Essay Sample on Grendel: Good or Evil

Grendel is a novel written by John Gardner based on the epic poem Beowulf. This novel is written from the perspective of Grendel, a supposed monster. However, this novel presents many sides to Grendel. Grendel is displayed as a monster, but also a good creature. His goodness shows through some of his feelings and actions though it does not prosper within him.

Grendel experiences many different emotions throughout the novel, but only one specific feeling shows his potential goodness. Grendel presents many signs of loneliness which is why he tries to communicate with the humans when they first meet, but he is misunderstood and seen as a monster about to attack (Gardner 26-27).  Grendel has grown up alone which is why he tried to communicate with the animals and humans. The humans are the ones that turned him into a monster by attacking him and accusing him of being an angry spirit. Grendel was simply just acting the way he was seen. He acted like a monster because they were going to attack him, which is shown when, “the king snatched an ax from the man beside him and, without any warning, he hurled it at (Grendel)” (Gardner 27). He was helpless and being attacked by Hrothgar and his men, so of course, he was not going to act pleasant and kind in that situation.

Grendel shows examples of moral actions even though his intentions were not perfect. Grendel did not kill the soldier when, “[he] picked him up gently and carried him home” (Gardner 90). Even though his intention was to keep the soldier in spite of his wish to die a hero’s death, Grendel still spared the soldier. Another time when Grendel spared someone with less than perfect intentions was when he spared Wealthow. “I would kill her and teach them reality… I changed my mind. It would be meaningless, killing her” (Gardner 110). Though he saved her because he gave into Nihilism and believed killing her or saving her would be meaningless, he still spared her. He saved both of them instead of killing them for varied wrong reasons, yet he still did something morally right. Grendel did not understand the wrongfulness of his intentions, and he still spared their lives which means he is not inherently evil.

Grendel does not fully understand his wrongdoing because he simply wants to improve humans. The dragon makes Grendel think differently about the world and his relationship to humans. The dragon tells Grendel, “you improve them, my boy” (Gardner 72). He tells Grendel that by killing, hunting, and attacking them, he improves them by “(driving) them to poetry, science, religion, all that makes them what they are for as long as they last” (Gardner 72). Grendel believed he was doing the right thing by killing and attacking the humans because the dragon told him all these things. He was under the influence of the dragon, so the evil he committed was not his true nature. Grendel is not a monster; he is simply just encompassed by negative influences and unwelcoming surroundings.

Grendel is a misunderstood creature who reacts the wrong way sometimes and needs to improve his intentions. However, it is not his fault that he was attacked and raised alone which increased his need to fight back against humans. He also thought he was doing the right thing when attacking the humans because the dragon told him that he was making them work together and strengthen themselves. Overall, Grendel is not as bad as he is portrayed in the novel.

Works Cited

Gardner, John. Grendel, Vintage Books, 1989.