Essay/Term paper: Point of view in grendel and beowulf

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Cliff Notes

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. He

wants their forgiveness as well as unification with them, which represents the

good in him. The Danes reject him by confusing his outburst of sorrow as an

attack. After visiting with a dragon who tells Grendel a fictional version of the

Shaper"s tale, Grendel continues to believe the Shaper"s story. He searches

for the goodness in human beings, which was mentioned in the story. He eats

people only because it provides a place for him in society, even if it is a

negative position (The Two Faces of Grendel, 2). 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 get the bad side of things since it always gets conquered

by God"s good side. Even though this is true, evil lives the high life for a long

time. Grendel, Beowulf"s first opponent, killed thousands and thousands of

men before he met his match. Evil comes from the monsters. They attack the

good side by killing innocent men because they are hungry or just want to defy

the laws. Good fights back when the evil creations are killed and all is back to

normal. Beowulf is truly good because he helps people when they need it the

most and hopes that God is with him even though he doesn"t have to do

anything to help the people who have an evil creature killing their village"s

population every night. In Grendel, the main belief is that of existentialism,

however, there are also numerous references to Cain throughout the entire

book. The basis for his version of existentialism is the following excerpt from

the book itself: 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)! One can explain this view of

existentialism by considering some simple concepts of existentialism.

Existentialists believe that man is forlorn and totally responsible for his acts,

and that his choices are important because existence precedes essence.

Furthermore, the references to Cain, which represented chaos and the

presence of evil, can be found throughout the book. For example, after Cain

killed his brother, he drinks his blood. This is typically something that Grendel

does after he kills his victims. Additionally, both Cain and Grendel are viewed

as outcasts of society who have to roam in the shadows. They are outside

looking inside. They are outside threats to the order of society as shown by

Grendel with the 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. The character Grendel is

viewed in a different light in the book Grendel. Grendel is pitiful in Grendel,

however, Gardner uses this pity to arouse sympathy for Grendel by giving him

human traits and emotions and by using first person. This novel is actually

narrated by Grendel, which offers understanding of the "beast"s innermost

feelings, as well as evoking sympathy from the reader. In Grendel, the antihero

has human traits: he walks on two legs and speaks a language similar to the

Danes. He also has strong emotions of fear, anger, and sorrow as well as

intellect. One may compare Grendel to Lennie in Of Mice and Men. Both

characters have a sense of alienation and just want to fit in. The point of view

of the book Grendel allows the reader to see another side of Grendel. In

Beowulf, Grendel is viewed as the antagonist and the evil villain. Grendel is

both feared and hated in Beowulf. Upon reading Beowulf, the reader

discovers Grendel as seen through the eyes of his terrified victims. King

Hrothgar, leader of the Danes, fears his visits: "The renowned ruler, the prince

of long famous, sat empty of joy; strong in might, he suffered, sorrowed for his

men when they saw the track of the hateful monster, the evil spirit." Hrothgar

would dread the fatal nights when Grendel would dine on human flesh. The

ruler understands that Grendel attacks his men out of spite and jealousy (The

Two Faces of Grendel, 1). In reading Grendel and Beowulf, one can find

many similarities in the way the events occur in the books, however because

of contrasting points of view, the reader gets insight on the entire picture from

two different sides. This allows the reader to better understand each book and

its contents, such as their beliefs and the concept of good and evil, and

acknowledge the ways the character Grendel can be described.