Grendel
It is uncanny how often a wild animal will display human qualities. For example, a bird defending its nest from predators could be observed as an act of love towards the chicks, or a bear protecting its cubs as a feeling of obligation towards the safety of the new generation of bears. In Grendel this idea is reoccurs more than once as the monster often acts more human than monster while at other times his animal instincts are predominate. Many times Grendel seems to be walking a fine line between the two. It seems that throughout the book these two sides of Grendel are in a constant battle each prevailing at different times. When his more human side is shown, Grendel displays such human qualities such as hatred and loneliness while at other times he displays some of his more animalistic traits such as blood lust. In the book the monster displays the human characteristic of hatred on more than one occasion. At one point in the novel Grendel is furious with Wealtheow: I would kill her and teach them reality. Grendel the truth-teacher, phantasm- tester! It was what I would be from this day forward-my commitment, my character as long as I lived-and nothing alive or dead cou
Here Grendel is showing that the Shaperıs tales no longer make him feel terrible about himself but instead enrage him. Grendelıs hatred for the Shaper runs deep because he feels that his fraudulent tales of triumph and heroism inspire the Danes and give them confidence and hope. These feelings in turn lead to companionship and unity which again are things that represent what Grendel could never have or be a part of. He feels that he has been cursed and would never be accepted so he hates the Shaper and all humans for being able to experience these feelings that are almost alien to Grendel. Another human trait that Grendel displays during the course of the plot is one that is probably very unfamiliar to most people; loneliness. This idea is first shown when Grendel begins to listen to the harper talk about the race that God had cursed: Another instance in which Grendel travels through the empty void of loneliness is when he becomes trapped in the tree with no escape possible for him: ³Poor Grendel will hang here and starve to death,² I told myself, ³and no one will ever even miss me (Pg. 18)!² Here Grendel is panicking because his foot has become stuck in a tree and he has a severe gash. This could be one of the best instances of loneliness throughout the novel because it occurs a a very dramatic time. First of all, this is the first time that Grendel had every experienced the true feeling of being alone without any one around which in itself is a very traumatic experience. Also he realizes that there is no one around to rescue him and he believes he is going to die. A person knowing, or, at least assuming to know that they are going to die alone is one of the loneliest feelings that a person could have. Grendel having these feelings shows for one of the first times that he possesses some major human qualities and in this case he displays the emotion of loneliness. out, ³Mercy! Peace!² The harper broke off, the people screamed. Drunken men their bumptious self-satisfaction, and, worst of all, their hope. (77) This event is showing that Grendel had been convinced by the mysterious harper that he was a cursed race condemned to a life of solitude. After hearing this Gre
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Approximate Word count = 1512
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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