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Post by shannonfender on Sept 2, 2013 7:17:48 GMT
As the novel progresses, we see young Grendel evolve from an innocent and inquiring lad to a hardened veteran of reality. Grendel's progression from childhood to adulthood transpires over the course of the novel, and a fairly obvious "transformation point" seems to be Grendel's visit with the dragon. It is at this point that Grendel abandons his dream to assimilate with humans and realizes the hypocrisy and cruelty of their ways. What factors contribute to Grendel's realization? Past threads have questioned at what point this transformation takes place, but I am wondering what you guys think are the major contributors to this transformation (besides the dragon).
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Post by rubyking on Sept 2, 2013 22:16:56 GMT
I think Grendel is obviously a very introverted thinker (based on how Gardner chose to narrate this tale)and events going on in the outside world have a profound influence on the way he shapes his own character. Within the early stages of his "transformation," there was one moment that stuck out to me as a significant turning point. Grendel would go to observe Hrothgar's subjects at their nightly rendez-vous, and commented on the men present, "Now and then some trivial argument would break out, one one of them would kill another one" (pg. 32). Before this point I had always taken Grendel as someone who at least killed for purpose, and not waste, but after his exposure to this careless human behavior I began to see a shift in his own behavior, in regard to his killing sprees.
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Post by Adrian Harter on Sept 4, 2013 1:07:06 GMT
I attribute Grendel's change of behavior to his curiosity of the Shaper. Before the Shaper, Grendel would acknowledge the humans as physically different, but ideologically similar to himself. They acted like Barbarians, favoring impulsive, reckless actions over any serious thought as to their place in the world. Grendel would frequently eat cows and pigs, and the humans would kill one another with the same proficiency and outlook that Grendel exercised. But when the Shaper arrived, he tricked Grendel and the rest of the king's men into believing that their purpose was greater than their ancestors', that the time-honored fight for family meant more than ever before. What resulted was the worship of the Shaper, someone who did not bear the skills necessary to survive, but still thrived more than any other human (save the king). I believe that because the Shaper defied the barbaric lifestyle that both Grendel and the humans displayed, Grendel's world became a much more muddled place than before, driving him to seek the Dragon for clarity.
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