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.
The monster acts with extreme selfishness and from that comes unethical behaviour and actions. After not getting what he wanted, he promises to destroy Victor’s life and threatens him, by saying “I go; but remember, I shall be with you on your wedding-night" (137). The monster decides to unrightfully take revenge on Victor. The monster is so self-centred that it is incapable of acting ethical, and that its actions are solely to achieve its horrific goal. The above quote also ties in with one of the themes of the book, which is monstrosity.
This monster is ferocious and will leave you saying, “I wish I had”. This is yet another devastating monster if not dealt with. Beowulf emerges a champion time after time. The Monsters I face are quite formidable although they aren’t physically. I especially hate having to deal with them but like Beowulf I will face them head on.
Moreover, the story is very interesting and it is full of amazing descriptions. However, as it generally happens, the plot has been adapted in order to fit the Hollywood demands. The Opening of both the text and the movie was similar. The selection opened during an opening of celebration at Herot, the banquet hall of the Danish King Hrothgar. However, Outside in the darkness, lurked the monster Grendel.
In reality though, Grendel is a monster. Throughout his tale, Grendel commits multiple acts of violent, cruel and monstrous attacks. Seeing the story through Grendel’s point of view might make us feel sympathy for him, and possibly view him as a hero, but no one can deny his monstrous tendencies, and Beowulf heroic
Fear of the unknown can be a strong driving factor because it is unanswered. The boy’s lives revolve around fear and violence as it is all they think and care about: “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood! Do him in!” (Golding 141).
Bringing out the message that humans can’t do what God can, and if humans try to create life, they create a disgusting disaster instead. The moment Frankenstein finished the monster and brought it to life, he was filled with intense revulsion, he said, “The beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart.” Shelley used the contrast and metaphor to emphasis how disgusting the monster was: “beauty of the dream” contrasting with “breathless horror”. Also, Shelley used metaphor to describe how ridiculous Frankenstein’s thought is: she described Frankenstein’s ambition as a dream, a beautiful dream, but no matter how nice the dream is, it will never be reality. Frankenstein tried to create the superior race, but all he got was a hideous monster that he hates and fears. Not only Frankenstein or other people detested the hideous appearance of the monster, even the monster itself hated its own appearance: “Accursed creator!
The Victim and the Beast The Legendary Epic, “Beowulf” and the novel, “from Grendel” are very different in many ways. Beowulf tells the story of a legendary hero, and how he slays the evil monster Grendel. Grendel causes much death, destruction and grief, with his blood-thirsty rampages on the town of Herot and needs to be killed. The battle between Grendel and Beowulf represent the battle of good versus evil. Upon Grendels defeat, Beowulf is looked upon as a great hero.
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.
Grendel tells the story of Grendel and Hrothgar's intertwined fates leading up to the arrival of Beowulf. The novel reflects upon Grendel's twelve years at war with Hrothgar and his people, with each chapter focusing on a different philosophical school of thought under consideration by Grendel. The overarching plot is Grendel's search for meaning and identity in what appears to be a meaningless cosmos. Through his quest, Grendel meets a variety of characters, from Hrothgar, his human foil, to the dragon, a would-be mentor whose highest thought is the meaningless of all existence. Grendel passes the seasons paradoxically avoiding and seeking out the company of the local humans, the Scyldings, and observes their development as a civilization and as individuals with great interest.