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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 ....

Middle of Essay
.... almost as if using it as an excuse for his rash and murderous actions. Beowulf told of a Grendel that mercilessly attacked Hrothgar’s meadhall killing men without reason. Grendel also speaks of this evil monster, but in a more sympathetic and excusable manner. Grendel is thought of as “the guardian of sins” and is the physical equivalent to a man that has been shunned by God. He is described as a hideous bear like ogre in human like shape. Both literary pieces tell of his extraordinary strength and size and his similarities to the early ideas of Satan. The poet in Beowulf also mentions that despite his strength and magnitud ....