Journal 6

Gardner may have used Grendel as a narrator in his novel because it gives a different and intriguing viewpoint of the epic poem Beowulf. The poem of Beowulf is narrated by a Christian who simply narrates a story without much character analysis. Grendel’s opinions and views are only vaguely stated in Beowulf, so not much is really known about him. Because of this, Gardner has a lot of room for the development of Grendel as a character. The process in which Grendel develops as a character in the novel is not only parallel with the story, but it also adds an interesting perception of Grendel. The character of Grendel in the novel evolves from a curious child to a fascinating adult with rationality, intelligence, and philosophical views that shape his nature. Furthermore, in John Garnder’s novel Grendel, the status of Grendel a monster greatly affects the way the story is told because unlike a human, monsters are generally pessimistic. Consequently, a monster’s narrative produces a different subjective viewpoint than a human’s viewpoint or an omniscient narrator’s viewpoint. The monster’s viewpoint also exposes the prejudices humans have towards other species in addition to exposing the dark side of society.

Journal 5

The narrative of Grendel is a parody of the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf. The novel Grendel parody’s the epic poem Beowulf by making an entirely new story out of it, in addition to containing some of the key element from the epic poem Beowulf. In the original poem of Beowulf, the antagonist, Grendel, plays a simple creature whose thoughts aren’t articulated and whose life is mysterious. However, in the book Grendel, Grendel plays the main character, and as a result, Grendel is perceived in a different way. For example, Grendel is seen only as feared villain in the poem Beowulf. Whereas, in the novel Grendel, Grendel, who is still seen as a villain to the public, is also portrayed as an intricate character that goes through various events, giving reason for his actions. Furthermore, Grendel’s expansion of knowledge and philosophical ideas are not expressed in Beowulf, only in Grendel. In Grendel, Grendel evolves as a character while going through various phases in life and philosophical views.

Journal 4

In John Gardener’s novel, Grendel, the main character, Grendel, encounters various philosophical views in his quest for a purpose in life. Grendel philosophical journey begins when he leaves his home as a child with little knowledge. Outside Grendel’s cave, there exists a world that Grendel hasn’t truly been exposed to. The philosophical journey that Grendel embarks on goes through many stages of philosophical ideas.
Grendel starts his philosophical journey as a curious child, leaving his cave to look for a calf. Smelling a newborn calf in the upper world, Grendel goes into the forest and encounters a bull while stuck in a tree. The bull instinctively attacks Grendel, always aiming too low. Grendel, young and helpless, cries for his mother, who is obviously not there to help him evade the danger. At this point, Grendel realizes that he alone exists and that his mother will not come to the rescue. The idea that Grendel is the only person in existence is called solipsism.
Soon enough, Grendel ventures even further into the world, outside his cave. He eventually comes upon the Danes and their organized society. The Shaper, a poignant storyteller of the Danes, captivates Grendel with his poetry. In chapter three, which represents the sign of the Gemini, the Shaper’s poem brings Grendel into a state of confusion, making Grendel torn between rationality and riveting poetry. However, in chapter four, Grendel enters into a new theology, one that involves the acceptance of the Shaper’s story. In chapter four, the Shaper sings about the Old Testament philosophy. According to the Shaper, Grendel is a descendent of Cain and all of Cain’s descendants are eternally cursed because of Cain’s act of murder. At first, Grendel perceives the stories of the Shaper as absurd. But, since Grendel wants a place in society, he untimely accepts the Shapers story and decides to play the wicked villain in society. By virtue of accepting the Shaper’s story and willingly becoming the villain, Grendel embraces the Old Testament philosophy as his own philosophical view on life.
Grendel, once again, has a shift in philosophical views. Grendel meets the dragon, who puts a charm on Grendel that would allow Grendel to be impervious to attacks. In the chapter of Virgo the Virgin, which is chapter 6, Grendel is reborn into a philosophy of skepticism. Like a virgin, Grendel also claims to be born again with new ideas and new powers.
Because of various events that make continue to make Grendel unhappy with his philosophical view, Grendel’s journey to an ideal philosophical view does not end. Nihilism, a sobering and bleak outlook on life is the new philosophical view that Grendel embraces. When Grendel first meets the dragon, the dragon compels Grendel to take a similar philosophy on life as him: existentialism. An existentialistic philosophy is one in which there exists no God or meaning in life. Consequently, existentialists believe that one can choose to either enforce meaning or live without meaning. The dragon tries to enforce meaning in his life by sitting on gold, and he advices Grendel to do the same. Grendel, being Grendel, thinks about the dragon’s advice and eventually embraces a nihilistic view, which is very similar to the dragon’s philosophy of existentialism
In the end, as the dragon predicted, Grendel dies. Before Grendel’s inevitable death, however, the philosophical belief that he acknowledges is nihilism. As Grendel is being attacked by Beowulf, Grendel says, "Poor Grendel's had an accident. So may you all" (174). By saying such, it becomes almost obvious to the readers that Grendel has no purpose in life other than to destroy and cause death. Grendel words are associated with the nihilistic view that he embraces because just like the philosophy of nihilism, Grendel is extremely pessimistic and wants to see others destroyed.

Journal 3

Grendel has a complicated relationship and attitude towards language, much like his relationship towards many abstract philosophical concepts. While growing up, Grendel learned of his ability to speak, but he didn’t really have anyone to talk with and his mother spoke very little—mostly incoherent words and gibberish. As a result, he had a limited vocabulary, making it hard for him to express himself in word. However, once Grendel was old enough to leave the care of his mother, he came into contact with humans and developed, quite rapidly, a comprehensible dictionary of words, which in turn, increased his rationality. Grendel’s chronic observance of the Shaper, known to man as the bard, allowed for Grendel to learn about sophisticated methods of expression. Grendel, with his newly attained knowledge of language from the Danes, develops and uses interesting forms writing, ranging from poetry to play writing consisting of soliloquies in verse. Grendel also incorporates lists, italics, and parenthesis in his writing.

Journal 2

Beowulf reveals the ideals and attitudes of an Anglo-Saxon society. The code of comitatus is followed by loyal warriors, such as Beowulf and Wiglaf. Anglo Saxon’s didn’t believe in an afterlife, so most men strived to accomplish all that they could during their time on Earth. If a man’s bravery is truly great, then that man could expect to be enshrined in Anglo- Saxon society. Furthermore, Anglo Saxon society also constituted of earthly virtues of bravery, loyalty, generosity, and friendship. In the epic of Beowulf, Beowulf and Wiglaf struggled to conqueror evil, while being the most virtuous soldier. The universal theme that is revealed in Beowulf is heroism and the concept of identify. In Beowulf, just like in Anglo Saxon society, the people are defined by their brave ancestors or their virtuous lineage. For example, one of the heroes enshrined in society is Scyld Scefing. Scyld is referred to as “Scyld son of Scef” because he represents his noble family (21).

Journal 1

Grendel, a ferocious, reckless, and dark monster, plays the powerful antagonist in Part One of Beowulf. Part One of Beowulf, translated by Burton Raffel, takes places in Scandinavia during a time of great terror. The vicious monster Grendel brings havoc upon King Hrothgar’s great mead-hall Herot and threatens anyone who dares walk unguarded. Grendel, as an antagonist, appears to be the root of all evil and darkness that has overcome Hrothgar’s once wonderful kingdom. The character of Grendel is essentially portrayed the same way most villains are portrayed: despicable, unruly, and somewhat jealous.
The despicable character traits of Grendel come from his cursed lineage. “He was spawned in the slim, conceived by a pair of those monsters born of Cain, murderous creatures banished by God, punished forever for the crime of Abel’s death” (21). Legend has it that Cain, the first murderer of mankind, was cursed, and therefore, all Cain’s descendant were also cursed. As evident from the quote, Grendel did not choose to simply terrorize Herot; instead, since Grendel is cursed with darkness, he is dictated to terrorize mankind with his sheer strength and grotesque manner. Part One of Beowulf also expands on the idea of Grendel’s strength and utter evil by saying, “ he [Grendel] snatched up thirty men, smashed them, unknowing in their beds, and ran out with their bodies” (22). This quote brings to point that Grendel is no ordinary person and may, in fact, have supernatural strength. There seems to be no reasoning behind Grendel’s commotion except for his inherent evil he obtained as a descendant of Cain.
The unruly nature of Grendel is noticed by many in Hrothgar’s kingdom. In fact, many feared his wild nature so much that they left the city to save themselves. As a result of the evacuation, Hrothgar’s kingdom “stood empty, and deserted for twelve winter” (22). The narrator goes on to say, “ How the monster relished his savage war on the Danes (people of Hrothgar’s kingdom), keeping the bloody feud alive, seeking no peace, offering no truce, seeking no settlement, no price, in gold or land, and paying the living for one crime only with another” (22). So, the narrator means to say that the savagery of Grendel would not allow for compromise; thus, it is made clear that Grendel is inherently unruly.
One may argue that Grendel is a confused, jealous monster, having grown up in darkness away from civilized society. When Grendel is first introduced into the epic, he is said to have, “haunted the moors, the wild marshes, and made his home in a hell not hell but Earth” (21). The grim landscape of his homeland is just as gloomy as his character. The hellish place Grendel inhabits possible makes him envious of the contrasting, delightful place of Hrothgar and his people, who have festivity and gathering at Herot every night. Since Grendel has never been an active member of society before his invasion, he has never been invited to participate in the festivities that the Danes participate in. Being irrational and inherently wicked, Grendel decides to inflict pain upon others because he has an inner pain he cannot relieve.
As evident from his actions, Grendel is an unruly, despicable, and jealous character. In Beowulf, Grendel’s unwillingness to compromise—for irrational reasons—with Hrothgar makes him appear highly unruly. Grendel’s grotesque manner and treatment of innocent humans is utterly appalling and despicable. The atmosphere of Herot contrast with the grim atmosphere of Grendel’s filthy marsh, and as a result, Grendel is jealous of the blessings mankind has. Since Grendel’s curse of wickedness dictates his cruelty to mankind, Grendel has no other option except accept himself and destroy all that he perceives to trouble him.