Grendel Character Analysis Essay

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Peer Pressure In John Gardner’s Grendel, there are a number of influential characters. The most important in particular being the dragon. The dragon is a nefarious character in Chapter Five who states his views to Grendel in order to persuade him into infamy. Grendel doesn’t agree with the dragon at first, but his thoughts of the dragon linger in his head to make him turn later in the book. It may also be possible that the dragon is a figment of Grendel’s imagination and that their meeting was mental, not physical. The dragon’s influence on Grendel is what turned him from an innocent monster into a villain. Grendel is terrified of the dragon when he enters the cave. The dragon pats his head and asks him to speak. Grendel was speechless due to how terrified he was. The dragon then says, “Now you know how they feel when they see you. Eh?” (Page 59.) This is the first influence the dragon has on Grendel. The dragon’s comparison gives Grendel insight on the human point of view. The comparison…show more content…
The dragon shows Grendel how he scares humans by making him feel afraid himself -- for the first time Grendel relates to the humans in a very personal way and that fills him with hatred. The dragon makes Grendel question why he ever contemplated not harming humans. Slowly and inexorably, the dragon’s words change the way Grendel thinks and acts -- instead of eating the occasional human, now Grendel is moved to go on a rampage. Finally, the dragon puts a charm on Grendel that causes him to lose any fear of humans that he may have had. Now that he can no longer be harmed by humans, his darkest side is free to be expressed, fueled by the hatred that the dragon carefully nurtured in Grendel. The dragon has profoundly changed Grendel and Grendel fulfills his destiny by becoming a villainous monster, isolated, lonely, and unhappier than he ever imagined he could
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