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Grendel

 

           

The photo above represents Grendel as a werewolf type of monster, as you can see he almost represents something like bigfoot. 

              Grendel was first introduced in the epic literary poem Beowulf. This character was later reintroduced in a novel called Grendel by John Gardner. A movie adaptation of the movie Beowulf was made in 2006 which was directed by Sturla Gunnarsson. Grendel is a versatile character in all of these adaptions of the epic and the character of Grendel in Grendel. Grendel is known as a character that was ruthless and fed on the Danes while they were sleeping. He lived in a cave that was exiled from the town and was a feared figure in the works that he has been in. Grendel is an intriguing character that has many different aspect about him. 

             

               Grendel is presented as a descendent of the biblical Cain, meaning he shares the basic lineage of a human but this does not necessarily make him human in most people’s minds. This character is from the land of Denmark. Grendel is described as big in size and has the strength of many, but he is also known as being a coward. Grendel is constantly hunted and looked down upon by many in the society. The appearance of Grendel resembles one of a human but tends to sway more towards monster. Grendel resembles a human due to the fact of his lineage being shared with Cain, but he resembles more of a monster for his size and also how he has claws instead of hands. Not only do his physical features set him apart from humans but also his uncontrollable desire for the slaughter of humans in the book, Grendel from his birth has been exiled from society and thus possibly leading him to become a monster character in this Anglo-Saxon epic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

              While analyzing Grendel, it is easy to piece together why he is linked to a monster character in this epic. Grendel’s ancestry to Cain is used as a biblical allusion to have you tie his lineage to malevolent nature. This meaning that his family will forever be punished by God for the death of Abel. Grendel also possesses a strength that cannot be defeated easily, this made him undefeatable by the warriors of Denmark, where he was feeding on those who slept in the mead hall. On top of his superior strength, Grendel could not be harmed by human weapons. He was feared by the town for his strength and his uncontrollable desire for killing; this eventually led to his downfall when Beowulf, a warrior, took off his arm. Grendel ran home, where he would eventually die. But as every story, there are two sides of it.

 

 

 

 

                   In the novel Grendel, the story is told from Grendel’s point of view. In the beginning of this novel, Grendel is trying to figure out life. He is trying to figure out why people do not like him and why he is exiled. Due to the feeling of being unwanted, Grendel felt compelled to do bad things, including killing many. Later in the novel, he still doesn’t get why he is not liked and decides that if he can’t be happy no one can be, thus he continues killing people in Herot. This shows that [brm4] maybe if others weren’t afraid of the unknown, but embraced it, that all the killing would have never happened.

 

           The many faces of Grendel range between people and how they view this character. Some say that since he has a lineage to Cain, that maybe he is a human but is exiled from others thus making him savage. You could also say that he is a cannibal, making him be exiled from others and also being feared by those in town. This thought that he could be a cannibal makes the thought of Grendel even more chilling. In the movie adaption and in the epic, Grendel is portrayed as a demon like figure. Others say that he represents more of a werewolf type of look, almost like Bigfoot. Grendel is an interesting character to look at and analyze. Due to the weak description in the epic, it has been left open for opinions and to analyze further on the character. From all the information above, I believe he is a demon like figure, this is due to his linage of Cain and how the ancestry of that line was cursed for eternity.

 

 

 

Video on Grendel:

The video below is from YouTube, this clip is from the movie trailer. 

This depiction of Grendel is representing him as a demon figure.

 

 

Subpage created by: Colleen Hileman

Website created by: SFU Monster Literature Class

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