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Post by natalieskowlund on Jul 25, 2013 4:56:33 GMT
Gardner stresses the contrast between Grendel and his mother frequently throughout the novel; Grendel is obviously self-aware, constantly thinking and appraising his surroundings. Grendel's mother, however, solely displays a primitive essence. She cannot speak and Grendel describes her as a grunting, protective animal with no ability to act beyond instinct.
Why does Gardner emphasize the disparity between Grendel's intellectual capabilities and his mother's? Is there something to be said for the fact that Grendel was born of a mother that cannot relate to him or process events and emotions like Grendel and human beings can? How does this fact impact Grendel's eventual decisions and actions? Might he have been less inclined to accept the dragon's nihilistic beliefs if he had felt a greater connection to his mother, or felt that she loved him for more than the fact that he was her offspring?
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Post by billfeng on Jul 28, 2013 5:57:39 GMT
My opinion: By emphasizing the primitive aspects of Grendel's mother, Gardner tries to carve a deeper impression of Grendel's eternal loneliness. Animals, the environment, humankind, and heck, even his own mother are incapable of responding to Grendel in any communicative sense. There are several times in the story where Grendel tries to speak to the sky, in which he receives no response. These scenes provide a context of how how deeply rooted Grendel's loneliness and thought-process are tied together. By depicting Grendel's mother as a incommunicable creature of natural instinct, Gardner tries to show that Grendel is devoid of humanly warmth and comfort. I honestly think Grendel's mother shows enough affection to Grendel, in the primitive sense, as shown in Chapter 3:
Then, when Unferth attempts to slay Grendel in his cave, Grendel's mother tries to defend her son:
Grendel, at and instant, attempts to stop his mother from killing Unferth. He understood from natural instinct, rather than mind, that his mother was attempting to defend him.
The "something" that should be said about Grendel's mother is that she is a component of his loneliness. Although Gardner allows him to physically be close to her, Grendel still sees himself distant from both his mother's kin and humanity.
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Post by moreno on Jul 31, 2013 22:47:20 GMT
It is evident from the beginning of the novel that Grendel is a dark creature who is, without a doubt, unsatisfied with his being. In chapter one, Grendel describes himself as a “pointless, ridiculous monster crouched in the shadows, stinking of dead men, murdered children, martyred cows,” (6). The words ‘pointless,’ ‘ridiculous,’ and ‘stinking’ elude to the fact that Grendel, for lack of better words, hates himself. In my opinion, this is because he does not understand himself, a result of being born to a mother who cannot communicate with him. It is his mother’s inability and unwillingness to share with Grendel his family’s past that serves as the mold for Grendel’s hatred.
On page 11, Golding writes:
“‘why are we here?’ I used to ask her. ‘Why do we stand this putrid, stinking hole?’ She trembles at my words. Her fat lips shake. ‘Don’t ask!’ her wiggling claws implore. (She never speaks.) ‘Don’t ask!’ It must be some terrible secret, I used to think. I’d give her a crafty squint. She’ll tell me, in time, I thought. But she told me nothing,” (11).
Clearly, Grendel longs to know why he is the way he is and without his mother’s help, he may never know. This confusion about his past results in the annoyance and hatred that Grendel so often expresses. The beginning chapters seem to foreshadow that Grendel will embark on a journey of self-discovery, a journey that may not exist if Grendel’s mother was able to communicate. That is why, in my opinion, Golding created the separation between Grendel and his lame mother. Grendel certainly would not be the deep and mysterious character he is if not for this separation.
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Post by sheridanf on Aug 3, 2013 22:11:35 GMT
I really like the point Bill made about Grendel's physical closeness yet mental distance with his mother, the one who created him. Grendel's mother is not only a symbol of Grendel's loneliness, but also of his confusion about his place in the world. Gardner may have meant his mother to be a symbol for God; just like God, Grendel's mother never speaks to Grendel directly, and all Grendel really knows about her is that she created him. But Grendel later decides that her existence is not guaranteed, only his own. His struggle with the idea of his creator is a very human experience that most, if not all, humans go through. Therefore Grendel's mother works as a symbol to enhance the human-like confusion of Grendel.
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Post by pjharris on Aug 6, 2013 0:40:54 GMT
I liked what Natalie said, "Might he have been less inclined to accept the dragon's nihilistic beliefs if he had felt a greater connection to his mother". It reminded me of the classic "rebelious teen" who acts out because they feel their parents never gave them the love they deserved. Like a teen he comes home to the cave he hates and sleeps next to his mother whom he hates and puts up with it because he has no other place to go. Usually, though, this is an attempt to gain their attention or to get back at them and i do not feel that Grendel does the things he does to get back at his mother.
Grendel believes that his mother needs him for the same reason the people do. Not for what he thinks or says but for what he is and does, "For even my mama loves me not for myself, my holy specialness (he he ho ha), but for my son-ness, my possessedness, my displacement of air as visible proof of her power. I have set her aside... and so have proved that she has no power but the little I give her by momentary whim. So I might set aside Hrothgar's whole kingdom and all his thanes if I did not, for sweet desire's sake, set limits to desire. If I murder the last of the Scyldings, what would I live for? I'd have to move" (158). His mother needs him for her own sense of power, a son to own. The Scyldings need him for their sense of power, a great monster they keep at bay. Neither will ever need him for his thoughts or words and that sets him apart from the world eternally. A lone creature unlike any other.
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Post by allegra on Aug 8, 2013 3:51:39 GMT
I think that the juxtaposition of Grendel and his mother was done is a very realistic sense. Part of Grendel’s loneliness comes from the fact that he is unable to relate to his mother as well as humanity. His mother is, as Natalie said, more of a primitive essence that Grendel cannot relate to other than relationally by blood. However, Grendel is more self-aware than his mother and, at times, even more so than the humans he encounters. He is also part of the human world in the sense that he is similar to the humans. He has morals (i.e. won’t kill deer) and can even understand human language. Grendel says “the sounds were foreign at first, but when I calmed myself, concentrating, I found I understood them: it was my own language, but spoken in a strange way, as if the sounds were made by brittle sticks, dried spindles, flaking bits of shale” (Gardner 23). I think the difference Gardener puts between Grendel and his mother is to show the distance and loneliness Grendel feels and to show that just because someone is akin to another does not mean they are emotionally akin.
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Post by jessicalee on Aug 31, 2013 2:36:43 GMT
Contrary to popular belief, I like to think that whether Grendel were to have felt a deeper connection to his mother would not have affected his decision to accept the dragon's beliefs. Now I understand that the environment that one is raised in has a large impact on his/her future. But, I feel as though if anything, Grendel might have felt more inclined to accept the dragon's beliefs. I guess I can't help but think that even if Grendel's mother could speak, her primitive mindset would not leave. It is evident in the scene in which Grendel's mother "came roaring down like thunder, screaming like a thousand hurricanes" (27) that she does not think of consequences before she acts. Thus, I think that Grendel would not so much ponder the dragon's words or hesitate, but rather jump at the chance without thinking. As for Grendel's relationship with his mother, I believe that his mother truly cares for him. Although I previously stated that she ran to Grendel to save him without thinking about it, I think that says a lot about her motherly instincts. Her gut feelings were telling her that she needed to save her son, whether that meant harm for her or not.
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Post by gracepark on Sept 2, 2013 3:43:21 GMT
Although I agree with the analysis that Grendel is not truly alone because he has his mother, I think there are complications that creates a disparity between the two which only leads to an unbalanced relationship. His mother, as we all know, lacks the ability of clear communication. We, readers, and even Grendel himself cannot completely understand her, thus creating an imbalance. At first, the relationship between the two resembled somewhat the typical mother-son connection. Grendel states in chapter two that he even believed that the two were one identity: “I understood without her speaking it. I was her creation. We were one thing…” (17). But as Grendel sneaks out into the real world and realizes the difference between him and his mother, the relationship shifts from mother-son to person-object. As Grendel realizes that his mother cannot understand him, he treats her like an object by merely studying her coolly and objectively (147). And we see a clear representation of this here: “She tries to prevent me. I lift her by the armpits as though she were a child and, gently, I set her aside” (147). He literally picks her up and moves her out of the way like… an object.
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