Grendel: The True Character of a Gruesome Monster

Overall, I think Grendel by John Gardner is truly a compelling novel that is truly engaging and captivating in its entirety.  I am most definitely a fan of this novel because Gardner’s Grendel never fails to surprise me or shock me continuously. Although many of the philosophies presented throughout the book are exceptionally complex and oftentimes perplexing, Gardner’s writing style definitely engages me to think outside the box and to read between the lines in order to discern the meaning of the novel, just as Grendel is trying to discern the meaning of the universe and his role in it.

With that said, there are many aspects of the novel that are worth addressing such as Grendel’s constantly transforming thoughts and impressions about art. The role of art and the artist in the novel is largely significant throughout the text as Grendel jumps back and forth between the dragon’s ideals and mankind’s enduring beliefs. I think it is so interesting that Grendel falls somewhere between humanity and in a sense, godliness. It is definitely no coincidence that Grendel possesses this impenetrable charm in Ch. 6 that renders him invincible in a way, like God. Throughout the novel, we get the sense that Grendel is just trying to understand the world and how it works, and where he belongs in it, just on a whole other level. We see Grendel still trying to define himself in comparison to humans and their world, then in contrast to the dragon and the infinite universe, then in terms of Grendel himself as a mechanical creature…an animal.

The shift in Grendel’s notions and philosophies regarding his own existence are evident throughout the novel. Initially, Grendel has no concept of the world outside his own mother, who to him, is the source of his being. It is not until Grendel’s monumental realization of his independence (when he gets stuck in the tree in Ch. 2) that we see his impressions of the world transform and modify. Soon enough, Grendel comes to realize the “meaningless objectness of the world, the universal bruteness” of it (Gardner 28). Grendel gradually develops his theory of solipsism, in which he is convinced that only he exists and that everything around him is merely a fabrication of his own mind, and nonexistent.

However, after a brief lapse in Grendel’s notion of good vs. evil through the Shaper’s persuasive art, Grendel’s beliefs quickly change when Grendel encounters the dragon in Ch. 5 (which is arguably his own unconscious mind). After his encounter with the dragon, Grendel is convinced of the dragon’s belief that the duration of time ceases to prolong the importance of things that are important now.  The dragon alters Grendel’s beliefs from being primarily based on solipsism to now centering on nihilism and the idea that everything is unimportant and doomed to perish eventually in the grand scheme of things. This theory resonates with Grendel for a long time (especially throughout Ch. 7), as he progressively builds on the dragon’s ideas and comes to many realizations of his own.

Eventually, he comes to assume his role as the ultimate monster and destroyer of society…he accepts his role as the enemy, the ruiner, the cursed creature. Although Grendel’s notions of art continue to develop incredibly fast throughout chapter 9 and 10, he is still somehow bound to humanity through this mutual recognition of art and its impact.