Role Of Communication In Grendel

Words: 585
Pages: 3

Language is something that is used to bring people together, so when it is missing, people are not able to communicate with one another. In John Gardner’s novel, Grendel, the main character is unable to communicate with any intelligent being for most of the story. Grendel’s lack of communication with his mother and the humans leads him to become isolated and reliant on the Shaper’s words.
Grendel is unable to have even the most basic conversations with his mother, the one person he should relate to the most. Their lack of communication makes him feel disconnected from his mother. “I tried to tell her all that happened… She only stared, troubled at my noise. She’d forgotten all language long ago, or maybe had never known any.” (28). She has no reaction to what Grendel is telling her, but he continues to speak anyway. He feels so isolated that he talks even though he knows that no one else will understand or answer him. The frustration that Grendel feels causes him to think that his mother is stupid, when in reality, she just doesn’t have the ability to comprehend the philosophical topics that he wants to talk about. Grendel’s feelings of isolation begin when he is trying to understand the world, but he cannot discuss it with his mother.
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The humans push Grendel away, even though they are closely related. “I staggered out into the open and up toward the hall with my burden, groaning out ‘Mercy! Peace!’ The harper broke off, the people screamed. Drunken men rushed me with battles axes.” (52). The humans just see Grendel’s appearance, which frightens them, and prevents them from realizing that the monster is actually the same as them. Grendel’s level of intelligence is similar to that of the humans, yet they continue to push him