Similarities And Differences Between Beowulf And Grendel

Improved Essays
Beowulf, Grendel Compare and contrast.
In story telling there are often two sides to the story such as how it is shown throughout Beowulf and Grendel. Beowulf is a story from the viewpoint of the danes and favors them in their story, but in Grendef it is in favor of the young monster named Grendel. In this paper I will talk about the similarities and differences between the two stories, Beowulf, which is a book about a mighty hero that sets out to slay monsters and Grendel, which is the same story from the monster 's point of view. In writing characters can be perceived in many ways due to the different viewpoints of the narrator.
In the book Beowulf the Danes have a large variety of characteristics such as being brave, t honorable but yet
…show more content…
One of grendels characteristics would be that he is a very evil being. An example of how Grendel was evil would be when Grendel would just kill the Danes for fun. A quote that supports this example would be when the narrator was talking about what Grendel had done to the danes and said The evil creature, grim and hungry, grabbed thirty warriors and went home laughing"(Breeden). Another good characteristic to describe Grendel would be that he is a very cruel being. An example of how Grendel was cruel would be how he would terrorize the danes for so long without having any remorse for what he was doing. A quote that supports this would be when Grendel killed thirty men ... and went home laughing(Breeden). Impulsiveness is also another good characteristic to describe Grendel in the book of Beowulf. An example of Grendels impulsiveness would be bow he would always be very quick to …show more content…
The danes in the book of Grendel are viewed as evil, cruel and impulsive. One of the Danes characteristics within the book of Grendel would be that they are perceived as evil beings. An example of how the Danes were evil would be how they would kill each other for personal gain. A quote that supports this example would be when Grendel was thinking about the danes and said "Things about justice and honor and lawful revenge"(Gardner, 35). Another good characteristic of the danes in the story of Grendel would that they were Very cruel people. An example of how they were cruel would be when Grendel was observing the humans and thought of the terrible things they have done. A quote to support this would be when Grendel said "I was sickened by the waste of it all they killed cows horses men they left to rot and burn"(Gardner, 36). Impulsiveness is also a very good characteristic to describe the Danes in the book of grendel. Another way that they were impulsive would be when the Danes thought of just killing grendel because they did not know what he was. A quote that supports my example would be when one of the Danes referred to grendel as a fungus and said "Maybe we could chop the fungus out"(Gardner, 25). The information given thus proves how in the story of Grendel the

Related Documents

  • Decent Essays

    Grendel's Evil In Beowulf

    • 155 Words
    • 1 Pages

    Grendel, since he is a descendent of Cain, is one that is cursed by God himself, forced to wage “his lonely war, inflicting constant cruelties” on people (116: line:164-165). I would say that he is evil because of the hatred of his neighbors have made him bitter, but he is also evil because he is a demon. They call him a “fiend out of hell”, one that loves to work evil in the world (114: line 100). Even though he may be bitter because of the resentment, the fact that he is a demon that came out of hell makes him a monster, something that is evil from the roots of his origin. He is linked to the man Cain who was cursed by God himself for killing his own brother, an event that would conjure up significant resentment of the human race, part of…

    • 155 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight both feature antagonists that could be considered monsters. These two characters are the primary entities that challenge their heroes in their following stories. A monster by normal standards is an ugly and ferocious creature that strike fear into others, but the definition of monster can be loosely taken and adapted into anything. Specifically a source that summons a great amount of anxiety for other people. Grendel and the Green Knight are our horrendous beings that fit the term monster but one creature in mind truly depicts the word monster, Grendel.…

    • 882 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Is Grendel Good Or Evil

    • 1003 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Grendel; Good or Evil? Many wonder about the beast of Beowulf and whether he is evil, or just a lonely beast in a world full of humans. The readers, as humans, see the monstrous acts performed by Grendel as cruel and inconsiderate, therefore calling Grendel what he is acclaimed to be, evil. Although, Grendel by John Gardner gives the readers a look on the inside of his life and experiences, told from Grendel himself.…

    • 1003 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Grendel's Tragic Hero

    • 760 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Grendel’s only choice, without this knowing if he is something definite, leads him to take on the only identity that has ever fit, even if it does not fit perfectly. Grendel is a tragic hero, a victim of fate and circumstance, trying unsuccessfully to find his way in the world before his death. His consumption of humans is simply what comes naturally to him and he is a hero for continuing to exist despite his claims that existence is futile and the world is pointless. His heroism is not traditional but it comes in the face of adversity, such as with all…

    • 760 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Grendel believes there is something wrong with him when he has feelings for the queen and needs to attack her in order to cure himself of the feelings. Evil characters do not like to have loving feelings because that is the dichotomy of what…

    • 1009 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Thus, Grendel’s gruesome killings are acts of pure darkness and evil because he does not need to kill to protect himself, he only kills because he finds joy in it. For example, Grendel states in chapter twelve, “I will move from bed to bed and destroy them all, swallow every last man. I am blazing, half-crazy with joy” (Gardner 168). In today’s society, killing only one person is considered an evil act. If Grendel’s intentions to destroy the whole human race are put into that perspective, his ideas should be considered completely monstrous.…

    • 1076 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A quote from lines 34-36, show his beastly violence, “the monster’s thoughts were as quick as his greed or his claws: … Snatched up thirty men, smashed them.” Grendel brutally killed those men and more in the coming days of his terror. Grendel was greedy to kill the young men and the rest that he had slaughtered while they slept. Grendel had no thought of rationality in his mind for he killed for the pleasure joy of it.…

    • 959 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The Danes were peacefully sleeping after a night of song and laughter, when “suddenly then the God cursed brute was creating havoc” (120). The only thing the Danes had done to provoke Grendel was being happy. For this perceived offense, Grendel attacks the Danes and kills and eats thirty of the men in one night. In Heorot, Grendel inflicts “constant cruelties on the people, Atrocious hurt” (152 – 153) by viciously attacking the Danes every night for twelve years. Fearing for their safety, people flee their homes in terror.…

    • 1509 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Grendel is a victim of insecurity. An insecure person will adopt the traits that he or she is given, simply out of a wish for acceptance. Grendel 's heart yearned for his body to fit in, and he believed that if he acted as the people expected, they would accept him. “I was Grendel, Ruiner of Meadhalls, Wrecker of Kings! But also, as never before, I was alone” (Gardner 80).…

    • 1824 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    To begin with, one reason for Grendel’s tendency to perform harmful actions is his self-loathing. Grendel does not want to live and has no acceptance for himself; he is not at all comfortable in his own skin.…

    • 920 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Grendel further exemplifies human characteristics through his greed, and passion.…

    • 1638 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Grendel Good Vs Evil

    • 364 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Someone may not recognize evil and have been raised through evil acts but it does not make it better. Each reader has to determine if Grendel fits the part for “evil” and how to respond to it. In this story Grendel’s evil shoulder speaks louder than the good. Grendel’s unconscious but superior attitude, vain personality, and manipulative acts suggest evil.…

    • 364 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Grendel Character Analysis

    • 1570 Words
    • 7 Pages

    In the novel Grendel by John Gardner, it tells the story of the epic poem of Beowulf, but from the “behemoth’s” point of view. This story gives a more sympathetic and altered portrayal of the creature known as Grendel. Grendel is speaking for himself and using empathy for his pain. It gives the reader the question of who the real evil in the world is, whether it is Monster or Men. In the beginning of the novel, Grendel is a misunderstood creature.…

    • 1570 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Since the arrivals of the characters are pretty spread out between negative and positive, Grendel has his ups and downs. At the very beginning of the story, Grendel seems to be a decent character, and it does not seem like he is really out to get anyone. This is especially true when he is a child; he discusses the games he used to play when he was young. One of those games led to Grendel getting caught in the tree (Gardner 18). Then Hrothgar comes in, and the monster’s character somewhat devolves, because he begins to hate the king.…

    • 1142 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    No amount of ostracism could excuse Grendel of his crimes, and he deserved his fate. He is as the Danes called him, a “God-cursed brute” and an evil monster who was right to be banished from birth and to be killed by Beowulf’s hands for his crimes (121). Grendel’s deeper motives matter far less than the murders he committed without mercy, because no amount of wrongdoing against him is enough to justify such cruelty. The Danes did not provoke his attacks; his envy of their happiness alone was likely enough for him to desire their deaths. While his ostracism is, at first, unjustified, his conscious choices make it clear that he is inherently evil and deserves…

    • 903 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays

Related Topics