In the poem Beowulf, the character Grendel is the one feared by all. Grendel represents the evil and hatred of the world trying to overcome and destroy everything in his path. Grendel’s character did not display moral values or good intentions. His twelve-year war with the people of Herot has inflicted a blanket of sorrow across the land. King Hrothgar is heavily inflicted with pain and sorrow for the eradication of his people by this evil monster Grendel.
Grendel’s origin leads all the way back to religious characters. The poem states that Grendel is the offspring of the descendents of Cain. Cain was the evil son of Adam and Eve who committed the first murder against his brother Abel. Cain’s actions were eternally punished by God, and he was sent into exile. Cain’s wrong doings resulted in all of his descendents representing evil in different forms. In this poem, Grendel represents evil in the form of a human monster. From this, it can be said that Grendel’s motive was somewhat inherent. Grendel was born of evil; therefore, his motives were due to his nature of evilness.
Hell on earth or the devil on land is what Grendel symbolizes. With no good intentions or morality in him, Grendel represents the devil in all aspects. He invades Hrothgar’s meadhall at night and kills all of the warriors in their sleep. Grendel creeps on them in the darkness and eats the humans, which also relates to evil because of his dark, sneaky and cannibal nature. The age or appearance of the person does not matter to Grendel. If presented with the opportunity to kill the elderly or defenseless children, Grendel will pursue it.
The people of Herot greatly feared Grendel. Upon the first attack, everyone was filled with lament and tears. Even Hrothgar wept and was deprived of all joy and happiness. For the twelve years that this war with Grendel continued, Hrothgar’s Herot was vacant. The only person who had a different response to Grendel was the noble warrior Beowulf. Beowulf approaches Hrothgar and states that he will neither fear Grendel, nor use weapons in his battle, but fight strength against strength.
Grendel symbolizes the all-feared evil. He is a horrid and dreadful character in the poem. Grendel represents the difficult task in life that at some point we all must overcome. In Beowulf, Grendel is the task that not only Hrothgar and Herot most overcome, but the ultimate task that Beowulf must defeat. His origin of evil and his displayed evil intent makes Grendel the center and conflict of the poem. Grendel also contributes to the implied moral of the story that evil never triumphs and will always be defeated.
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