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Grendel is an unhappy soul in John Gardner’s book “Grendel”, because he feels
useless in society and doesn’t want to accept his given role. Throughout this
whole book Grendel feels he has no friend in the outside word and no one to
except him besides his own mother. He doesn’t want to except his role in society
which is to be the Great Destroyer. Man creates a huge problem in Grendel’s life
and has had a major effect on the way he lives with man. Grendel is unhappy in
many ways. He wants to be accepted by man but never knew why he was always
shunned out of there society. Grendel in the beginning never set out to hurt man
just understand him. When Grendel shows up the first time in the mead hall he
yells “Mercy! Peace!” But no one even gives him a chance when he walks in
holding a dead body and using it for protection against the drunken men swinging
axes and swords at him. Grendel dose not understand this as he says “they were
doomed, I knew, and I was glad.” showing the hope for destruction of the human
race. In Grendel’s eyes humans are going to destroy themselves and he will be
glad when it happens. Grendel is very lonely in the world of man. He has only
one person close to him and that is his mother. She cares for Grendel but just
with the natural motherly instincts which Grendel sees as mechanical. Grendel
doesn’t understand, “Why can’t I have someone to talk to?” as the world starts
to look darker in his eyes. Animals of all sorts are enemies of his because they
don’t understand him. Grendel is more superior Grendel’s role in society is to
be the great destroyer. The Dragon tells Grendel this “ You improve them, my
boy! … You stimulate them!” but Grendel dose not want to except it. HE want to
be part of the humanistic world. He want a different role in society. This makes
Grendel very unhappy that he cannot be accepted. The Dragon puts a spell on
Grendel that lets weapons not harm him. At first he dose not like this because
he thinks that the fun of destroying men would be to easy at this point. He
starts to grow into this though and plays his role as the great destroyer. This
book shows how Grendel put up with man and learned to adapt to the humanistic
ways of life. It took him a while to adapt but he did find it fun to reck the
humans world. Since he was not excepted he would have to take the role of the
great destroyer at the end of the story.
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