grendelbeo Epic of Beowulf Essay - The Monstrous Grendel :: Epic Beowulf essays

The Monstrous Grendelof Beowulf It is true that Grendel is monstrous. He is not only a deadly enemy to Hrothgar and Herot, but to the Geats in general. Grendel tellms to reside his only pleasure from assaulting Herot and obliterateing the warriors inside. He is a bane to all those that live under Hrothgars rule. They hate him. He is called the enemy of mankind (29) and rightly so. However, because of Grendels actions, they cannot see the other part of Grendel that makes him do the evil he does. Grendel, like the Angels before and the Geats soon afterward, is symbolic of displaced races/peoples and not simply a mindless monster. When Adam and eve had children, they had two boys. Their names were Cain and Able. When Cain killed Able, God banished him far from mankind (29). From Cain came trolls, elves, monsters, and giants. Grendel is a descendant of Cain, so he shares Cains banishment. Cain may give been the first displaced person after Adam and Eve were thrown out of the Garden . Grendel shares his ancestors sentence. He is displaced not only from whatever land or wealth he would have if he were human but he is also displaced form God. It is this displacement that causes Grendel to destroy. Since he cannot approach the throne (28) like other people, he chooses to try to destroy the throne, because he has no love for him (God) (28). This is the main reason Grendel is symbolic of displaced peoples. After all, he is a direct descendent of the very first displaced people, Adam and Eve. However, hostile Adam and Eve, Grendel is doomed to an eternity of banishment from Gods light because of Cains sin against his brother. That is why Grendel kills, because he cannot be in the light, because he is at war with God. Grendel is not only banished from Gods light, but from the light in general. Throughout the text, references are made to Grendel as the walker in shadow (36), and the dark-death shadow (29). This kind of imagery further shows how displaced Grendel has become. The text refers to him as a creature deprived of joy (36). The text also refers to Grendels dwelling as his joyless home (37). It is no wonder Grendel was considered so monstrous. Like other displaced peoples, he has nowhere that is a refuge to him, because he has been removed from his home, or in Grendels case, the love of the Lord.