Grendel's hard life in Beowulf

Grendel, a novel written by John Gardner, alters the epic Beowulf, told in the perspective of a monsterous, underworld creature, Grendel. Lacking communication from his mother and the rest of the world, he is left to seek his questions alone, basing his philosophies of life in the hands of various archetypes he encounters. Grendel is compelled in finding the meaning of life from surrounding influences as he is broken and vulnerable from an absent parental figure in his adolescence; this not only isolates him from the rest of society, but also hinders his distinction of good and evil– ultimately, leading to his destruction.

The isolation and lack of a parental figure in Grendel’s childhood, denies Grendel of the necessary guidance, leaving him in curiosity about the world. The mother-son relationship between Grendel and his mom is broken, as he grapples to communicate and connect with her. Grendel struggles to embrace her parental role in the novel, as he “would gradually ease back out into my [his] games” after “she would reach out her claws and seize me, and [.

. .] smash me to her fat, limp breast” (17).

His mother’s demonstration of love fails to communicate real comfort as he questions their relationship, analyzing the “shocking separateness from me [Grendel] in my mama’s eyes”, still feeling “alone and ugly”(17). The isolation from all his surroundings, causes Grendel to create “imaginary friends” that “I [he] would scheme with or stalk” (17). Since Grendel’s only companions were illusions, reiterates the lack of true guidance he received in his youth that inhibited his knowledge of the world.

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Grendel’s credulous thoughts are further examined as he is stuck in a tree while a bull continues to charge at him. Grendel perceives the bull as a creature with blind instinct, causing him to believe that the world is “a brute enmity on which we stupidly impose our hopes and fears… I [he] alone exists” (22).

This solipsistic assumption that Grendel dwells on, is the result of the segregation from him and the rest of the world; his limited interactions with others, offers Grendel no credibility to prove people to be real. Grendel’s superficial view on the world becomes conclusive as there is no one in his life to correct his mindset, leaving him more vulnerable to other influences in order to find the truth. His later relationships with significant manipulators, take on the responsibility of guardian figures that he lacked in his youth.

Through Grendel’s quest in finding the purpose to life, he seek various archetypes, each with differing messages, voiding Grendel to an explicit way of conduct. Grendel’s initial encounter with the Shaper, leaves him in awe of the songs, viewing them as alluring and elegant– hopeful of tranquility and harmony between entities. However, Grendel recalls the human destruction of warfare he previously witnessed, discounting the Shaper’s tale of Danish history. Yet, the Danes still admire the Shaper’s words that are generously fabricated to prove their innocence “as if not a man in all that lot had ever twisted a knife in his neighbor’s chest” (48). Grendel recognizes the Shaper’s magnificent lies, disguised with his effortless influential tricks, which conflicts Grendel in distinguishing future truths and falsehood. Once Grendel is confronted with the Shaper claim, stating he is a descent of Cain, “the terrible race God cursed” (51), Grendel is left in frustration, contemplating his true origin and whether or not he, himself is evil and depicted as the “darkness” in society. Vulnerable and high in demand of the truth, Grendel finds himself in the presence of a “vast, red-golden, huge tailed coiled” dragon (58).

Being the first encounter Grendel can communicate with, the dragon shapes his future views on the world, telling him that he is essentially “the brute existent by which they [humans] learn to define themselves”; further stating his superiority over mankind, he convinces Grendel to “scare him [them] to glory” because “it’s all the same in the end… no difference… death” (73). Grendel is easily manipulated by the dragon’s advice, convinced of his nihilistic viewpoint–life is meaningless. Thus, the future violence Grendel inflicts is ultimately justifiable to him as it accounts for nothing in the end. With his mute mother and his distrust in the Shaper, Grendel is limited to conform to the dragon’s teaching, the only entity who understands and “helps” him. As Grendel alters his morale to parallel with the dragons, he quickly realizes the satisfaction he receives from ravaging humans. However, after numerous encounters, he gradually becomes less fulfilled, yet continues his to publicize his dominance to the subordinate race without a motive, until he is faces a comparable threat–challenging Grendel’s complete authority and grasp of societal morale.

Grendel’s ultimate demise ends in the face of Beowulf, who is forced to conjugate on his previous actions and conduct, leaving Grendel physically and mentally distressed. Many of the humans in Grendel are depicted as absurd, one dimensional, and have real flaws. On the other hand, Beowulf is described Christ-like; Grendel’s mother warns her son of her suspected dangers that may proceed, declaring, “beware the fish” a symbol commonly recognized in Christianity as a representation of Christ, an entity that is perfect and unsinful. In the bible, 2 Corinthians 5:10 states, “For we must all appear before the judgement set of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he had done in the body, whether good or evil”. The context of this verse being the judgement in a future of heaven or hell, reinforces the idea that Beowulf is ultimately a catalyst to Grendel’s final death, giving Grendel “what is due for what he had done in the body”. Beowulf, decorated with traits of a dragon with a “great cavernous belly, gold-adorned”, mocks the dragon’s description of the world as a meaningless swirl of dust, leaving Grendel to reflect on his actions he pursued, after his encounter with the dragon.

Beowulf further agitates him by poking fun at Grendel’s foolish quest: “though you [Grendel] murdered the world… the world will burn green, sperm build again” ultimately, declaring that Grendel’s actions account to nothing in the end because rebirth always follows destruction. The countless whispers Grendel receives from Beowulf leaves him in mental trauma, bitterly reflectant upon his wrong doings and finally aware of the existence beyond the realms of his mind. In the end, Grendel’s last words are ambiguous, “Is it joy I feel?” (173), a juxtaposition of the joy and fear he feels towards his final death. Although Grendel is left defeated, his death gives him a gateways of freedom from the endless cycle and unfilled life that he was trapped in. However, his search for the meaning of life is still left inconclusive–unable to fully apprehend morales–which abandons him in ultimate defeat.

As Grendel matures throughout the novel, he devotes his existence to find the philosophical answers to life. Yet, due to his troubled development, isolated and unable to communicate with others, he is not aided with the proper judgement of good and evil thus, Grendel acts on his violent and monstrous abilities to his surroundings. The ending fight with Beowulf leaves him in question of his previous accounts, and his death leaves him with injustice to the truth. Ultimately, Grendel’s adolescence, deprived of the moral teachings necessary for growth, is the root to his final destruction–a death capable of prevention with the proper guidance.