How Grendel’s Philosophies Develop and Change Throughout Grendel
In the novel Grendel, Grendel is portrayed as a young and naïve “monster” that is isolated from the rest of the world, trying to figure out who he is and where he belongs in society. Although, in the original epic Beowulf, Grendel is shown as this “Great Destroyer” whose evil wrath plagues King Hrothgar and his thanes, in Grendel, Grendel is shown as an innocent being that is driven by humans to become evil. Even though Grendel is born of Cain, Grendel never wanted to be evil. On the contrary, Grendel wanted to coexist with humans. Instead, Grendel is disgraced by the humans and forced into becoming evil because he doesn’t know what else to be. Even though Grendel takes on the role of being evil, Grendel still doesn’t believe that he is what he is believed to be in nature. Searching for the truth about himself and purpose in life, Grendel takes on the philosophies of others and forms a belief system of his own.
In Chapter 1 of Grendel, when Grendel tries to make the ram move, the ram does not acknowledge Grendel. Because of this, Grendel becomes frustrated that the ram does not understand him, so he looks up to the sky for answers as to why the ram does not acknowledge him. However, the sky does the same as the ram and ignores Grendel, making Grendel even more furious. When Grendel goes back to his underground lair, seeking comfort from his mother, Grendel does not get the consolation that he wanted, for his mother is mute and shows no affection. From the beginning of the novel, it is apparent that Grendel feels alone and misunderstood in the world, and he is already questioning his purpose in life and where he belongs.
In Chapter 2, Grendel encounters man for the first time, when he gets his foot stuck in a tree and can’t get it out. Human warriors walk up to Grendel and viciously attacked him, trying to figure out what Grendel was. As Grendel shrieks in pain and calls out for his mother’s help, Grendel realizes that his mother would not be coming to his rescue and that it really is him against the world. When Grendel has an internal monologue with himself and reflects, “I alone exist, nothing else,” Grendel becomes an existentialist, believing that in this cruel, unfathomable world, he is the only one who exists and that he has the responsibility of establishing his own set of morals.
In Chapters 3 and 4, Grendel’s solipsism is challenged when he hears the words of the Shaper. The Shaper is the storyteller of King Hrothgar’s mead hall, and the Shaper uses his philosophies to spread truths among the humans, starting with the creation of man and what it means to be good and evil. Sharing his words of wisdom, the Shaper influences the humans to disgrace Grendel because Grendel is born from Cain. However, the young and naïve Grendel doesn’t know or think that he is evil, but since Grendel is still trying to figure out who he is and where he belongs, he wants to believe the words of the Shaper to be true because he wants order established order in the world, as well as know some truth about himself. Imbuing himself with the words of the Shaper and being influenced by religion, Grendel feels even more isolated from the rest of the world. However, when Grendel encounters the dragon in chapter 5, Grendel’s views on himself and the world change, and his existentialism turns into nihilism, the belief that importance and meaning in life is meaningless.
In Chapter 5, Grendel meets an incredibly intelligent and powerful dragon that tells Grendel his sole purpose in life is to be the enemy of all humans. Further, the dragon goes on to explain how humans try to rid of evil, but without evil, there would be no balance in the universe. Grendel is the reason why the humans create art, poetry, science and religion, and without him, mankind wouldn’t exist. Seeking order in the world, Grendel accepts that his fate of being evil has already been predetermined and justifies his actions of killing the Danes and destroying King Hrothgar’s mead hall by saying that life is just a cycle, a pattern, and all things are replaceable.
Although Grendel is influenced by the Shaper and the words of the dragon, Grendel starts to form his own belief systems throughout the rest of the story. In Chapter 7, when Grendel is about to kill Wealtheow in the mead hall, Grendel releases her because he realizes that killing her would be just as meaningless as not killing her. Even though Grendel accepts his role in society as a monster in chapters 5 and 6, Grendel realizes that if he succeeds in killing King Hrothgar and his thanes and destroying the mead hall, then Grendel will no longer have purpose in life, consequently destroying himself. Grendel’s skepticism of the dragon’s teachings, as well as the Shaper’s, carries on throughout the rest of the story.
In Chapter 10, Grendel encounters a goat that mindlessly climbs Grendel’s mere with disregard to Grendel. Annoyed by the goat’s foolishness, Grendel splits the goat’s skull. Even then, the goat still keeps climbing on. When Grendel’s attempts at running the goat off fail, he recognizes his own worthlessness, which eventually leads to his self-destruction. Even though Grendel’s mother warns Grendel about his fate, Grendel ignores her and continues to terrorize King Hrothgar’s mead hall.
In Chapter 12, Grendel battles the great warrior Beowulf to the death. When Grendel dies, Beowulf imposes the philosophy of empiricism, the doctrine that all knowledge is derived from experience, on Grendel. Being influenced by Beowulf’s philosophy, Grendel rejects everything he was taught by the dragon and the Shaper, except for experience. Through his experiences, Grendel learns that, yes, life is just a cycle, but he is a part of that cycle. As death approaches Grendel, Grendel feels forlorn again and turns back to solipsism.
Grendel tells the tale of a young and naïve “monster” named Grendel, who feels secluded from the rest of the world and dismayed that he is deemed evil by society. Even when Grendel tries to coexist with humans, the humans treat him like a fiend. So, as Grendel tries to figure out who he is and where he belongs, Grendel takes on many different philosophies to achieve this goal. In the beginning of Grendel, Grendel takes on the philosophy of solipsism, feeling sad and alone because no one acknowledges him, not even his own mother. As the story progresses and Grendel meets humans for the first time, he tries to befriend them, for he has no companions. However, the humans, influenced by the Shaper, disgrace Grendel because he is born of Cain. At this point in the story, Grendel has taken on the philosophy of existentialism, believing that he is alone, but also that he is the only one that exists in his world. Even though Grendel doesn’t want to be evil or thinks that he’s evil, he continues to listen to the Shaper and even starts to believe all of the things the Shaper say about him being mankind’s enemy because it gives him a sense of truth about himself and order in the world that he has been longing for. Shortly after Grendel’s encounter with the Shaper, Grendel encounters a wise dragon who tells him his purpose in life is to be the enemy of all humans. Although Grendel doesn’t understand why he needs to be evil, the dragon explains that without evil, there wouldn’t be good. There would be no balance in the universe. Because Grendel is seeking order in the universe, he accepts his role as the “Great Destroyer” and justifies his actions of terrorizing the mead hall by saying that life is meaningless. This is the turning point of the story, when Grendel’s existentialism turns into its extreme form, nihilism. For the next twelve winters, Grendel terrorizes King Hrothgar and his thanes. However, as Grendel starts becoming skeptical of the Shaper’s and the dragon’s philosophies, he starts forming his own philosophies and belief systems. When Grendel encounters the beautiful Wealtheow, Grendel comes close to killing her like the rest of the Danes, but he decides not to because he realizes that killing her would be just as meaningless as not killing her. Throughout the rest of the story, Grendel still kills the Danes in the mead hall but shows doubt in the philosophies he has recently been taught. Here, the reader starts to see that Grendel is reverting back to his old ways and is contemplating the meaning of life once again. In the last chapter of Grendel, Grendel faces a great warrior named Beowulf to the death. As the two are fighting, Beowulf imposes the philosophy of empiricism on Grendel, stating that all knowledge comes from experience. Grendel knows that his demise is near, and he cries out for his mother’s help, like he did in Chapter 1. However, when his mother doesn’t come to his rescue, Grendel begins to feel like a solipsist once again and is forced to face Beowulf by himself. At this point, as death closes in on him, Grendel is finally enlightened and realizes that through his experiences in life, he has gained knowledge about the world around him, as well as his own development. Grendel illustrates the rise and fall of Grendel’s philosophies, as he searches for the truth about himself and order in a chaotic world, as well as the rebirth of Grendel when he becomes enlightened and reverts back to his old philosophy, solipsism. Life is just an ongoing cycle, a pattern that repeats throughout history.
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