Compare & Contrast of Grendel in \
Grendel is portrayed in two radically different ways in the novels Grendel and Beowulf. What accounts for most of the differences in the portrayal of a monster, in both novels, comes two completely different perspectives. The main thing that separates Grendel in both novels is the fact that we are exposed to the humane side of Grendel. We are shown a Grendel that thinks and has a sense of reason. While in Beowulf we are just shown a brute with no thought except that of the next meal and the juiciness of it. One of the main differences in the novels is the relationship between Grendel and his mother. There is a lot of detail that goes into explaining the rather complicated and intricate relationship they have. In Beowulf, there is no real description or an account of any interaction between the two aside from Grendel's mother's attempt to avenge her son's death. But then, Beowulf wasn't about Grendel. In Grendel, however, we learn that there is a close relationship between the two, more so as Grendel is growing up. As he is growing up, his mother is the only companion we are aware of. Grendel i
The only flaw in their relationship is that they cannot communicate. In Grendel, he shows vulnerability and complexity. In both novels Grendel is seen as a curse to men, as their worst nightmare. On the other hand, in Grendel, their home is described as a regular cave and although it's dark and the sun doesn't shine at all it still isn't depicted as an evil place as it is in Beowulf. Even with this setback, the bond between the two is still very strong and they find ways to communicate. He is nothing more than a bitter, merciless monster whose only purpose seems to be to bring suffering and torment unto them. Alas, even though that is the same in both novels, there is a difference in how and why Grendel behaves the way he does in both novels. An example of this is when Grendel's mother holds Grendel and he rests his head against her chest to comfort him after his first encounter with the humans. A nasty place overall where no healthy, sane person would nor could possibly live in. Somehow his mother has forgotten how to speak. This is an aspect of his personality that would regularly not be expected from Grendel in the way he is portrayed in Beowulf. He even, at one point in the story, goes to the town and offers to make amends and maybe even a truce when he brings a corpse of a man, but the people reject him thinking he killed the man. One of the only things that are similar in both novels is Grendel's reputation among the Danes. The intellectual part of himself in which he battles with issues of his purpose in life and the value of life comes out to the reader. In contrast, in Grendel, he becomes this way after countless emotional and philosophical debates and battles that went on in his mind.
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