Contrasting points of view in Grendel and Beowulf significantly alter the reader's perception of religion, good and evil, and the character Grendel. John Gardner's book, Grendel, is written in first person. The book translated by Burton Raffel, Beowulf, is written in third person.

Good and evil is one of the main conflicts in the poem Beowulf. How is Grendel affected by the concepts of good and evil? Grendel is an alienated individual who just wants to be a part of something. His desire to fit in causes him to do evil things. Grendel is fascinated by the Shaper's poetry. He often returns to the mead hall to listen to it. One night while he is listening, he hears the story of Cain and Abel, including the Danes explanation of Grendel. His reaction to this leads to one of his most dramatic emotional reactions: "I believed him. Such was the power of the Shaper's harp! Stood wriggling my face, letting tears down my nose, grinding my fists into my elbow the corpse of the proof that both of us ere cursed, or neither, that the brothers had never lived, nor the god who judged them. 'Waaa!' I bawled. 'Oh what a conversion'"(Gardner 51)! Grendel then cries for mercy from the Danes. H

I understood that the world was nothing: a mechanical chaos of casual, brute enmity on which we stupidly impose our hopes and fears. I understood that, finally and absolutely, I alone exist. All the rest, I saw, is merely what pushes me, or what I push against, blindly-as blindly as all that is not myself pushes back. I create the whole universe, blink by blink.-An ugly god pitifully dying in a tree (Gardner 22)!

Danes (Similarities between Grendel and Cain, 1). The religious references to Cain, as well as the belief in existentialism are important aspects in Grendel.

In Beowulf, the main belief is that of wyrd, or fate, and sources say that Beowulf is a pagan poem adapted to fit ideals of Christianity. The belief in wyrd is one of the most pervasive pagan elements. The Anglo-Saxons believed strongly that their lives were predestined and that powerful supernatural forces acted upon them. The inevitability of this fate is shown many times throughout the poem. When Beowulf prepares to fight Grendel, he abandons his armor and sword saying, "Fate ever goes as it must." Additionally, although there are Christian overtones, the paganistic point of views are expressed anytime they discuss fate and destiny. For example, Beowulf makes a remark to Wiglaf that fate has swept their race away. But right above that, he tells Wiglaf, "I thank our Father in Heaven, Ruler of the Earth-For all of this, that His grace has given me...(Gardner 109)." The epic poem Beowulf contains definite references to Christianity, but it is also full of Pagan symbols such as that of fate.

Good and evil is one of the main conflicts in the poem Beowulf, and ultimately both wipe each other out. Good, is portrayed by God, and evil seems to be what fate has in store for the hero. Beowulf occasionally talks to God and asks God to give him strength before the battle and to give him the valor he needs to overcome his enemy. Evil seems to always

Some common words found in the essay are:
Grendel Beowulf's, Cain Abel, Grendel Beowulf, Beowulf Grendel, Grendel Gardner, King Hrothgar, Additionally Christian, God God, Cain Grendel, Lennie Mice, grendel beowulf, poem beowulf, book grendel, references cain, grendel viewed, character grendel, evil main conflicts, reader grendel, main conflicts, conflicts poem, evil grendel, main conflicts poem, view grendel beowulf, conflicts poem beowulf,
Approximate Word count = 1307
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)