Beowulf .vs. Grendal

Contrasting points of view in Grendel and Beowulf significantly alter the reader’s perception of religion, good and evil, and the character Grendel. John Gardner’s book, Grendel, is written in first person. The book translated by Frederick Rebsamen, Beowulf, is written in third person.

Good and evil is one of the main conflicts in the poem Beowulf. How is Grendel affected by the concepts of good and evil? Grendel is an alienated individual who just wants to be a part of something. His desire to fit in causes him to do evil things. Grendel is fascinated by the Shaper’s poetry. He often returns to the mead hall to listen to it. One night while he is listening, he hears the story of Cain and Abel, including the Danes explanation of Grendel. His reaction to this leads to one of his most dramatic emotional reactions: “I believed him. Such was the power of the Shaper’s harp! Stood wriggling my face, letting tears down my nose, grinding my fists into my elbow the corpse of the proof that both of us ere cursed, or neither, that the brothers had never lived, nor the god who judged them. ‘Waaa!’ I bawled. ‘Oh what a conversion!’” (Gardner 51). Grendel then cries for mercy from the Danes. He wants their forgivenes

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The epic poem Beowulf contains definite references to Christianity, but it is also full of Pagan symbols such as that of fate. ” Additionally, although there are Christian overtones, the paganistic point of view is expressed anytime they discuss fate and destiny. The ruler understands that Grendel attacks his men out of spite and jealousy. I understood that, finally and absolutely, I alone exist. He also has strong emotions of fear, anger, and sorrow as well as intellect. Even though this is true, evil lives the high life for a long time.

The point of view of the book Grendel allows the reader to see another side of Grendel. The religious references to Cain, as well as the belief in existentialism are important aspects in Grendel. For example, after Cain killed his brother, he drinks his blood.

In reading Grendel and Beowulf, one can find many similarities in the way the events occur in the books, however because of contrasting points of view, the reader gets insight on the entire picture from two different sides. All the rest, I saw, is merely what pushes me, or what I push against, blindly—as blindly as all that is not myself pushes back. He searches for the goodness in human beings, which was mentioned in the story. Evil seems to always get the bad side of things since it always gets conquered by God’s good side. I create the whole universe, blink by blink.

Approximate Word count = 1194
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

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