I have a very biased view of this story. I think that Grendel is an innocent thing (since I'm still not sure about what creature he is) but slowly turns out to become somewhat evil because of his killing sprees. He is clearly misunderstood, and listening to the Shaper's lyrics doesn't really help him. He is convinced that he is a villain because he is blood related to Cain. This story is pretty much about how two sides completely misunderstand each other and how they try to kill each other to resolve it. Since I haven't finished the story yet, I can't say for sure whether or not who is doing the "right" thing. I think that I will finish the book thinking that they were both wrong in their doings and that it all ended terribly. The part where Grendel screams "Friend!" at the men made me incredibly sad. Honestly, I would probably have acted the same way as the men. I don't understand many thick accents, and I'm pretty sure Grendel had a thick accent, or at least a completely different dialect. I would have freaked out and tried to attack him. Grendel sure had an interesting entrance to the scene. It was quite amusing.
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I do agree that Grendel is completely misunderstood and that things could have gone completely different the first time Grendel and humans encountered each other. The story would have been very short though if things had gone more smoothly. I also think things may have gone differently and Grendel would have been more understood and maybe eventually welcomed over time if he didn't go and start eating and murdering everyone in the mead hall. Because of his action the people had a right to label him a monster or whatever else they called him but thats only because they didnt understand his motives
ReplyDeleteYes, Grendel is such a misunderstood thing. I couldn't agree with you more. I'm sure it must have been a scary experience for both Grendel and the men. I couldn't imagine a giant, moldy, bleeding tree spirit screaming at me.
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