Paper Summary:

This paper provides a comparative analysis of John Gardner's "Grendel" versus the classical "Beowulf," which challenges the classical definition of a hero with a more modern perspective. The paper explains that Webster's dictionary defines a hero as a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities. While this definition is still respectively true for our modern age, the paper asserts, the Anglo-Saxons held heroism on a dissimilar level; rather, a hero had to come from a lineage of great men whose actions were unparalleled and more honorable than any others, which was exemplified in Beowulf. However, the paper notes, John Gardner had a particularly modern view on heroism in Grendel, the story of a hero through a monster's eyes. Through the details of Grendel's encounters with Beowulf, as well as the view of Grendel's purpose in life, the paper concludes, Grendel argues against the fundamental ideas of Anglo-Saxon and modern day heroism to create a new perspective on the presentation of valor.

From the Paper:

"The description of the first encounter between hero and monster differs greatly, as does the last encounter between "man" and "beast." Beowulf's struggles to kill Grendel, who is described as a vicious attacker who comes to kill men in their beds, are depicted as a great act of courage and power. "But Beowulf repaid him for those visits, found hum lying dead in his corner, armless, exactly as that fierce fighter had sent him out from Herot, then struck off his head with a single swift blow (Beowulf lines 1583-1589)." Conversely in Grendel, we see that while Beowulf's deeds were viewed as heroic for the people residing in Herot hall, his means didn't exactly justify his end. He taunts Grendel, who is more of a misunderstood being than a vicious monster, into giving up and admitting his own death through trickery and somewhat vicious words. "'Grendel, Grendel! You make the world by whispers, second by second. Are you blind to that? Whether you make it a grave or a garden of roses is not the point. Feel the wall: is it not hard?' He smashes me against it, breaks open my forehead. 'Hard, yes! Observe the hardness, write it down in careful runes. Now sing of walls! Sing!'" In this portrayal of Beowulf, he torments Grendel into his own defeat rather than defeating him honestly and courageously. This does not fit into the Anglo-Saxon portrayal of a hero which, once again, reassesses the gray areas in the definition of a hero."

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