and condemned as outcasts"(106-107) was likely shocking to Christian audiences, who knew Cain as a malignant soul from the Bible. While this story was retold in a Christian
