The thought always in their head that beyond any field of grass or behind any tree the enemy could be waiting. John Wade the protagonist of the story found himself witnessing first hand how horrid war can be and what it can make out of individuals. He saw his whole company turn into evil selfless animals who raped and murdered the innocent and weak. In the novel, In The Lake Of The Woods by Tim O'Brien, small footnotes were attached at the end of each important chapter which give the reader clues and symbolic twists that made the novel somewhat unpredictable. The Footnote I chosen explains related truth on the Vietnam War, symbolizes what John Wade witnessed, and finally how it portrays the rest of the novel.
Gothic horror was a common genre of use in the time Frankenstein was written. This was a time of great novels such as Dracula and Hound of the Baskervilles. Gothic horror is traditionally set in dark castles and countryside with eerie moaning music and bad weather Written in 1818 Frankenstein is the deeply disturbing tale of a monstrous unnamed creation that was created in the name of science. Huge and strong, the creature created by Victor Frankenstein kills and murders many throughout the tale, but considering his tragic beginnings I must ask, who is the real monster in this gothic tale of horror? Frankenstein is cleverly written in two parts.
In the epic Beowulf, the protagonist, Beowulf, faces three different monsters. Much like Beowulf we each have our monsters that we face and it is up to us to decide whether to stand up or cower away. After being terrorized for so long, king Hrothgar and his people and his people the Danes, are in need of a hero to vanquish their curse, which is Grendel. In the epic, Grendel is the first monster Beowulf has to fight. This monster attacks at night, usually after people are “sprawled in sleep” for a quick and effective kill (Beowulf 33).
Lennie being unable to measure his strength is one reason to why other deaths throughout the story occur. The next case is Candy’s old and smelly dog that is put to sleep. "Carl's right, Candy. That dog ain't no good to himself. I wisht
Philip Reeves ~ Grendel Essay Despite the character Grendel being the “monster“ in the poem Beowulf, the first-person narration of Grendel shows a different side of him that is not portrayed in Beowulf. In both the poem Beowulf and in the noel Grendel, Beowulf was a warrior that was called upon by Hrothgar’s kingdom to destroy Grendel for being a killer. Although this is true about Grendel, what he went through to become his titled “monster” is really explained to the reader in the novel Grendel. Most people reading just Beowulf would think he is a psycho running around killing and eating men. Grendel is not a monster; he just went down the wrong path and was influenced by the wrong type of individuals.
As soon as he sees the creature he has created he feels dissapointed and repelled so he abandons the creature. A monster can often be described as a fearful repugnant creature who may produce physical harm or mental fear by either its appearance or its actions. ''The creature'' in Frankenstein is often considered the only monster of the story, and this is mostly because of its appearance but in fact both man and creature can be called monsters. Although Frankenstein's creature is hideous all he is looking for is companionship. He didn’t want to harm anyone but the circumstances and the way people treated him forced him to appear as a monster.
He also uses his strength to save a young girl from drowning. No matter what the monster does, he is always misinterpreted. The monster says, “Fatal prejudice clouds their eyes, and where they ought to see a feeling and a kind friend, they behold only a detestable monster” (pg.119). Felix and Agatha think he has come to attack their father, William Frankenstein thinks the monster is trying to kill him, and the man thinks he is trying to murder the girl rather than rescue her. The real turning point for the monster is when he is accused of trying to murder the girl.
But what about Beowulf? Before delving into the argument of how Beowulf is the true monster of this epic poem, I will need to define what a monster is. A monster is often defined as a thing that is usually larger than average in size, aesthetically atypical, and or something that acts wickedly. I would have to agree with the last definition because one can look monstrous and not technically act or live similar to that of a monster. I personally define a monster as a being, whether human, animal or something of another shape, that acts immorally, fiendish, and or vile.
The author of Beowulf, who is unknown, makes the reader believe this by portraying each character in different ways. Throughout the story, Grendel is seen as a villain due to the various horrific things he does to the Danes and their land. Grendel is portrayed as a monster from the moment the poem starts when the author says, “A powerful monster, living down / In the darkness.” The first line of the poem shows Grendel as a monster living in the darkness, and in society it can often be seen that people or monsters, “living in darkness”, are bad or villainous. Later in the poem, when the author is explaining Grendel’s creation, the author explains, “He was spawned in that slime / Conceived by a pair of those monsters born / Of Cain, murderous creatures banished / By God”. This explains that from the minute Grendel was born, he was evil.
Hoan Truong Mrs. Masters CP English 11 October 28 2011 Purity from Within Good v. evil played as an extremely important theme in both the Beowulf and Grendel text. In Beowulf, Grendel, the mean bloodthirsty monster, obviously represents evil; killing innocent human lives because of his mechanical animalistic behaviors. Beowulf on the other hand was looked up to as a hero. In the human perspective; he was described as strong, courageous hero. In contrast Gardner portrayed Grendel and Beowulf completely different than how Orwell did.