Beowulf Journal #2: Grendel Characterization Essay

        The poem of Beowulf, written during Anglo-Saxon times, is a epic tale between good versus evil.  It is a story that gives us insight into the values of the Anglo-Saxons. The Anglo-Saxons glorified heroism and the conquering of evil. In the story, the author depicts a monster, Grendel, who wreaks havoc throughout the community. Due to Grendel’ actions, he is isolated and condemned from society. In addition, he is viewed as a dark and evil monster whose only purpose is to slaughter and spread evil. In the epic poem Beowulf, the character of Grendel symbolically represents evil through his setting and lineage, his hateful attitude toward men, and his vicious acts of murder.

            Grendel's lineage and setting are two things that attribute to Grendel's evilness.  In the story, the author states that Grendel was a descendant of Cain, the son of Adam and Eve, who was cursed by God for killing his brother Abel.  The poet writes, "Conceived by a pair of those monsters born of Cain"(Raffel 42-43), making the connection between the murderous Cain and the evil Grendel.  Cain's murdering of Abel led to God "banishing him far from mankind”(Raffel 29) .Like Cain, Grendel also faces this consequence, being that he was cursed due to his ancestry. Grendel shares his Cain’s sentence; He is displaced not only from whatever land or wealth he would have if he were “human," but he is also from God. It is this exile that causes Grendel to slaughter and wreak havoc. Since he cannot “approach the throne” (Raffel 28) like the others, he chooses to try to , because he has “no love for [God]"(Raffel 28).   Grendel's hell-like lair is unusually settling for him, as the poet explains in the line "Grendel, who haunted the moors, the wild marshes, and made his home in a hell not hell but Earth” (Raffel 39-41). Grendel had no refuge since he was no longer loved by the lord, living in a “joyless home” (Raffel 37).

            Grendel's motives are very murderous and vicious. Grendel's acts of murder are because of his banishment of God’s light. Grendel is described as “the walker in darkness” (36), and “the dark-death shadow” (Raffel 29), showing how displaced Grendel has become.  Grendel is a “creature deprived of joy” (Raffel 36); however, he did not accept his banishment without a fight. Grendel willingly killed and “never show[ed] remorse” (Raffel 137), after his murderous actions were made. The reason behind his motives are that he was jealous over not being able to share in the Geat’s feasting and celebrate under God’s love; he wanted no one else to enjoy the incentives he was missing out on. Grendel was “driven by evil desire and swollen with rage” (Raffel 36) because he was envious of the joyous lives others attained. Herot was a prime example of this. Grendel believed that he if he could deprive the Geats of their meadhall, they would also be deprived of a home and joy.

            Grendel committed vicious acts of murder throughout the poem. His monster-like behavior was feared by all. Grendel, persistent and envious, raided the Dane’s meadhall for years. Grendel would kill the men at this hall each night, for he took great joy be doing so. Grendel murdered innocent men, and did so shamelessly. Gruesomely, Grendel “ripped the apart, cut his body to bits with powerful jaws, drank him down [from his hands and feet], and “kills him” (Raffel 32). 

In the epic Beowulf, Grendel’s setting and lineage, along with his hateful attitude toward men, and his vicious acts of murder, symbolically represents evil. Being a descendent of Cain, Grendel was banished from all mankind from God. He was exiled from society and forced to live in the swamps, joyless and dismal. His motives of evil and murder were based upon envy. Because Grendel did not live the blissful world the others did, he took the joy from them by murdering them. Grendel raided the meadhall persistently because he felt the need to deprive them of what they love because he could not experience what they had. His vicious acts of murder left others petrified of him. Grendel repugnantly murdered the innocent, making him more shunned from society. Grendel’s isolation from society is accumulated to the evilness in which he attains.