Zodiac Signs In Grendel Essay

John Gardner’s Grendel is the retelling of the heroic epic poem Beowulf; however, the viewpoint has shifted. Grendel is told from the viewpoint of one of Beowulf’s antagonists and the titular character of Gardner’s work—Grendel. In Grendel, Gardner humanizes Grendel by emphasizing parallels between Grendel’s life and human life. Through Gardner’s reflection of human feelings, human development, and human flaws in Grendel, this seemingly antagonistic, monstrous character becomes understood and made “human.”

Everyone follows a set of routine, as if the society is a factory and humans are the machines to production. Some may know what they are trying to achieve, but many others just obey the pattern of society blindlessly. The novel Grendel by John Gardner reiterates the epic poem Beowulf through the perspective of the antagonist, Grendel; Gardner challenges different philosophical beliefs of human civilization as he depicts Grendel’s chaotic state of mind due to Grendel’s internal and external conflicts. The novel portrays a clash of belief presented by Grendel’s personal experience and his observation of human society; throughout the novel, Grendel seeks to understand his position in the world, as he struggles to discover the purpose of life. Ultimately, Grendel chooses to believe that life is pointless, though this belief dies along with his death.

In John Gardner’s novel, Grendel, Grendel transforms into a viscous monster influenced by the actions of humankind, this plunge into a world of violence can be deeply related to the multiple attacks by humans and their senseless attacks on one another. In Gardner's novel, Grendel, one significant

A. Grendel is impatient with the music and celebration of Hrothgar’s men; his home is a hell on earth; he was born in slime; his parents are the children of Cain, who were exiled by God; he is family to “a thousand forms of evil,” who angrily fight against God.

In the novel Grendel, the main character is portrayed as a half human, half murderous creature. Because of his horrific characteristics, he is isolated and constantly misunderstood. Ironically, John Gardner writes in a way that has contradicted material that still makes sense and allows readers to understand Grendel. There are paradoxes throughout the novel that supplements the complexity of Grendel. Gardner uses irony to show that Grendel is a paradox and as a result of misinterpretation by others, he is left to live a life of isolation.

A: Like the author of my research paper, I perceive that Grendel’s beliefs led to his downfall. The dragon in chapter 5 parallels and contrasts the dragon in the final chapter. The inclusion of the Beowulf-dragon conveys Gardner’s opinion - that Grendel’s beliefs can cause one’s downfall, particularly because the Beowulf-dragon killed Grendel.

John Gardner offers an alternate interpretation of the old english epic “Beowulf” by narrating the experiences of the monster Grendel, after whom the book is named. Grendel conveys himself as a homicidal, ravenous beast, only capable of destruction and chaos. Therefore, one can conclude that Grendel is indeed evil, and that he well deserves the cessation of his existence. However, depending on the philosophical ideologies and the relative perspective one finds self in, they may conclude differently. Nevertheless, the reader may likely to find one’s self both sympathizing with, and scorning Grendel, because, as the 10th century old english monster says, “balance is everything”.

John Gardner wrote his book with a purpose, to exploit Grendel in every way and to give readers an understanding about the way he has become. The Anglo-Saxon's didn't want their loyal

"The mountains are what I define them as.... What I see I inspire with usefulness... and all that I do not see is useless, a void." [28-29] Grendel then sees that the world is how he views it, and his senses make up everything: reality is dynamic. This important conclusion leads him to begin to look around him and form thoughts and opinions on all that he sees, as well as placing him at the first step down the road of the cynical death he suffers. His first impressions

Early in the novel, the reader’s perception of Grendel is barbaric. Gardner writes, “ Similarly, in Gardner’s society at the time, the greater population was very narrow minded in refusing to acknowledge black people’s humanity. Grendel has grown up as a monster, and as a result, he has endured constant mockery and abuse: “And so being the twelfth year of my idiotic war. The pain of it! The stupidity!” (Gardner

The character, Grendel, in Gardner’s, “Grendel,” is a prime example of this inseparable bond between right and wrong. Grendel is originally wrongfully viewed as solely a complete and utter monster. He had spent

John Gardner uses symbolism, imagery, and character placement to weave astrology into the very fabric of his novel, Grendel. Each of the twelve chapters corresponds to one of the twelve astrological signs. The author purposely did this and hints to it on page nine with the quote, “cold mechanics of the stars” (Gardner 9). The stars are the guide to the world and all the characters in it in this novel.

In the novel, Grendel by John Gardener, Grendel is a human-like creature capable of rational thought as well as feeling emotions. Early on in the story Gardener depicts Grendel as being very observant, critical and somewhat spiteful of the world around him. He describes himself as a murderous monster who smells of death and crouches in the shadows. Grendel watches the humans from the shadows of the trees and at first it seems as though they are the real monsters, slaughtering and pillaging all for the sake of their leaders and for power. This light that the humans are put in gives Grendel a certain charisma about him, making him seem like the one to side with in this novel. Later in the story, however, things change. Grendel seeks out the

The term “cognitive dissonance” describes the emotional negativity that results from an inconsistency of thought; when two things that should add up just don’t. It is by this perpetual struggle that man defines himself. Cognitive dissonance shapes the way we think and often manifests itself as the type of behavior that creates even more confusion. Grendel’s character is a somewhat extreme representation of this process. He often acts in a way that is incongruent with his emotions, and despite having realized the absurd nature of his

The story of Beowulf is a heroic epic, chronicling the distinguished deeds of the great Geatish warrior, Beowulf, who travels across the seas to rid the Danes of the evil monster Grendel, who has been inflicting destruction and terrorizing the kingdom. Beowulf is glorified for his heroic deeds of ridding the land fiendish monsters and stopping the scourge of evil, while the monster, Grendel, is portrayed as a repugnant creature who deserves death for its evil actions. However, many have disagreed with such a simplistic and biased representation of Grendel and his role in the epic poem. John Gardner in his book, Grendel, sets out to change the reader’s perception of Grendel and his role in Beowulf by narrating the story through Grendel’s point of view. John Gardner transforms Grendel, once perceived as an evil fiend in Beowulf, into a lonely but intelligent outcast who is actually quite similar to humans, due to his intelligence capacity for rational thought and his real, and at times irrational emotions. Gardner portrays Grendel as a hurt individual and as a victim of oppression, ostracized from civilization. Although the two works revolve around the same basic plot,, the themes and characters in Beowulf and Grendel are often different and sometimes contradictory.