Grendel Character Analysis

Grendel character analysis Terrorizing a town for 12 years Grendel kills countless men and woman in the epic of Beowulf. Banished to an underwater dwelling when descendants of Cain were banished and killed, many warriors faced him but few survived. Many have herd of Grendel and his tale of horror, but who is Grendel? Grendel is seen by other people in Beowulf as a monster and a fiend even before his name is mentioned the narrator refers to him as a “powerful monster, living down in the darkness” (line 1). But the most common thing that comes to mind when most people think of Grendel is fear, it’s what Herot did was fear him.
The final opinion I gathered was one of respect, for Beowulf fights Grendel with no weapon or clothes because Grendel doesn’t either showing respect when they do battle. In Beowulf and Grendel, Beowulf shows how he respects him when he does not kill his son after defeating his mother in the cave also in the last scene he creates a memorial for him in rocks on the beach before going back to his home. In the thirteenth warrior the only feeling I feel they have is fear towards the wendels. The battle between Grendel and Beowulf is one of the last actions he does before he runs home to his cave with no arm to die there.
While it is so similar to the first night he came to town “then when darkness had dropped Grendel went up to Herot. ” (Lines 30-32), and also so similar to the hundreds of times he did this before in Herot. Grendel also took and smashed and carried 30 men to his lair beneath the lake he lives “snatched up thirty men, smashes them unknowingly in their beds and ran out with their bodies” (lines 46-47) showing he has little remorse for life, he is very angry with the people and how strong he is carrying so many people at once.

At Grendel’s main traits though he is described as the decedent of Cain on lines 19 to 21, other traits such as human weapons cannot hurt him, and how intelligent he must be to know to go at night and to be quiet while they sleep to not wake them and to not yet get defeated before Beowulf. Also you can sense that he is angered only by jealousy because he cannot participate in the fun being had in the hall by where he lives, and the first time he went to Herot it was not to kill but only to see what the warriors did “wondering what the warriors would do in the hall when their drinking was one” (lines 33-35) it only turned into a massacre then he had the taste he couldn’t quench, “no crime would ever be enough, no savage assault would ever quench his lust for evil” (lines 51-53). In Grendel and Beowulf one of his main traits is that he is only mean to those who do wrong to him or his family, also it shows his massive strength when he snaps the warriors neck in the fight scene in the battle in thee mead hall.
Grendel stays alive for so long I feel due to his intelligence, showing it by only coming out in the night in both the book and both movies, also in Beowulf and Grendel, he hides when he hears Beowulf moving in the hall the first time he comes, also later in the movie he talks. In the thirteenth warrior thee wedels are smart enough to use the torches to scare the people and ride horses, and one of the biggest is that they use the bear pelts to make them look more scary and collect bodies after battle to not show there secret. In Beowulf and Grendel the movie he uses his intelligence to only target the one who smashed his father’s skull.
The book shows him as having a developed intelligence when he only comes at night time and he always leaves before morning comes to get back to his cave. Above, we explore deep into the character Grendel an epic villain in the story of Beowulf, where he terrorizes Herot for 12 years with his mighty power and intelligence and jealousy, Until Beowulf comes and finally slays him for Herot. I feel that Grendel is a relatable character, showing how he is so consumed by jealousy and his actions are so immature and it seems like he does not know better I kind of felt sorry for him through the story.