The Metamorphosis of Grendel :: Grendel Essays

The Metamorphosis of Grendel     The majority of John Gardners Grendel revolves around a monster- manage character named Grendel. The ref is allowed access to Grendels subconscious and inner monologue, giving one the sense of a very close relationship with the main(prenominal) character.   This tends to beguile one into sympathizing with him and sentiment of him as a protagonist because historically in literature the main character of a novel has always been the good guy.  However, he proves himself to be very much the anti-hero in the novel many times over.  Grendels hearty contact with the world is extremely limited, but his persona is greatly influenced by each brief encounter with another character.   The first major prestigious character Grendel encounters is The Shaper, a blind old wise man.  The first address of him is in Chapter 1 when Grendel is attacking Herorot.  While all the towns men, women and children are quick -frozen in awe and horror, The Shaper is able to think quickly and rebel out the window of the building he was in and run away.  Grendel admires him for his force to think and act quickly, as well as for possessing vast intimacy he can only dream of ever acquiring.  Grendel wishes he had the pass of the Shaper and begins to feel jealous, so he subconsciously tries to become more like him.  The Shapers songs teach Grendel a lot about the humans in the surrounding regions and how they think and live.  Everyone loves and respects him, which makes Grendel want to be like him even out more.  As he realizes the Shapers popularity and goodness, he begins to realize why people dont like him.  Grendel spends a lot of time thinking and realizes the flaws in his character, subconsciously decision making that he doesnt really care if the humans hate him because he isnt a human and doesnt have to live by the same standards or expectations as they do.&nb sp He was born a monster, and as a monster he has a job to do to frustrate all established regularize and terrorize the humans.    In Chapter 5, we meet the Dragon for the first time.  Prior to beholding the Dragon, Grendels mother was the only thing he had seen that was more powerful than him.