Grendel's First Kill Analysis

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“I bit his head off, crunched through the helmet and skull with my teeth and, holding the jerking, blood-slippery body in two hands, sucked the blood that sprayed” (Gardner 79). This quote summarizes Grendel’s first kill and his first truly monstrous deed. In Grendel by John Gardner, Grendel’s actions reveal that a monster feels no remorse for hurting the helpless, through Grendel’s pleasure from his first raid and Grendel’s excitement of seemingly finding himself. When Grendel first starts his raids, it is clearly seen that he derives pleasure from each kill. In the quote, “Some three or four nights later I launched my first raid. I burst in when they were all asleep, snatched seven from their beds, and slit them open and devoured them on