Grendel One of the most compelling and highly developed characters in the novel Grendel, written by John Gardner, and the poem Beowulf, written by an anonymous poet, is the monster, Grendel. Even though these pieces show two different sides to Grendel they are similar in many ways. Grendel evokes sympathy toward the hideous monster by making him seem like the victim, while Beowulf portrays him as being the most loathsome of enemies. The reasons behind …showed first 75 words of 944 total…

…showed last 75 words of 944 total…stopping the evil that remains. This refers back to the dragon’s speech when he said that evil will exists with or without Grendel. Grendel shows us how humane an animal can be, and yet how inhumane mankind can be. Beowulf gave us a look into Grendel’s animal instincts, while Grendel showed him as being emotional and intelligent. Grendel was a very well developed character with a strong sense of determination and free will.