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Post by sheridanf on Aug 14, 2013 14:44:02 GMT
When it comes to friends, Grendel seems to only have himself. When he's not killing men and destroying towns, he usually can be found talking to himself. Poor Grendel can't even have a conversation with his own mother, since she has no capability of speaking and really only offers him the occasional embrace. Childhood stubbornness kept Grendel company when he was young, and he convinced himself that he and his mother "were one thing, like the wall and the rock growing out of it.- Or so I ardently, desperately affirmed" (pg. 17). This self-taught knowledge and his constant exploration kept him from realizing his own loneliness, until he met the dragon. The dragon gave him a "charm" that turned him into The Destroyer but also made him realize that "as never before, I was alone" (pg. 80). The dragon's "charm" was simply the knowledge that no other person mattered except for Grendel, which erased his fear.
Grendel's loneliness eventually resulted in his own downfall. So now for the question: What would have happened if Grendel had a real friend? What kind of friend would be adequate for Grendel?
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Post by robertxu on Aug 16, 2013 3:40:25 GMT
Sheridan I think you bring up a great point about Grendel. Throughout the novel, Grendel is influenced by all these characters with their own agendas. Except for his mother, who can't communicate with Grendel, everybody in the novel sees Grendel as a lost cause and is unwilling to give him the benefit of the doubt when it comes to friendship. The Shaper is a propaganda machine designed to keep the humans in power. The Dragon is not very sincere in wanting to help Grendel, at times he even seems like he is simply manipulating him for his own amusement. Grendel is not violent by nature, as he only showed signs of being violent after he was cornered/attacked by humans when he was young. Grendel reacted relatively positively to Unferth by not killing him which is possibly because Unferth was the only individual in the novel who tried to understand Grendel.
To respond to your question, Grendel would have to respect the individual to be friends with him, as Grendel cannot just pity him/her like in the case of Unferth. Personally, I believe it would be a very interesting dynamic for the novel if a character that was a foil to The Dragon made an appearance and tried to influence Grendel. I believe Grendel would entertain such a positive influence simply because of how lonely he is. Grendel's need for company can be seen when he narrates, "I do not complain of it (talking talking, complaining, complaining, filling the world I walk with words)" (Gardner 80). Grendel's statement here is ironic, because while he says he cannot complain about the loneliness, he ends up doing so anyway. My view on Grendel is that it is a novel about what would happen to someone with power that is devoid of a positive influence. Gardner could be showing the negative effects of loneliness and how loneliness can turn into resentment of the world over time.
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