In Beowulf, a heroic epic poem, Grendel is one of the three monsters Beowulf, the hero has to slay. Grendel is described in the poem as a powerful monster that was spawned in the slime of the swamplands and is the son of “Grendel’s Mother”. The root of his evil is the humans who exiled him from the society and his aggression is driven by loneliness and jealousy. He represents evil and darkness among the Danes and is feared by them.
The storyteller described Grendel as a “powerful monster, living down in the darkness, growled in pain…” (Line 1) He lives outside the boundaries of the human society in the swamps as an outcast after being exiled by them. It gives the impression that he is byproduct of the humans and th
...at they created him. There is pity towards Grendel but at the same time there is fear and eventually he shows his darkness and evil one day by killing thirty men in the mead hall of Herot. This shows how relentlessness Grendel was towards the humans.
He is very strong and silent and no human can match his power, almost making him look immortal. The reason why Grendel is so evil is because he was exiled from the human as the son of Cain, the texts states that these monsters are “murderous creatures banished by God, punished forever for the crime of Abel’s death” (Line 21) His hate towards the human is another reason why he is evil. When Hrothgar’s men celebrate and sing in the mead hall of Herot, Grendel can hear them and is angered and jealous about
their happiness and joy. The humans created this monster but cannot match his powers.
Grendel is the first enemy of Beowulf and he represents darkness and evil. He only attacks in the dark when everyone is asleep, “Then, when darkness had dropped, Grednel went up to Herot…” (Line 30) The monster Grendel uses the darkness for his advantage and it is the source to his ultimate power. Grendel is also representing evil as the son of Cain and the hate towards the human. The reason why Grendel attacks the humans is because he hates them and has no mercy towards them. The evil in him is always triggered when the humans are celebrating and having fun.
He is the contrast of the Danes and their creation. The people fear him for how evil and dark he is and this makes him stronger and immortal against humans. As the son of Cain, Grendel has his roots of evil when he was born. He was created by the humans when he was exiled by them. Their joy created anger, loneliness, and jealousy in him. Grendel uses the darkness as his advantage to hunt down the humans that he hates so much. His appearance creates fear for the reader and the people in the story. Grendel is one of the most vicious and evil enemies ever.
