The Characters Personalities in Grendel and Beowulf...

The book Grendel, written by John Gardner, and the poem Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney, both have very distinct opinions on what role each character plays. The translator of Beowulf and the writer of Grendel follow the idea that everyone has a story. A story is the writer’s perspective on a character’s personality, the way people in the story see and treat the character, and the way it ties the ideas together. There are many examples in these two writings of this concept, but the main instances connect with the lives of Grendel, Beowulf, and Unferth. Our first character, Grendel, is an exceptionally diverse character. It is implied that in both book and poem, Grendel is a blood-thirsty monster. All Grendel does is go through†¦show more content†¦This way of thinking leads Grendel to be the assassin we know him as today. A great character to include in this topic is Unferth. Unferth is a very out of the ordinary individual. In Beowulf, the writer’s perspective on Unferth is a pathetic warrior who couldn’t win even the simplest of fights. When first introduced in the poem Beowulf, it’s hard to feel sympathy for Unferth because he is in verbal conflict with Beowulf, insulting Beowulf. When switching to the outside view in the book Grendel, it becomes apparent that Unferth isn’t just doing this to pick a fight. Grendel has been his arch enemy ever since the twelve year war started. Unferth was embarrassed and infuriated in his first meeting with Grendel when Grendel said â€Å"I’m going to carry you back to Hrothgar, safe and sound† (p.90). The other people in the book think he’s supposed to be the savior of the kingdom, yet he can’t even come close to killing Grendel and when he does attempt to kill Grendel, Grendel just laughs and teases him. Th is idea of embarrassment drives Unferth mad with rage. When Beowulf comes along, he claims that he has done all these heroic and outstanding things. He makes the claim that Grendel is hardly a work out which infuriates Unferth. He has worked so hard to get revenge on Grendel and a warrior came from a distant land and claims to kill him like it is nothing. It is notShow MoreRelatedCulture And Values : The Epic Of Beowulf And Beowulf1260 Words   |  6 PagesAnalyzation of the Beowulf Epic and the Beowulf and Grendel Film The epic tale of Beowulf was written sometime after his death. In other words, a long time ago during the Anglo-Saxon period. Today, directors in Hollywood did not keep from creating their own rendition of this epic poem As a result, plenty of modern interpretations of Beowulf, such as Sturla Gunnarsson’s Beowulf and Grendel, have been released. 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