Journal 2

              In literature, every hero has someone against them.  This enemy, foe, rival, villain, etc. fights the hero, and he or she tries to kill the hero.  In the epic poem, Beowulf, the hero, Beowulf, must fight a powerful and blood thirsty monster whose name is Grendel.  Beowulf is set in Northern Europe; the land of the Danes is Denmark, and the land of the Geats is Sweden.  In the land of the Danes, King Hrothgar and his people are threatened by Grendel.  Every night for twelve years, Grendel has come to Hrothgar’s mead hall and eats some of Hrothgar’s men.  Beowulf, who is from the land of the Geats, hears of Grendel’s terror, so he leaves his homeland to fight Grendel.  Beowulf is “the strongest of the Geats—greater/And stronger than anyone anywhere in this world.”  Beowulf fights Grendel, ultimately, killing Grendel.  Since Grendel kills Hrothgar’s men out of pleasure and delight, he is portrayed as a greedy, evil, and horrible fiend.

            Grendel is a powerful and greedy demon.  “…Hrothgar’s men lived happy in his hall/Till the monster stirred, that demon, that fiend…”  People saw Grendel as a terrifying monster, a “shepherd of evil.”  Since people treated him like a monster, he acted like a monster.  People hated him, and he hated people.  Grendel did not care about people’s lives; he only cared about his own life.  When Grendel attacked Herot, Hrothgar’s mead hall, Hrothgar and his people would mourn for the loss of their loved ones.  Grendel had been attacking Herot for twelve years, so grief and misery hung over Hrothgar’s kingdom.  Hrothgar felt helpless because none of his men could kill Grendel.  As a result, “Herot/Stood empty, and stayed deserted for years…”  Before Grendel attacked Herot, Hrothgar and his men were happy.  In Herot, they would boast and listen to the scop tell stories of great heroes and kings.  Herot was a place where thanes could come together to drink and feast.  Herot protected Hrothgar’s people from wild animals and other tribes.  Grendel, however, could get into Herot because he was very strong and powerful.  Since Grendel was a menace to Hrothgar’s people, Hrothgar wanted to get rid of him.

            Grendel is evil and fierce.  Grendel symbolizes evil, hatred, and destruction because he does not care about the lives of others, especially humans.  He killed people out of pleasure and delight.  Since he threatened the well-being of Hrothgar’s people, “the best and most noble/Of his council debated remedies…”  Hrothgar’s council held secret sessions and wondered “what the bravest of warriors could do.”  The council would pray to God or sacrifice to the Norse gods.  Since times were desperate, they would also look for the Devil’s support and guidance.  The council’s solutions to its problem did not work.  Even Hrothgar’s strongest and bravest warriors could not stop Grendel.  Grendel, an evil and fierce monster, would continue being a nuisance until Beowulf defeats and kills him.

            A terrible fiend, Grendel is the offspring of one of Cain’s descendants.  “He was spawned in that slime,/Conceived by a pair of those monsters born/Of Cain.  In the story of Cain and Abel, Cain kills his brother Abel out of jealousy.  Cain and Abel were sons of Adam and Eve; Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden because they disobeyed God.  Since Abel seemed favored by his parents, Cain killed him, becoming the first murderer.  Cain thought that no one saw him commit this crime, but God saw him.  God cursed him, and Cain became the father of all evil beings: monsters, demons, and evil spirits.  “The Almighty drove/Those demons out, and their exile was bitter, Shut away from men.”  Since Grendel was a fiend and monster, people would treat him with hatred and contempt.  As a result, Grendel treated people with hatred and scorn also.  Cain and all of his descendants were punished forever by God.  Since Hrothgar’s people treated Grendel as a terrible fiend, he acted like a terrible fiend.

            Grendel is portrayed as an evil, blood thirsty, greedy, and terrible fiend because he ate Hrothgar’s people out of pleasure and delight.  People treated him with hate, so he hated people.  He did not care about the lives of others, especially people.  He only cared about himself.  Hrothgar’s people called him a “shepherd of evil” and a “guardian of crime” he was a powerful and fierce demon.  Hrothgar’s council had secret sessions to find solutions to their problem, but even Hrothgar’s strongest and bravest warriors could not kill Grendel.  As an offspring of a descendant of Cain, Grendel, along with other demons, monsters, fiends, and evil spirits, would be forever punished by God.  They are separated from humans because of their evil ways.  Grendel is a symbol of evil, hatred, and destruction because he destroyed the lives of Hrothgar and Hrothgar’s men with his evil and hatred for humans.