Question

1. how does gardner’s depiction of grendel differ from the epic’s depiction of him? did gardner make you sympathize with grendel? explain.

Explanation:

In the original epic (e.g., Beowulf), Grendel is a monstrous, evil creature, a symbol of chaos and darkness, attacking the mead - hall (Heorot) and killing people, with little to no exploration of his inner thoughts or motivations. In Gardner's Grendel, he is depicted as a more complex, philosophical being. We see his isolation, his struggle with understanding the world and his place in it, his interactions with the dragon and his observations of human society. Regarding sympathy, Gardner humanizes Grendel by giving him a voice, showing his loneliness, his confusion about the cruelty of humans (like the way they fight among themselves, their religious hypocrisy), and his existential angst. We see him as a victim of circumstance and misunderstanding, not just a mindless monster, which makes it easier for readers to feel sympathy as we understand his perspective and his pain.

Answer:

In the epic (e.g., Beowulf), Grendel is a monstrous, evil, mind - less attacker. In Gardner’s Grendel, Grendel is a complex, philosophical, isolated being with understandable motivations (like feeling excluded, confused by human cruelty). Gardner makes readers sympathize with Grendel by giving him a voice, showing his loneliness, his existential struggles, and his perspective of human hypocrisy/cruelty, making him a relatable, misunderstood figure rather than just a monster.