The Three Monsters In Beowulf And The Dragon

He is portrayed in the poem as a horrendous beast with human characteristics, but looking closer to the text, he is a human out-casted and raised to be a monster. Although Grendel is written as a monstrous villain who kills with no remorse, he is actually a complex human with a repressed anger exploding in bursts. Grendel is often described in a negative way. He is reffered to as a demon in the text “from Beowulf”

The people in the story view Grendel as a monster, but why does Hrothgar-Grendel’s father-want Grendel to be killed? Is he full of shame? What would happen if the Geats knew about Hrothgar and Grendel’s Mother’s secret scandal? Grendel’s sadness and loneliness, the courage to protect himself from what is hurting is why he is despised. As a monster, Grendel was trying to protect himself.

Using a monster to help us examine what it means to be human is how the novel helps readers to make that distinction between humans, and monsters. Indeed, aside from Grendel’s horrible appearance and nasty eating habits, very little actually separated him aside from the humans such as Hrothgar or Wealtheow. Even his extreme brutality was not unique. The author, John Gardner, stresses man’s inherent violence many times throughout the novel. Additionally, Grendel’s ethical journey was a very human one, its urgency intensified by his status as an outsider.

We are not told much about Grendel, most of what we are told pertains to his mother not speaking to him, and being away from civilization his whole life. The more backstory a character is given, the more the audience is able to sympathize/pity the character. Due to Grendel not having a sad backstory, something to help reason with his actions, he is the more villainous and evil character in comparison to the

The main characters in the story are Beowulf, Grendel, Grendel’s mother, the dragon, and Hrothgar—king of the Danes

Readers can learn some things about Grendel in Beowulf but in order to dive deeper into the character and who he is, people go to the book Grendel. The book takes a closer look at Grendel and how he discovers the order and disorder of people and the world (Sanchez). Grendel is thought to symbolize the dark side of humanity, or the sins of man (Farrell). It’s easy for readers to sympathize with Grendel at points because he is a natural outcast of society. He is said to be the son of Cain and because of that he was labeled from day one (Sanchez).

It’s clear that Grendel’s mother seeks revenge because of the downfalls that she has experienced, such as the Grendel’s death and being outcasted as an evil being. This implicates that monsters must compensate for the destruction done to them. Because they are used as metaphors for society’s worst qualities, readers are able to learn from monsters in literature. Moreover, readers are able to better themselves by avenging their downfalls without hurting others around them. Thus, the author of Beowulf includes the concept of vengeance to inform readers of society’s antagonist views and how to

In the movie, he is seen more as a human, unlike the monster he is seen as in the poem. Grendel is given human characteristics such as the ability to feel and have emotions; he harbors hatred toward Hrothgar because of the murder of his father. Movie Grendel is also given the ability to father a child. The addition of this character helps the audience to be able to relate to

In the epic poem, Beowulf, there are clear distinctions between an epic hero and a monster. Beowulf is the prime example of a epic hero possessing characteristics such as superior strength, courage, and loyalty. On the other hand, Grendel and Grendel’s mother are characteristized as evil and immoral based off of their actions. These characteristics are presented throughout the poem, and monsters are given grotesque, hideous appearances to further prove that they are evil. After Beowulf kills Grendel, Grendel’s mother reaction revealed how the full presentation of a character can allow readers to react differently than before and even sympathized with them.

Grendel is classified as a monster due to his outsider status of being an outcast, unreligious, and dishonorable, which establishes him as the antithesis of Anglo Saxon culture. As an outcast of society, Grendel represents the idea that in Anglo Saxon culture unity and cooperation is what holds society together. In a world classified by kinship and strong family lineage, Grendel is “conceived by a pair of those monsters born of Cain, murderous creatures banished by God” (Heaney 22). In a society focused upon blood lineage and strong family ties, to be related to a “monster“ in any form is something sinful, and cause enough for complete hatred.

In the epic poem Beowulf, the protagonist, Beowulf, faces three “monsters” at different times in his life. The poem begins with Grendel, a monster who attacks only in the dark of night, tormenting the kingdom of Hrothgar. The last two sections of the epic detail the conquering by Beowulf of Grendel’s mother and the dragon. The battle between the monsters and Beowulf represent the theme of good versus evil in the poem, as well as the fusion of pagan and Christian ideals in the changing Germanic society. Grendel’s mother’s actions directly juxtapose the role of a woman in this time period, and the greediness of the dragon with his treasure contrasts with the virtues of what would be considered a good king.

Throughout the novel Grendel by John Gardner, Grendel comes across as a ruthless monster who takes pride in murdering others. His actions give the impression that he is an evil figure, but in hindsight he is not as evil as he appears to be. Gardner makes the readers feel sympathy for Grendel because Grendel lives a lonely life, is consistently treated poorly, and attempts to make peace. If Grendel was truly evil, readers would have difficulty having sympathy for him. Therefore, Grendel is not evil and is no different than the rest of humanity.

It is evident that in Beowulf, Beowulf himself has both the characteristics of human and monsters. Beowulf is not the only character who struggles with showing both human and monster characteristics. Beowulf is shown as a hero but has dragon like monstrous features that shows through the text, "And keeper of his people counted on Beowulf, On the warrior’s steadfastness and his word. Where as, Grendel is a monster that struggles with understanding the human identity. " Grendel set out for the lofty house, to see how the Ring-Danes were settling into it after their drink, and there he came upon them, a company of the best asleep from their feasting, insensible to pain and human sorrow.

Grendel’s mother plays two crucial roles as she conforms to the allocated roles of being a mother and avenging her child while makes her defy some of the allocated roles

Geez, Why Does Everything Have to Have a Meaning… (What the Three Monsters In Beowulf Represent) Monster, an imaginary creature that is typically large, ugly, and frightening (https://www. google.com/webhp?tab=ow&authuser=0&ei=aRlrVpuxKsiCjgT_q4gI&ved=0EKkuCAQoAQ#safe=strict&authuser=0&q=monster+definition), have been floating around in the air since well forever. Whenever someone says monster they always think of a super ferocious beast that will steal you away and eat you alive in their cave. Course there is no such things as a large, ugly ferocious beastly monster, instead there are only monsters that we know truly exist or are other humans that do horrible monster like things. That, of course, doesn’t mean that creating or telling