Grendel PDF

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1-page response paper for Grendel...

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Kaela Shelby While there are countless variances that set this novel apart from Beowulf, one of the largest differences in the Grendel created by John Gardner is the sense of empathy created that was not really present or enforced in Beowulf. By giving a background of Grendel as a mischievous, curious young creature, whose curiosity leads him to accidentally stumble upon the human world, the reader develops a sense of understanding and bias for Grendel as an outsider simply looking in on a chaotic world. The revelation that he has watched human society evolve from tribal to feudal is also more information on how long Grendel has been alive than was provided in Beowulf. Providing even more insight into how the feud between Grendel and the Hrothgar’s people began is the introduction of the Shaper’s character, which I found to be the most surprising deviation from Beowulf. The Shaper’s songs, which ignite and progress Grendel’s active internal conflict about how he really feels about the human world, help to reveal Grendel’s envy of the humans for possessing a nature that he cannot. It is this, in addition to guidance from the dragon, that eventually cause Grendel to attack and begin the 12-year war, all background that is essential in allowing the reader to see Grendel as less of an irrational monster and more of a misunderstood outsider. While I personally still find it difficult to sympathize with Grendel since he was the initial aggressor in the war, it is a lot easier to humanize and personify his character once the history of how thing came to be is provided, which helps to give him depth. It is also easier to see Grendel as the underdog in the situation and feel bad that he could not overcome his envy, and harder to instantly side with Beowulf with the knowledge we are given. Because of this and the fun of being able to fill the holes of the original story with these details, I was more captivated with this read and can say that I liked Gardner’s portrayal more in this tale than I did in Beowulf.

Kaela Shelby...