Paste your essay in here…Consistent within the mythology of multiple eras, archetypes represent recurrent symbols and motifs. Archetypes in mythology are vital perceptions of the antagonist and protagonist’s psyche, describing the manner in which these individuals view their life experiences. In the novel Grendel, John Gardner, the author, focuses on this concept, using the personas of the outcast and the shadow to illustrate the gradual and chronological downfall of the protagonist, Grendel. Through Gardner’s satirical take on the Anglo-Saxon’s emphasis on heroism and loyalty, he delineates the life and background of Grendel, the antagonistic monster from the epic poem, Beowulf. Although Beowulf is the literal reason that Grendel is destroyed, Grendel starts deteriorating far before his arm is ripped off; ultimately the cause of his demise is the constant internal battle he faces between a complete submersion into a nihilistic mindset or to believe in a higher purpose for his life. This struggle leads him to isolation and boredom from the world, thus giving insight to his motivations to terrorize and eventually fall prey to the humans.
Grendel begins his journey towards his death as an innocent bystander, a naive monster who faces the conflict of either believing the nihilistic Dragon or falling under the idealistic spell of the Shaper. In the beginning of the novel, Grendel begins to “[understand] that the world [is] nothing: a mechanical chaos of casual, brute enmity on which we stupidly impose our hopes and fears.” (22). The conclusion that Grendel comes to is a coping mechanism; it’s easier for him to believe that he is alone in this world than to believe that others are afraid of him.
Grendel's thought-process betrays his need for theory and although he scoffs at beliefs that the Shaper relays to the humans, he says to himself that “the old Shaper, might make [the beliefs] true, by the sweetness of his harp, his cunning trickery. It came to [him] with a fierce jolt that [he] wanted it” (55). Despite his profound understanding that the world is meaningless, he still acknowledges his irrational need to belong to something or have faith in a more idealistic reality for himself.
Grendel pursues this idealistic reality through his ventures with humans and a large part of his internal conflict stems from the lack of conversation between him and the people of Danes. Language is one of the commonalities that both the humans and Grendel have, yet they are unable to communicate due to the curse that was placed on Grendel’s lineage. In spite of having the ability to participate in intellectual discussions, as displayed through his narration of the story, he is labeled as a barbarian for being unable to express himself and his intentions. He describes his thoughts as a “pale skin of words that closes [him] in like a coffin” (15). His biggest weakness, as portrayed through the suffocation he feels by being being able to speak (but not communicate), is that he cannot express his views to others. Grendel thrives off of making himself heard; he goes as far as talking to inanimate objects, such as the stars, which he considers rude because they “[say] nothing” in return (53). The pain he feels when being ignored by an obviously mute, inanimate object is only amplified during his one-sided conversations with all of those who surround him. He is desolate and inevitably depressed by the revelation that he will never be able to make an impact on the people of Danes, as the Shaper does, regardless of the complex realizations he has about the human population.
The isolation that Grendel experiences as a result of his need to be acknowledged by living beings leads him to submerge himself within the Dragon’s nihilistic mindset; he begins to use the Dragon’s reasoning to terrorize the society and essentially seek out danger. During their encounter, the Dragon tells Grendel that, although life has no higher meaning, has the chance to be a “brute existent” and that the hatred that the townspeople have for him brings them together to advance the society in “poetry, science, [and] religion” (73). He qualifies his statement by asserting that “if [Grendel] withdraws,” as a brute existent, “[he’ll] be instantly replaced..it’s all the same in the end…” (73). The Dragon tries to convince Grendel to understand the meaninglessness of his actions in the grand scheme of time, and this sticks with him even after their meeting as he feels the spirit of the Dragon wafting around him in several parts of the novel. With a newfound sense of belonging in the Dragon’s philosophy, Grendel embarks on his journey to torment the people of Danes. Momentarily, he enjoys the ravenous thrill of “[eating] and [laughing]” at his victims, but soon after the happiness engulfs him, it withdraws, leaving him in a depressed and bored state (12). Slowly, Grendel becomes a mechanical beast, only seeking pleasure in the pain of others and lacking a centralized goal to motivate him to derail from his routine. Grendel’s jubilance and child-like attitude towards his victims is short-lived, but the tedium and depression that follows is inescapable and is described as his worst pain.
In the midst of Grendel’s cyclical way of life, Beowulf comes to Danes to destroy the treacherous monster that everyone has been raving about, and Grendel uses this opportunity to momentarily break free from his monotonous routine and wills himself to see Beowulf. Grendel is excited at the arrival of Beowulf–an emotion that is rare for the isolated, immortal monster–which reinforces Grendel’s ambiguous mindset, because he outwardly despises humanity, but cannot live without the spontaneity and enthusiasm that they provide. As a byproduct of his excitement, Grendel goes to meet the supposed hero, but is harshly confounded when Beowulf rips off his arm and leaves Grendel to die. With his dying breath, Grendel whispers “‘It was an accident,’…I will cling to what is true. ‘Blind, mindless, mechanical. Mere logic of chance.’” (173). He was defeated by Beowulf, but is more concerned that the action was fated; he reassures himself that his death was merely an accident, and not a part of his destiny. He refuses to believe that his death was a part of Beowulf’s higher purpose because that goes against all of his ideals that he has built up through his experiences and sheer loneliness. He represses the part of him that believes in the significance of each individual life and that envies the job of the Shaper, because even though he has the ability to make profound rhymes, as exemplified through his prose narration, he cannot communicate with others and out of devastation, he commits to the existential nihilism of the Dragon. Grendel was fundamentally doomed even prior to the arrival of Beowulf; he was forced to adhere to the Dragon’s ideals despite his justified need to be contribute to society.
Ultimately, Grendel falls to his demise due to his conflicted views on the Dragon’s advice and his own compulsive need to have a purpose within the society. He desires to interact and share his stories with others, just as the Shaper does, but is restricted and isolated due to the curse on his ancestors. Thus, out of tedium, he seeks out risks which leads him to Beowulf and his final internal, and literal battle. Gardner’s use certain archetypes such as the outcast and the shadow allows for Grendel to exhibit this complexity in a character that was originally meant solely to be brute monster. Not only do these archetypes compose a certain eloquence to the novel, but they also help portray the satiristic approach that Gardner uses to illustrate the desires and concerns of modern civilization through the view of an outsider.