Grendel: A Misunderstood Anti-Hero
Chris Lee
Ms. Griffin
British Lit. 121A-Period 6
11 November 2016
WC:
Grendel: A Misunderstood Anti-Hero
Over the course of history, anti-heroes have become more prevalent in literature and no character embodies the traits of a flawed hero more than Grendel. Often villainous and lacking in heroic qualities, Grendel seeks to wreak havoc among the Danes and animals he encounters, yet occasionally shows a soft side of his personality in certain situations. It is difficult to come up with an answer to whether Grendel is a hero or villain, but he is without a doubt a rebel and outsider who conspicuously lacks heroic qualities. In Grendel, John Gardener utilizes the humanistic side of Grendel and description of his unconventional thoughts to portray him as a misunderstood anti-hero. Grendel’s humanity and anti-heroic traits become clear when his emotions and ability to react to beauty makes him more than a mindless beast and allows the reader to identify with him. As the novel progresses, Gardner further humanizes Grendel and makes it more difficult for the reader to condemn him. Grendel exemplifies the internal struggle with his own bestiality in his most human moments and reveals that upon listening to man’s music “I was so filled with sorrow and tenderness I could hardly have found it in my heart to catch a pig! Thus I fled, ridiculous hairy creature torn apart by poetry” (Gardner 44). These heartfelt emotions and ability to react to beauty endears him to the reader because it makes Grendel more human and creates common ground. Grendel can be described as more pitiful than petrifying as he longs to understand those creatures that would murder him and begins to wrestle with his own self-loathing. These traits of emotion and saddening separates him from being a so-called monster and leads Grendel to later find meaning through art.
Grendel is characterized as having human emotions and showing signs of sympathy for Wealtheow which demonstrates a compassionate and selflessness side of him. In Grendel’s ongoing search for meaning, he sees qualities in Wealtheow that enables him to fall in love with her and makes it hard for him to comprehend how she exists in a world filled with so much human evil. If Grendel were to kill her, it would signify that she has some meaning independent of his own but by not doing so, his self-centered philosophy is being contradicted. Grendel states, “I have not committed the ultimate act of nihilism: I have not killed the queen” (Gardner 93). Grendel’s existentialism is trapped between a desire to eliminate this confusion and the knowledge that eliminating it will also destroy his own ideology. Literary critic Laurence W. Mazzeno comments, “Grendel is taken by Wealtheow’s beauty, and though he engages in particularly lurid acts with her to display his mastery over Hrothgar, he feels genuine remorse for his monstrous behavior” (Mazzeno). For the first time, Grendel is overcome by charm and sincerity, showing that he is not just a monster that kills for fun. He has the mindset of an immature human being but because he is in a monster’s body, he is automatically labeled by the Danes as a beast with no emotions. It is important to note that although Grendel is bloodthirsty and holds no regard for taking the lives of innocent people, he feels as passionately as any human he meets. In other words, Grendel is misinterpreted by people but only longs to get along with them almost like an outcast. Grendel demonstrates the characteristics of an anti-hero by contradicting heroism and believing that people desire to be heroes only to be glorified. In the novel, Grendel captures Unferth and prepares to kill him, but ends up changing his mind after having a deep conversation with him. Grendel stated, “I sighed. The word ‘hero’ was beginning to grate. He was an idiot. I could crush him like a fly but I held back” (Gardner 89). Like an anti-hero, Grendel believes that Unferth’s hero architype is incredibly pompous and will not give him that satisfaction by sparing his life. He wants to teach Unferth a lesson that heroes only exist in fairytales and what he is doing will only get him killed. Grendel further demonstrates the characteristics of an anti-hero by carrying Unferth back to the mead hall to destroy his myth of the great, superhero-like hero. Writer Craig Payne interestingly states, “Grendel begins as an egocentric solipsist…and ends as a sort of existentialists in the tradition of Jean-Paul Sartre, rejecting the inner essences of things seen by the humans around him” (Payne). In other words, Grendel tries to find his own meaning in life but discards the values that he deems illogical such as the notion of heroism. Unferth’s idea of heroism provides the best example as Grendel believes that idea is just foolish bravery. Throughout the entire novel, Grendel has pointed out the weaknesses of human society and as a narrator, he has become more likeable than the Danes who are presented by his narration as idiots. The question of whether Grendel is a hero or villain is one that bares no clear answer. Gardner illustrates Grendel as an untraditional monster with human emotions and anti-heroic traits who is misunderstood by society because of the way he looks and thinks. The disheartening thing is that although Grendel kills humans and other animals, he changes from a villain to a victim as the novel progresses. By doubting the idea of a hero, Grendel has become an existential anti-hero and defines the world in his proper terms. He is forced to wander on the fringes of society, rejects values, and seeks to establish his own ethics which all in all personifies him as an anti-hero. In Grendel, John Gardner utilizes Grendel’s unconventional thoughts and his humanistic side to portray him as the novel’s anti-hero.