Journal 1

Grendel, a monster, in Beowulf, raided King Hrothgar’s mead-hall for a period of twelve years, and every night Grendel would invade Herot and kill dozens of men. Grendel serves to be an antagonist in Beowulf. He is the villain that seeks any danger in King Hrothgar’s kingdom. Hrothgar had one of the most popular mead-halls of all until Grendel began his vicious reign of terror. The character of Grendel is portrayed as an evil monster that has cruel actions, unclear motives, and wicked character traits.
Grendel is the son of Cain, which is the first murderer of all mankind. “He was spawned in the slim, conceived by a pair of those monsters born of Cain, murderous creatures banished by God, punished forever for the crime of Abel’s death” (21). From the quote, it can be interpreted as Grendel’s reign on Herot is not his entire fault. It is Grendel’s nature to disrupt mankind and destroy anything that gets in his way. Grendel is a tall, large creature that has tremendous strength. It is said that his traits were specifically dedicated to bringing horror and haunting mankind.
Grendel’s unclear motives tie to his curse that was set upon him because of his father. It could have been faith that brought Grendel to murder 20 and some men every night for twelve years. He seems to be built especially to be a killing machine. Grendel could have also been simply hungry. Beowulf never specified anything about him eating for the sport or because he was hungry. Another possible motive that may have driven Grendel to slay Hrothgar’s men is because he had the strength to and just because he attained the ability to destroy any human in his path. Grendel could roam freely and do what he pleased without punishment.
Grendel’s actions had no thought behind them. He was “so great that he needs no weapons and fears none” (168). In Beowulf, there was no specification of what Grendel’s facial expression was when he executed the Geats. There was also no pattern of destruction evident to the men. Grendel did not specifically pick out who he was going to eat. It was simply random as if he had no thoughts. Grendel travelled to Herot every night and ate a hand-full of men and took another hand-full for his walk home. Beowulf did specify that Grendel would eat the heads of the men. He also reeked of rotten human blood that has accumulated in his hair and body for twelve years.
Grendel’s cruel actions, unclear motives, and wicked character traits has made him a monster that will never be forgotten. His cruel actions show that he does have feelings toward anything. His unclear motives imply that he does not have any rational thoughts, and his wicked character traits depict that he is an evil, cursed creature that shows no mercy toward any living thing.