Has anybody ever read Grendel?

Question

I have to read it for school which i start on tuesday. I'm on chapter 5 and I have no idea what I'm reading. Can anyone help me out?

Answer 1

Hi.  Have you checked sparknotes.com?  I think Grendle is there.  I hope you are familiar with the epic poem Beowulf of which Grendle is the antagonist.  You need to understand the basics of that poem to fully understand the novel you're reading now.  

There is one chapter in Grendle that is quite bizarre; very metaphysical and difficult to understand.  That would be a wonderful question for your teacher; to just have them explain or discuss what they think of the chapter.  

Anyway, this is what I remember: Grendle, written in the 1970s, is the back story of the monster Grendle.  Grendle originally appeared in an epic poem (put down on paper in the 1300s: it's the oldest piece of English writing that we have) named 'Beowulf.'  In 'Beowulf', the great warrior Beowulf must save a neighboring tribe from the horrible attacks of the monster Grendle.  G is attacking a great hall called Hereot and killing the men (thanes) of the king, Hrothgar.  No man can defeat G until B comes on the scene.  B waits in the hall and when G comes to attack in the middle of the night, B rips G's arm off at the shoulder and the monster G eventually bleeds to death.  BUT the men aren't safe yet; G's mother comes to avenge the death of her son and B needs to kill her too.  He dives to the bottom of the fire-lake and decapitates her with a magic sword.  

Now, _Grendle_ the novel.  The novel explores the motivation of Grendle's attacks on the men and why some elements are labeled as evil and others as heroic.  I also believe that you are supposed to view Grendle as a sympathetic character and not necessarily the antagonist.  I believe the descriptions of Beowulf are not very favorable in the novel.  It's a good book and a relatively quick read; don't let the odd metaphysical chapter trip you up--when I taught it, I had my students skip that chapter for the confusion it generated.    

Answer 2

Isn't he that monster Beowulf took care of?  Ate a bunch of soldirs in their sleep, or something?  Beowulf rips his arm off an d he dies, big party for Beowulf.  Come on, just read it.

:)

Answer 3

No, but I have read Beowulf.  It's about a hero who becomes king of another land by killing a monster called Grendel.  He must then fight Grendel's mother.