Since the beginning of time, good and evil have always gone "hand-in-hand." Because of this, stories about epic heroes usually contain monsters in some form that symbolize bad or evil. In the poem Beowulf, the epic hero is forced to save his threatened community, battling and defeating three evil monsters. One of the monsters is the character Grendel, who had terrorized the citizens in the past. Throughout the poem Grendel is portrayed as evil. However, through reading the story, it is seen that Grendel is not totally the blame for his belligerent behavior. Also, an anonymous author characterizes Grendel through his actions, motives, and the way that people see him.
Upon reading the poem, readers can see that the role of the antagonist is given to Grendel. Grendel gets his reputation as an evil beast based off of his actions and personality. The fact that he can kill and steal with no remorse portrays the image of a heartless murderer with a lust to kill. The poem opens by stating,"...A powerful monster, living down/ in the darkness, growled in pain..." (Raffel 1-2). These lines foreshadow an evil in the story that readers aren't aware of yet. Shortly after the opening readers get a taste of how devilish Grendel really is. "So Hrothgar's men lived happy in this hall/Till the monster stirred, that demon, that fiend/Grendel, who haunted the moors" (Raffel 15-17).Throughout most of Europe people knew to fear the name and the actions of Grendel as they did not know when his next attack was going to occur. Grendel's first horrifying attack was the invasion of Hrothgar’s mead-hall. Grendel, far past ruthless, went through the mead hall smashing men and leaving bloody trails. His actions are described as, “Killing as often as he could, coming / Alone, bloodthirsty and horrible,” (Raffel 80-81.) Although readers know much of the character Grendel, the readers learn more about Grendel upon reading the final fight with him and Beowulf. Although Beowulf would win in the end, it would not be without great effort as Grendel was not an easy opponent. Grendel was stronger than most creatures, especially humans, for "…their points/Could not hurt him, the sharpest and hardest iron/Could not scratch at his skin" (Raffel 481-483). At this point readers learn of Grendel's almost supernatural powers. The fact that Grendel has tremendous strength makes him all-the-more a ferocious creature, which gives readers a better understanding of the Grendel’s evil, vicious state as he kills with no remorse.
Grendel's first reason for being evil is that he is naturally drawn to it. The author describes Grendel as being “…spawned in that slime" (Raffel 19), saying that he was born with an evil nature. Grendel knew nothing but to kill, attack, and anything else evil as it was his way of life. The author states that Grendel was "conceived by a pair of those monsters born of Cain," (Raffel 20-21) pointing out that Grendel was merely born a killer; it was only natural that Grendel would be evil as he is a spawn of two evil beings. This is a direct biblical allusion, eluding to the bible story of Cain and Abel, the sons of Adam and Eve, in the book of Genesis. In the poem, the story uses the two biblical names in a negative connotation because Cain is known as the first murderer in history as he killed his brother, Abel. Another reason for Grendel's actions is his hate for society. Grendel was forced to live away from people in the swampland since his birth because of where he was from. Upon knowing his past, you can generate the idea of Grendel wanting to be accepted instead of feared but doesn't know how to do so. The reaction people had towards Grendel portrayed his role in society. No other warrior would fight Grendel except for Beowulf, but seeing as though he was stronger than his peers, he was suitable for the task. With Grendel gone, people felt safer and they were ultimately happy knowing that they didn't have to live in fear. Grendel's death ended the pain and suffering of the Geats. Grendel was the perfect choice for the role of the evil monster, given his rejection by society and the way he was portrayed in the poem.
Throughout the poem, Grendel’s character is the most memorable. He murdered people, stole from them, and showed his lust for evil. The author gives information about Grendel's motives, probably a growing hatred or natural inclination. Finally, the reaction he got from people ultimately decided his role in society. By creating such an evil creature in the poem, the author of Beowulf explains the evil in the world as well as its reasons for being here.
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