This mystery as to what Grendel is, leads to the perspectives represented in both the novel Grendel and poem Beowulf. Beowulf conveys Grendel as an animalistic beast with murderous desires. Grendel is confined to the swamp lands hidden amongst the outskirts of where the humans live. The poem sees Grendel as an outcast descended from evil, “Cain’s clan, whom the creator had outlawed and condemned as outcasts.” (Beowulf 106-107) He had adapted the animal instinct to kill anything and everything and does not posses any human characteristics. Grendel is seen as being ferocious and a high threat to Hrothgar.
In contrasr to Beowulf, Grendel is envious, resentful, and angry toward all human kind for the fact that he feels as thou God blesses all b ut the ogre he is, and thinks he could never be blessed. Although Grendel's feautures are like a common man having two arms, two legs, one head, etc. he is very much larger than an average male and can defeat many at a time. His magic charm is his source of protection from weapons. After a defeated battle Grendel is known for devouring the deceased body off the spot or carries others back to where he resides and shares feast with his mother.
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.
“the monster stepped on the bright paved floor, crazed with evil anger; from his strange eyes an ugly light shone out like fire". This stated lead the reader with a vicious perception of Grendal. In Grendal, Grendal is described as a descendant of Cain, the first murderer in the Bible. This would make him evil in the eyes of an audience of his day. He lives in the marsh which is away from human society and his attack on Herot is thought of as hatred or dislike towards humans.
Grendel had no hall, no lord, and he disobeyed the laws of warfare by attacking at night. For this, Grendel’s point of view is a little skewed for he has such a burning hatred for men that he murders and eats them. When hearing of Beowulf, he is the shining example of everything that Grendel hates. Over the course of the novel, the reader realizes how much Grendel acts like a human and how his train of thought is more rational than portrayed in Beowulf. This personification is shown throughout because of his complex thought patterns.
‘His jaws opened, and he muttered some inarticulate sounds, while a grin wrinkled his cheeks”. Psychologically, for the reader this becomes distressing as people have an aversion to children in distress and this causes the reader to feel for the monster and sympathize with him whilst an immediate dislike for Frankenstein also begins This hatred toward Frankenstein continues, Victor Frankenstein, the creatures own ‘father’, as such, the man who gave him life, describes him repeatedly as a ‘wretch’, a’ daemon’ and a ‘monster’, As readers we get the sense that Victor is unhappy and feels crestfallen at the fact his knowledge towards life and the anticipation of creating life, did not work out as he expected, we get the feeling that if he could, Frankenstein would change the timing and the way in which he created life, this is an example of the Sublime which is a key theme from the gothic genre within this section of the novel as Victor feels an overpowering sense of power over nature, as he has
It seems that in this instance, Frankenstein is seeing himself from the perspective of an isolated monster. For one, he refers to humans as a “multitude of filthy animals.” He also mentions “screams and bitter groans,” which could also relate to human’s perception of him as a monster. Frankenstein’s extreme ignorance towards fixing the problem he has created also contributes to his monster side. As shown by his actions and his thoughts, Frankenstein is often a hypocrite. For instance, Frankenstein asks himself “why does the man boast of sensibilities superior to those apparent in the brute”(Shelley, 116).
Being either humane or monstrous shapes a person or things identity and often the degree of monstrosity can become disruptive. Throughout Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein the theme monstrosity vs. humanity is constant. The creature is referred to as a monster but the novel begins to reveal the identity of Victor Frankenstein, making him the true monster. The whole of humanity becomes monstrous in the eyes of its readers; a humanity that can’t see past its prejudices is evident throughout the book. “Am I to be thought the only criminal when all human kind has sinned against me?” As a creator, Victor Frankenstein abandons his creature, and neglects him in ways a creator shouldn’t.
In a tale of epic proportions, where gruesome monsters meet valiant heroes, it is a surprise that human nature is a topic that is expressed so excellently in Beowulf. The reader is introduced to multi-dimensional characters that possess god-like strengths, but also typical human-like mistakes. These mistakes are what make Beowulf so relevant and relatable to the common man and are what acknowledge the age old saying that nobody’s perfect. Even Beowulf, the superhuman man who could kill a monster with his bare hands is susceptible to these weaknesses. Human flaws are portrayed numerous times through characters in the poem, by both monster and by man.
He manages to do so by having the knowledge of the creature’s story and explanation to his crimes. Walton is the only person left who knows the horrifying story of the creature. By having the knowledge of the crimes and after hearing the creature’s agony and sadness, he is able to understand that the creature was drawn into those actions and miserable life. Walton knows about the rejections and insults and violent actions taken against the creature. He thus feels compassion towards the creature up to a certain level.