In the book Grendel, what is Grendel?

Question

Okay so I'm reading the book, and I'm towards the end and I know he is a beast or monster of some kind, but a bear, wolf? half human? anyone know?

Answer 1

Rgms,

Grendel was simply a demon with human characteristics. There are those who believe that Grendel was the first son of Cain. Grendel's mother was also of two species -- half human and half dragon. This, to me, puts a stopper on the son of Cain theory.

PJ M

Answer 2

The poem Beowulf never says "what" Grendel is exactly.  It does say something about him being "of Cain's race."  The people that wrote the poem were relatively recent converts to christianity.

What they meant by "Cain's race" is an interesting question.  Maybe they just meant he was a murderer.

There's some funny ideas about "Cain's race" that you can read about on the internet, some of them not incompatible with the possibility of monsters.  Cain being sired by Satan via Eve for example.  

Whether any such funny ideas were in the heads of the people writing this poem, way back when, I have no idea.  I hope you get a better answer.  

Answer 3

It's never really explained thoroughly. First of all, since you seem to be unaware of the fact, Grendel is the monster antagonist in the epic poem 'Beowulf' (honestly, if you read the poem, you wouldn't be asking if he was an animal). My history TA brought up an interesting point with the 'Son of Cain' reference, pointing out that the 'sons of cain' were called many things, including 'reavers'. So, if you've ever seen Firefly or Serenity, you can think of the Reavers as one possible kind of 'monster' that Grendel could be. Micheal Crichton's book, Eaters of the Dead, and the movie based on it, The 13th Warrior, have a very similar theory that Grendel was a cannibalistic human. In the original epic poem, and in most other adaptations of re-imaginings, he's just some sort of large, humanoid monster, or sired by a human (his mother is always clearly a monster of some sort). PJ M is only marginally correct - Grendel's mother is some sort of human/dragon combination in the movie adaptation, but not in the original poem or any other interpretation of the story.  

Answer 4

Many books and authors such as John Gardner are facinated with the creature in the epic poem Beowulf.

Grendel is one of three antagonists, along with Grendel's mother and the dragon, in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf (AD 700-1000). In the poem, Grendel is feared by all but Beowulf.