Grendel's Character Analysis

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A powerful monster who lurks in the darkness goes by the name of Grendel. He is a descendant of Cain, for that he is cursed by God. For fun he kills and eats animals. Surprisingly, he also eats people. He views, deer, rabbits, and bears with the same value as he views men, even though he has a passionate hate for humans (Gardner 8). His actions revolve around the freewill he has in his life.
Although he might be a descendant of Cain, he still shows his soft side. He shows freewill by the choosing to eat people instead of catching wildlife. He can eat anything in the world, but he chooses to eat the Danes. Although he has the qualities that desires a monster, he closely imitates the feelings and thoughts of a man. His role towards enemies would be altered if he lived by fate. He controls his own actions, as like everyone else. He has the intelligence and the capability to reroute his actions, but he chooses not to. Sometimes Grendel would reconsider his actions and motives.
In Addition to, if Grendel killed all the men in the mead hall, he would have nothing else to do. That also shows his free will, because he chooses not to eat everyone …show more content…
Not only does he choose what he eats, but he also philosophizes over his existence. Some may say that, when he was born, he was cursed. “He was cursed because he is the descendant of the mighty evil Cain” (McDougal 44). With this curse his life is described as mechanical, he experiences a type of euphoria when he kills his prey, especially when it comes to Beowulf. Although Grendel calls himself a “pointless, ridiculous monster crouched in the shadows, stinking of dead men, murdered children, martyred cow”(Gardner 6), he feels like a monster that doesn’t necessarily have to play the part of one. Overall, by the end of Gardner’s novel, it becomes very clear that through Grendel may be cursed, he does have the ultimate ability to choose how he lives his

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