Bryan J. Tanner

December 19, 2002

Grendel Interpretation

Grendel: The Hero of His Own Story?

        The hero in the story of Grendel is not defined as a particular person; rather, it appears Grendel has undertones of a hero in himself from his point of view.  Since Grendel is telling his own life story, his pattern of thinking and logic must be unwoven to discern whether or not everything that he tells us is believable.  This does not mean that he is completely wrong or completely right, however.  What it does mean, though, is that the point of view that the story is told is biased to Grendel.  

        One standpoint other than Grendel’s which should be taken into account is the humans’.  Their feelings about him were that he was not only the enemy, but that he was the definition of evil.  After all, he ate several of their fellow men, not to mention the fact that he was a hairy beast that crept around the mead hall and wasn’t able to be pierced or cut.  To humans, often times, irregularity and uncommonness is just as much of a threat as an enemy itself.  From the beginning of written history, different ethnic backgrounds, religious groups, or sexual orientations have been a very large part of arguments and even wars.  To the people, Grendel was a threat to their well being before he ever attacked, killed, or ate a human.  

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        It should also be taken into perspective Beowulf’s point of view on this subject since he was the cause of Grendel’s death.  Of course, Beowulf is not going to support Grendel as a hero, because he himself came to be the hero of the Danes and to kill Grendel for them.  To Beowulf, Grendel is just another sea monster that doesn’t deserve to live and terrorize peoples’ lives.  However, Beowulf does tell Grendel that he makes his own miseries in life. This could tell us that if Grendel had been educated on the lifestyles of human beings and the way ...

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