The Metamorphosis of Grendel :: Grendel Essays

The Metamorphosis of Grendel The majority of John Gardner's Grendel revolves around a monster-like character named Grendel. The reader is allowed access to Grendel's subconscious and inner monologue, giving one the sense of a very close relationship with the main character. This tends to beguile one into sympathizing with him and thinking 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. Grendel's social contact with the world is extremely limited, but his persona is greatly influenced by each brief encounter with another character. The first major influential character Grendel encounters is The Shaper, a blind old wise man. The first mention of him is in Chapter 1 when Grendel is attacking Herorot. While all the town's men, women and children are frozen in awe and horror, The Shaper is able to think quickly and jump out the window of the building he was in and run away. Grendel admires him for his ability to think and act quickly, as well as for possessing vast knowledge he can only dream of ever acquiring. Grendel wishes he had the mind of the Shaper and begins to feel jealous, so he subconsciously tries to become more like him. The Shaper's 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 more. As he realizes the Shaper's popularity and goodness, he begins to realize why people don't like him. Grendel spends a lot of time thinking and realizes the flaws in his ch aracter, subconsciously deciding that he doesn't really care if the humans hate him because he isn't a human and doesn't have to live by the same standards or expectations as they do. He was born a monster, and as a monster he has a job to do: to "frustrate all established order" and terrorize the humans. In Chapter 5, we meet the Dragon for the first time. Prior to seeing the Dragon, Grendel's mother was the only thing he had seen that was more powerful than him.